On Tuesday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m., UT's Butler School of Music is sponsoring a Texas Music Panel in room MRH 2.634 at the School of Music. The room is on the first floor, near the Trinity Street Entrance (see this map on the UT website). The scholar for the series, Dr. Caroline O'Meara will moderate a panel with the following members:
- Joe Nick Patoski, author of biographies of Texas music legends, including Willie Nelson, Selena and Stevie Ray Vaughan
- Dave Oliphant, who has written two books on the history of jazz music in Texas
- John Wheat, Coordinator for Sound Archives at the Briscoe Center for American History at UT
- Tim Hamblin, Video Archivist at the Austin History Center
The America's Music series of music documentaries explores the history of music in America. We want to conclude the series with a closer look at the history of music in Texas. Come hear how Texans have contributed to the history of music in America.
America’s Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway is a project of the Tribeca Film Institute in collaboration with the American Library Association, Tribeca Flashpoint, and the Society for American Music. America’s Music has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.”
Our six-week journey through America's Music ends on Tuesday, April 30, with a look at how Latin rhythms have affected American popular music in general, then we will hear how Puerto Rican immigrants and African Americans created hip hop music during the 1970s, in From Mambo To Hip Hop: A South Bronx Tale. The program begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Terrazas Branch Meeting Room.
This is a very distinctive type of music that is not only known as gypsy jazz but also as jazz manouche. Django Reinhardt is undoubtedly its main exponent; some even affirm that he started this new kind of music in Paris during the 1930s. Violinist Stephane Grappelli also played an important role in the development of this new style. With Django, he co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France.
The America's Music series of music documentaries and discussion continues at the Terrazas Branch on Tuesday, April 16 at 6:30 p.m. with "Broadway and Tin Pan Alley." We'll be watching Episode Two; "Syncopated City" of the documentary film "Broadway: The American Musical." If you are a fan of the Jazz Age and the music it produced, you won't want to miss this film. Broadway in the 1920s reached new heights in popularity. Al Jolson attracted huge crowds. Musicals written by two legendary songwriting teams: George and Ira Gershwin, and, Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, filled theaters night after night. However, by the decade's end, the Great Depression and the rise of "talkies," motion pictures with sound, contributed to a rapid decline in the fortunes of Broadway producers and performers. Dr. Caroline O'Meara will introduce the film and lead us through a discussion of the issues raised by it. For more information about this part of the America's Music series, including lists of related films, music recordings, books and web sites, click 
