Monday, November 3

5 - 6 p.m.

Archives & Special Collections Instruction Room, 340 Hillman Library

RSVP below.

Join Dr. Aaron Johnson, author of Jazz Radio America, and Dr. Colter Harper, author of Jazz in the Hill for a conversation about their new books; an exploration of nightclubs as spaces of listening during the golden age of jazz and a study of the behind-the-scenes forces that interacted to create jazz radio.

Kathryn Miller Haines (moderator) is the head of the Center for American Music, part of the University of Pittsburgh Library System’s Archives & Special Collections. In her role, Kathy works with A&SC’s jazz collections, including the Erroll Garner and Dave Burrell Archives, and the recently acquired Sam Rivers, Ahmad Jamal, and Bill Cole Archives.

A native of Washington, DC, AJ Johnson is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Music at the University of Pittsburgh where he studies and teaches jazz, African American popular music, film music, and music and technology. His research and teaching interests are closely aligned and concern the interaction between music makers and decisions – makers as mediated through structural elements such as social and organizational practices, markets, and technology.  His book Jazz Radio America: from Commercial to Non-Commercial, is a history of post-WWII jazz radio and the corporations, communities, and institutions that create it. AJ received a BSEE from Carnegie Mellon University in Electrical Engineering and Economics and an MS in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech. He spent many years contributing to research and development of optical communications networks, access networks, digital video, and xDSL technology before earning a PhD in Music from Columbia University. A trombonist since before Apollo 11 reached the moon, he performs regularly with Charles Tolliver, Oliver Lake, Steve Turre, and many others. He has performed or recorded as well with Fred Ho, Anthony Braxton, Frank Foster, Jimmy Heath, Wynton Marsalis, Wallace Roney, Abdullah Ibrahim, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight (with and without the Pips), and Jay-Z on trombone, bass trombone, tuba, bass clarinet, and conch shells. 

Colter Harper is an ethnomusicologist, musician, and Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Music at the University at Buffalo. He is the author of Jazz in the Hill: Nightlife and Narratives of a Pittsburgh Neighborhood (University Press of Mississippi, 2024), which explores the role of jazz clubs in shaping community life, entrepreneurialism, and cultural identity in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. His research spans jazz history, American nightlife, and West African popular music, with work published in journals such as Jazz Perspectives and South African Music Studies. A versatile guitarist and composer, Harper has toured nationally and recorded with the multi-platinum band Rusted Root. He also served as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Ghana, where he taught music production and audio archiving.

Hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Hillman Library is located at 3960 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. Metered on-street parking is available on various streets surrounding the library. Paid parking is also available at Soldiers & Sailors Parking Garage (.2 miles from the library). Hillman is also accessible by public transportation. See the Pittsburgh Regional Transit website for planning your trip. 

Please email uls-events@pitt.edu with any questions or accessibility accommodation requests.

RSVP