Wednesday 18 April 2018

Conference, Birmingham: Dr Katherine Williams

Dr Katherine Williams of Plymouth University is our second keynote speaker at the 25th International Duke Ellington Study Group Conference.

Dr Williams is author of books on Rufus Wainwright  and, with Justin A Williams, she edited The Singer- Songwriter Handbook and The Cambridge Companion To  The Singer-Songwriter.


Dr Williams has written and lectured extensively on the subject of Duke Ellington's music. On 27 April, 2016, she appeared at the Words and Music Festival, Stratford-upon-Avon with a presentation entitled Such Sweet Plunder: Or Whose Line Is It Anyway, which explored "the balance of authorial power between composer, band leader, musicians, improvisers and record producers."


Dr Williams is presently writing a book about Duke Ellington and will be addressing the conference about the researches she undertook as part of this project at The Smithsonian.
You can read Dr Williams's interview with Catherine Tackley about Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall concert here.


Improvisation as Composition: Fixity of Form and Collaborative Composition in Duke Ellington's Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue by Dr Williams gives an indication of the insights conference delegates can expect to look forward to.


There is further interesting reading too, here,  in Dr Williams's essay, What Can Duke Ellington's Recordings Tell Us About Jazz History?

And here is an opportunity to listen to an interview with Dr Williams about her Ellington research.


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