Northwestern University’s Jazz Blues – Postscript

I am actually happy to eat crow after having erroneously accused Northwestern University’s School of Music of altogether disregarding America’s, or more accurately, African-Americans’ great contribution to world culture: jazz music. I was pleased to learn of the appointment of Victor Goines, former Director of Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School, as Northwestern’s new Jazz Studies chief.

And now, here’s my tasty serving of fried crow:

Please accept my sincere apology for points I made in error in my Chicago Jazz Magazine Jazz Voicings column of a few months ago. In that article, entitled “Northwestern’s Jazz Blues”, I suggested that it was the Music Department’s intention to permanently extricate the jazz Program from the university’s curriculum.

As a recent Northwestern Master of Music graduate in jazz Pedagogy, a twenty-five year college-level jazz educator and a jazz performer and recording artist of thirty years, I was truly pleased to learn of Victor Goines’ recent appointment to Director of Jazz Studies at Northwestern.

Though I stand behind my article’s statements that jazz has been and continues to be underrepresented and misrepresented in our country’s institutions, as well as its business and social arenas, I am pleased and hopeful that Northwestern now has the opportunity to make a fresh start in becoming a part of the solution to this cultural and social problem.

Thank you for your help and concern.

Bobby Broom

Uummm, good!