Unlocking the Mysteries of Jazz

By Matt Shipman

From Dixieland to bebop to fusion, the subject of jazz covers a wide variety of sounds and styles that can intimidate a beginner. Even longtime jazz fans are constantly running across artists and albums that they're unfamiliar with. Helping people understand the music and history of jazz is one reason Owen Cordle, NC State alum and longtime jazz columnist, hosts public discussions on jazz before concerts as part of the Arts NC State Center Stage program.

Cordle will be kicking off his first jazz discussion for 2009 at the Talley Student Center prior to a Feb. 24 concert by Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara, continuing his longstanding relationship with NC State, jazz and the Raleigh community. Cordle has an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz music and history garnered from a lifelong love of the art form. He has been playing jazz in the Raleigh area for more than 40 years, and writing about it for almost as long.

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