Cullum Lecture Series kicks off in January
The series, A Year of Jazz at ASU, is being co-chaired by Robert Foster, associate professor of music, and Jim Benedict, professor of mathematics. “Jazz is America’s indigenous art form,” says Dr. Foster. “We have many good jazz players in the area, and for a relatively small community, I think that jazz music is something that can be brought to light.” Dr. Foster explains that every jazz performance has a light of its own because of the synergy of the performers. “I like the spontaneity and improvisation of jazz music,” he says. “You mix different performers with different backgrounds and you get different end results every time.” The series is being dedicated to the memory of Gray Dinwiddie, former academic dean and later dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. He had a deep love of jazz music, says Dr. Benedict. “We intend at some point to make a presentation about Dr. Dinwiddie’s life when he was dean here and show all the things he did for the jazz program as well,” says Dr. Benedict. “The series will be the best history of jazz anyone could hope for because instead of playing records or reading books about jazz, people will get to hear live music,” he adds. The Cullum Lecture Series is an interdisciplinary program that began more than 20 years ago to bring nationally and internationally known speakers to ASU. For more information about ASU’s Cullum Lecture Series, or for a schedule of Cullum events, contact Dr. Foster at 706-737-1453 or Dr. Benedict at 706-737-1672. Other News Stories:
December 2006 |
Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Wynton and Branford Marsalis. These are just a few of the jazz greats being featured in the 2006-07 Cullum Lecture Series.
