Roots of Jazz

A master of the keyboard, a composer and musical performer, Waupaca native Eddy Hanson spent the better part of seven decades working in the entertainment world. From the penniless days in Waupaca to the top of the penthouse in Chicago his life was filled with successful adventures and personal mishaps. Through it all he remained true to his local roots and devotion to family. This presentation will follow his career and portray several of his works. The playwright and narrator is our own Patrick Phair with Linda Harmon on piano and Barb Laedtke consulting.
http://ragpiano.com/comps/ehanson.shtml

Doris Weed, Waupaca local, created this vibrant, original artwork depicting the Roots of Jazz. The artwork has been matted and framed and will be available for viewing at each of the Roots of Jazz events starting with the first event on April 25, 2022. Bids will be accepted until the final event on May 9, 2022 when the artwork will be awarded to the highest bidder.

The Waupaca Area Public Library and the Waupaca Historical Society in support of and collaboration with Winchester Academy present the two month long exhibit which celebrates the life and musical contributions of Eddy Hanson, a local ragtime piano player, organ player and composer (1893-1986).  Exhibit is free and open during library hours, April 16th-June 4th.

Waupaca Area Public Library Exhibit Room Website

Jazz up your Sunday with delicious coffee and great music. Go to Aquamos Sunday, May 1, for live jazz! The Charlotte Buchman Jazz Trio will be performing from 11am-1pm.

Ryan Korb is lecturer of Jazz Percussion and Jazz Studies at UW-Stevens Point. Ryan will discuss why and how African percussion became one of the roots of jazz and why it remains so to this day.

An evening lecture/demonstration with Catherine Hennessy Wolter, Scholar in Residence at the Department of Music and Theatre Arts at UW-Eau Claire, about the player piano and its role in bringing ragtime and jazz music into communities and homes.

Waupaca Historical Society in support of and in collaboration with Winchester Academy is sponsoring this program.

Waupaca Historical Society Website

Students from Lawrence University, under the direction of Dr. Jose Encarnacion.

The Waupaca Community Arts Board will join with the Winchester Academy's "Roots of Jazz" celebration and will present this participatory presentation program for elementary and middle school students lead by the three Lawrence jazz students on the history of the roots of jazz, starting with the Blues, taking students through the influential female jazz musicians in history, and demonstrating the influence on today's most popular musical styles.  Students will enjoy learning basic blues patterns through singing and participating in this engaging presentation.

For more information about the Waupaca Community Arts Board:   www.waupacaarts.org  and Facebook/Instagram

The Rusty Nails, a musical group whose aim is the maintenance and preservation of the great American art form known as the Blues. Steve Heiner (resonator & acoustic guitars), Ben Lillge (Blues harp & upright bass) and featuring Cindy Lillge (vocals) will explore the relationship between pre-war Blues and early Jazz.  They will celebrate musicians like Blind Blake, Lonnie Johnson, and Bessie Smith who played with Jazz titans and helped shape the music.  Most of all they'll have fun reminding everyone what makes this music great. 

Cash bar and menu available. Simpson's Restaurant Website

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During his monthly library film series, Dr. Jack Rhodes will show and discuss the movie - Alexander's Ragtime Band.
Jack Rhodes received his PhD from The University of Texas Austin and held faculty positions at Colorado College, The University of Utah, and Miami University (OH), where he served as Chair of the Department of Communication and as Executive Director of Miami's regional campus in Hamilton, OH. While at Miami he taught a graduate class in Rhetoric of Film and has now served for several years as a seminar teacher of Film Studies at Lawrence University's Bjorklunden Campus.

Waupaca Area Public Library Website

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Under the direction of Mandjou Mara and Maya Kadakia the Limanya Ensemble will perform traditional music and dance from Guinea and Mali, West Africa, incorporating song, dance, drumming and theatre. The Limanya Drum and Dance Ensemble, based in Madison, WI, is comprised of a diverse group of dancers and drummers who share a love of African tradition, celebration and culture.

West African drumming and dancing is considered an important root of early jazz. 

http://www.mandjoumaradjembefola.com/limanya_drum_and_dance_ensemble

YouTube video of Limanya Drum and Dance Ensemble

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Considered the best ragtime and boogie-woogie pianist in the world, Bob Milne, will play a variety of ragtime compositions from the early jazz era. Mr. Milne has performed at hundreds of venues both in America and internationally, including the White House. He was commissioned by the Library of Congress in Washington D. C. to record all the important ragtime pieces of America. Milne is considered a National Treasure.
www.bobmilne.com 
Desserts and Coffee will be served with a cash bar available.

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Erin Krebs, jazz and blues vocalist, with her partner blues guitarist Jeff Johnston will showcase in a cabaret-like setting, the music of classic female blues singers such as Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. Early blues is the third root of the roots of jazz.

www.erinkrebs.com, YouTube video of Erin Krebs Singing

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Sunday Evening Ecumenical Vespers with jazz accompaniment by the Matt Buchman Quartet.

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Dr. Kurt Dietrich, retired Professor of Music and Barbara De Frees Professor of Performing Arts at Ripon College. Dietrich is the author of the book Wisconsin Riffs: Jazz Profiles from the Heartland.

https://kurtdietrich.net/