Kurt Dietrich

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Jim Koepnick

Kurt Dietrich

Scheduling issues for the 31st annual festival required a change of dates, and organizers seized the opportunity to expand the former two-day event into a 10-day extravaganza with 27 different performances and events at various locations throughout Madison. This year’s focus will be on local and regional acts. There are a number of acts on the Memorial Union Terrace, a State Street “jazz stroll,” a concert highlighting jazz’s gospel roots, and another honoring women’s contributions to the genre. There’s also a world premiere from saxophonist Hanah Jon Taylor, Songs for the Emerging Man. Details: isthmusjazzfestival.com.

press release: Book launch for Kurt Dietrich’s Wisconsin Riffs: Jazz Profiles from the Heartland, an extensive, upbeat compilation of Wisconsin's jazz musicians.

Although New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago are often considered the epicenters of American jazz, this extensive, upbeat compilation of jazz musician biographies details Wisconsin's rich association the genre since the inception of the genre in the early 1900s. Iconic musicians Bunny Berigan, Woody Herman, Les Paul and Al Jarreau all hailed from Wisconsin, as have many other influential players, composers and teachers. Wisconsin Riffs: Jazz Profiles from the Heartland features these musicians side-by-side — from the world-renowned to obscure 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 leaders of swing-era big bands to legendary Wisconsin Conservatory instructors to today's 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.

Kurt Dietrich is a professor of music and the Barbara Baldwin DeFrees Chair in the Performing Arts at Ripon College. He is the author of Duke’s Bones: Ellington’s Great Trombonists, as well as numerous articles for publications including Annual Review of Jazz Studies and Black Music Research Journal. He is a longtime player of jazz and has performed on numerous recordings.