Masters of this uniquely American art form connect at Harvard with students and audiences through an exploration of music and influences. The literature of Duke Ellington and the commissioning of new works have been a focus.
“Play It Forward: Celebrating Tom Everett” featuring the Harvard Jazz Bands with guest artist Joshua Redman ‘91 and guest conductor Don Braden ‘85: April 13, 8pm
When Tom Everett was appointed Director of Bands in 1971, there was no jazz on campus (except WHRB “Jazz Orgies,” heard during reading and exam periods). Passionate that exposure to this unique American art form be part of students’ education, he created an undergraduate jazz band with 12 recruits, mostly from the Harvard Band. (At their first gig, a swing dance at Adams House, the band knew so few charts, and was so gun-shy about soloing, that Everett jumped in on trombone to fill up time!).
Everett formed a second student jazz band in 1972, began a jazz course in the Extension School in 1973, and in 1978 taught the first undergraduate jazz history course at Harvard, funded by the Office for the Arts. With the appointment in 2001 of Ingrid Monson as Quincy Jones Professor of African American Music, jazz scholarship became fully recognized.
