In Search of Bessie Smith
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
2:00pm, Segal TheatreApril 15 will be the 112th birthday of famed blues singer Bessie Smith (1891-1937).
To mark the occasion, our guest will be Chris Albertson in conversation with Marc Dolan. Albertson's biography, Bessie, published in 1973, was a ground-breaking book in the field of jazz biography. In The New Yorker Whitney Balliett said, "Albertson....has written the first estimable full-length biography not only of Bessie Smith but of any black musician."
A new revised edition of this acclaimed book will be published this spring by Yale University Press.
Albertson will discuss his research for the book and play excerpts from his interviews, including an eyewitness account that finally cleared up the myth surrounding Bessie's death. We will also screen St. Louis Blues, the only film Bessie Smith ever made.
CHRIS ALBERTSON, Former Contributing Editor, Stereo Review; producer, Riverside and Prestige Records; two-time Grammy winner; former TV host of The Jazz Set (PBS); he has written and appeared in many jazz and blues documentaries, most recently the BBC series Voices to be aired on Bravo this spring.
MARC DOLAN, Associate Professor of English and Liberal Studies, John Jay College and The Graduate Center, CUNY, Coordinator of the American Studies Certificate ProgramCosponsored by the American Studies Certificate Program, Film Studies Certificate Program, and Continuing Education and Public Programs. Information: mfrisque@gc.cuny.edu