Author Visit

AUTHOR PAUL DEVLIN will discuss his book Rifftide: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones (University of Minnesota Press, 2011). “The things that I have, I’ll give to you. This is my legacy with you, Albert. This is my last hoo-rah.” So begins the autobiography of Jonathan David Samuel Jones, a.k.a. Papa Jo Jones. Playing with Count Basie and his orchestra when they exploded out of Kansas City in 1936 and took the world by storm, Jones went on to inspire generations of jazz drummers, but until now few have had access to his own remarkable story. Rifftide presents Jones’s life and opinions, as originally told by Jones to jazz historian Albert Murray and now transcribed, arranged, and introduced by Paul Devlin. Drawing from fourteen tapes recorded over eight years beginning in 1977, Devlin presents an impressionistic series of riffs by Jones: his life on the road in segregated America, his outstanding solo career following his years with the Basie band, and his interactions with iconic artists and cultural figures of the time, including Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and Satchell Paige. Televison producer Bob Waldman will host tonight’s event. Books will be available for purchase and signing. 7:30 p.m.