Wisconsin Riffs

We're in the process of updating our website! Learn more about what that means and how you can help create history..

Jazz Profiles from the Heartland

Kurt Dietrich

A comprehensive and thoroughly researched history of jazz music and musicians in the Badger State—a must-read for dedicated jazz enthusiasts and emerging fans alike.

584 pages, 6 x 9, 114 b&w photos
Hardcover: $40.00 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-853-9
Ebook: $19.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-854-6
Publication Date: 4/22/2018

BUY

-

Description

Although cities like New Orleans, Chicago, New York City, Kansas City, and Los Angeles are typically considered the epicenters of American jazz, Wisconsin has been home to a remarkably rich variety of jazz musicians going back to the origins of the art form in the early 1900s. It has spawned such icons of the genre as Bunny Berigan, Woody Herman, Les Paul, and Al Jarreau, as well as influential players who emerged in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, such as Lyle Mays, Brian Lynch, Carl Allen, Tierney Sutton, and Ethan Iverson. The state has also been the source of outstanding jazz composers and educators. Wisconsin Riffs brings this diverse assortment of musicians together—from the world-renowned to lesser-known regional artists—to portray a comprehensive history of jazz in Wisconsin.

Through meticulous research and more than a hundred interviews, author Kurt Dietrich has assembled a group of musicians who represent a wide range of backgrounds, ages, stylistic schools, and experiences—from big band leaders to legendary Wisconsin Conservatory instructors to recent, up-and-coming practitioners of contemporary jazz and jazz rock. For aspiring musicians, jazz enthusiasts, and fans of Wisconsin culture alike, Wisconsin Riffs presents a compelling, complex, and multi-layered concoction—just like jazz itself.

Author Bio

Kurt Dietrich is professor emeritus of music at Ripon College, where he was also Barbara Baldwin DeFrees Chair in the Performing Arts. He has written many articles and three books on jazz, including Never Givin' Up:
The Life and Music of Al Jarreau, also published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. He earned degrees from Lawrence University, Northwestern University, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dietrich plays trombone with various groups around Wisconsin.

The gifted music historian Kurt Dietrich has given us a fascinating account of jazz throughout Wisconsin. In this pioneering, one-of-a-kind book, he tells the stories of more than one hundred musicians, ranging from the big names of Bunny Berigan, Woody Herman, Les Paul, and Al Jarreau to the undeservedly obscure. What emerges is a sense of a rich musical culture that few know about, and an awareness that even more stories should be told.