Leading blues scholars to present panel, “Blues in Time,” April 3 at DBS XV

March 23, 2009 -- Arkansas State University-Jonesboro’s Department of English and Philosophy is sponsoring internationally known blues and music scholars who will participate in a featured panel at this year’s Delta Blues Symposium XV: Celebrating a Century of Delta Culture. David Evans, John Minton, and Judy Peiser will discuss “Blues in Time” on Friday, April 3^, at a panel scheduled for 3:30-5 p.m. in the Mockingbird Room of ASU’s Reng Student Services Center/Student Union, 101 North Caraway Road, Jonesboro. The event is free and open to the public. This panel will provide an understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of blues and other related musical forms throughout the 20^th Century.

David Evans is professor of musicology at the University of Memphis. A noted authority on the blues, Evans has written major books and articles on blues, and he has produced audio recordings and written liner notes for major blues musicians, including R. L. Burnside, Hammie Nixon, Jessie Mae Hemphill, and many other artists. Evans is also a skilled performer of traditional country blues, and he has recorded his as a solo act and with his Memphis group, the Last Chance Jug Band. His prolific publishing record includes the classic study "Big Road Blues: Tradition and Creativity in the Folk Blues" and "The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to the Blues."

John Minton is professor of folklore at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. He has published widely in the field of folklore, including a collaborative study he completed with David Evans titled "The Coon in the Box: A Global Folktale in African-American Tradition." Minton also is a performer and talented musician who performs and records blues and roots music in numerous venues. Minton has recently authored a landmark article on the urban roots of Zydeco music, which is included in the new book "Ramblin’ on My Mind," recently edited by Evans. In 2008, John Minton published "78 Blues: Folksongs and Phonographs in the American South," one of the most in-depth studies of southern folk-derived music on phonograph records before World War II.

Judy Peiser is the current director of Memphis’s Center for Southern Folklore, an organization that she co-founded in 1972 with William Ferris. She directs numerous events, including the annual Memphis Music and Heritage Festival, and she is also a highly acclaimed documentary filmmaker. Her notable films include "Gravel Springs Fife and Drum" and "All Day and All Night:  Memories from Beale Street."

All of the panelists will be available after the presentation to meet with members of the audience. Later that evening, these scholars and other invited authors will be available for a book-signing and reception held at Fowler Center at
7:30 p.m. For further information, contact the Department of English and Philosophy at (870) 972-3043 or visit the Web site: www.clt.astate.edu/blues.

 

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Photos: from top, David Evans, John Minton, Judy Peiser. All photos courtesy of Dr. Rick Burns.