Louis Jordan is Subject of next American Music Masters conference

Contact: Susan Griffith, 216-368-1004 or [email protected]

The College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will "swing" this fall when the fourth annual American Music Masters Conference focuses on the life of legendary saxophonist Louis Jordan. The conference -- "At the Swing Cat's Ball: Louis Jordan's Rhythm & Blues" -- will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, October 9 in Thwing Center, 10900 Euclid Avenue.

Tickets for the conference are $25 (includes continental breakfast and lunch). Students with valid identification are eligible for free passes. To register, call 216-515-1236.

Jordan (1908-75) was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in 1987 for his early influence on rock and roll. Jordan and his Tympany Five skyrocketed up the record charts with such best-selling cuts as Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby, Caldonia, and Choo Choo Ch'Boogie. In the 1930s and '40s, they regaled crowds at halls like the Apollo Theater in New York City, where in a battle of the bands Jordan's group came out as the jump jazz leaders.

"Jordan embodied both the soul and good-time feel of rock and roll before the music form even existed," said Robert Santelli, vice president of education and public programs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Mary Davis, CWRU assistant professor of music, and Emily Davidson, the Rock Hall's education programs manager, have coordinated the conference with a committee from CWRU and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Jordan conference, like past American Music Masters conferences, will bring together working artists, scholars, authors, and music industry and media representatives for a lively and informative discussion. The event will open at 9:30 a.m. with a biographical overview of Jordan's career, illustrated with a 48-minute film montage.

Throughout the day, more than 15 panelist will look at Jordan's music and other arts of his era through panel discussions on "Jump, R&B, and Rock and Roll: Jordan's Music Influence"; "Swing Culture High and Low: Art, Entertainment, and Culture"; "Jordan and African-American Traditions"; and "Swing Today: The '90s Revival." The day concludes with a workshop production of the Broadway hit Five Guys Named Moe.

Among the speakers are Berle Adams, who was Jordan's personal manager for nine years at the height of his career; Phyllis Garland, director of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and a member of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation; Rusty Jones, vice president of Slimstyle Records, the world's largest Modern Swing label; Mark Anthony Neal, author of What The Music Said: Black Popular Music and Black Public Culture; Terry Stewart, CEO and executive director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Davis Stowe, author of Swing Changes: Big Band Jazz in New Deal America; and Craig Werner, author of A Change Is Gonna Come: Music, Race and the Soul of America.

The American Music Masters Conferences honor the forerunners of rock and roll, who paved the way for today's artists. This year's conference is a culminating point of a week-long celebration honoring Jordan, whose music impacted such greats as Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, and James Brown. Earlier American Music Masters conferences at CWRU have focused on Woody Guthrie, the father of folk music; country legend Jimmie Rodgers, and blues pioneer Robert Johnson.

Here are celebration events:

* Swing on the Avenue is a series of free, noontime concerts at the Avenue at Tower City with performances by Blue Lunch (October 4), the CWRU Jazz Combo (October 5), Dukes of Wail (October 6), and others to be announced for October 7 and 8.

* An All-Star Tribute Concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, October 4, in the Allen Theater features B.B. King, Ruth Brown, Bo Diddley, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Big Jay McShann, the Duke Robillard Band, the Ernie Krivda Orchestra, and others. Tickets are $60, $40, $30, or $20. For tickets to this event, call Advantix at 216-241-6000 or visit http://www.tickets.com.

* The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will feature Louis Jordan: Star of Stage and Screen, an exhibit of rare movie posters and memorabilia from the film and music career of Louis Jordan, beginning Sunday, October 3. Entrance is included in museum admission.

* Bobby Rush, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Johnnie Johnson, Five Guys Named Moe, and others will perform at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, October 9 for the Saturday Night Stomp at the Odeon Concert Club, illustrating Jordan's influence on music. Tickets are $15.

* Join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Sunday, October 10, for "Reet, Petite, and Gone: The Films of Louis Jordan," a preview of his film career. The museum will show Beware at 1 p.m.; Reet, Petite, and Gone at 2:15 p.m.; Caldonia at 3:30 p.m., and Look Out Sister at 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for Rock Hall members.

For tickets to events (excluding the Tribute Concert), call Ticketmaster at 216-241-5555 or 800-493-ROLL or visit http://www.ticketmaster.com.

-CWRU-