A Note from the Annotator about the Notes
The University of New Hampshire Traditional Jazz Series began in the fall of 1979 with support from the New Hampshire Library of Traditional Jazz (NHLTJ), an organization newly formed by Mrs. Dorothy Cooke Prescott of Auburn, NH (see notes for Program 101). The purpose of the series has been "to promote the enjoyment and understanding of the art through concerts featuring musicians of regional, national, and international prominence." Upon Mrs. Prescott's death in 1998, responsibility for the fulfillment of the NHLTJ's goals devolved upon UNH; a substantial bequest had been designated for this purpose, with the continuation of the concert series being a prime consideration.
The evolution in the style and content of these program notes is a result of the author's musings over a quarter century on the art and the artists, the history and sociology, criticism and analysis, and imagination and regeneration—all of which have made such an impact on the aesthetic dimensions of the human condition. The first few written efforts are quite casual, but before long they begin to take on the character of reflective and sometimes speculative essays intended to place each specific event in the broader context encouraged by its presence on a particularly defined concert series in an academic environment. Moreover, as time passes, a sort of scheduling philosophy develops regarding the series itself which reflects judgments about the amplitude of the term "traditional" and the appropriate scope of its application.
Nevertheless, these brief essays relate to precious moments in time, a half-dozen or more each year, which by their very nature lovingly celebrate the manifold gifts and mysteries of this glorious living art, long freed from its entrapment in the vagaries of the popular culture. Perhaps even in silent scrutiny they will provoke thought about the criteria for identifying those values which endure, as well as those properties which have caused many a foot to tap.
July 25, 2007
Paul F. Verrette
Associate Professor Emeritus of Music
University of New Hampshire