Brent Edwards on NYC Jazz in the 1970s

Columbia University professor and Social Text member Brent Edwards to speak on Jazz in NYC during the 1970s

In jazz history, the 1970s have habitually been overlooked or dismissed as a period when the music went into severe decline. But in fact there was a remarkable ferment of activity in the decade, especially in New York — much of it underground, in small clubs, musician-run “lofts,” and independent theaters — and jazz played a central role in the arts scene that developed in NoHo, SoHo, and the East Village. This lecture considers the social and musical space that developed around the Tin Palace, a nightclub that provided from its perch on the Bowery a crucial hub for cross-fertilization among the arts.

Date: Monday, January 31st from 6-8PM
Place: Columbia University, IRWAG Seminar Room 754 Schermerhorn Extension

Ashley Dawson

Ashley Dawson is professor of postcolonial studies in the English department at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and the College of Staten Island. His latest books include People’s Power: Reclaiming the Energy Commons (O/R, 2020), Extreme Cities: The Peril and Promise of Urban Life in the Age of Climate Change (Verso, 2017), and Extinction: A Radical History (O/R, 2016). A member of the Social Text Collective and the founder of the CUNY Climate Action Lab, he is a long-time climate justice activist.