may 31, 2014
By George Varga G.A.M.
Photo: Nancee E. Lewis
It may be a bit of a stretch to credit a nervous young music critic in 1989 with the success of the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library’s nationally acclaimed jazz programming, which this week celebrates its 25th anniversary in La Jolla. But since the young critic in question was yours truly, maybe not that much of a stretch.
Apprehensive at the prospect of giving two Athenaeum lectures on jazz’s evolution during the 1960s and beyond, I craftily brought in a ringer to perform live musical examples of some of the topics I covered.
His name was Harry Pickens, and he had recently moved here, armed with a budding national reputation for excellence. He was so eloquent in essaying jazz, whether playing or speaking, that my “lectures” almost seemed like an afterthought. The fact that I had to follow two lectures by the esteemed Stanley Dance – a pioneering jazz critic, author and longtime confidante of Duke Ellington – further fueled my decision to use a ringer.
“You brought in Harry Pickens and, from that, the notion grew to have Harry do a lecture series on his own and focus more on playing,” recalled Daniel Atkinson, who has deftly guided the Athenaeum’s jazz programming since its low-key inception as a five-part lecture series.
“All of the lectures were jammed, standing-room-only, basically. It provided a proof of concept that jazz had a passionate and legitimate audience among the Athenaeum’s membership, as well as in the broader community.”
At the time, Atkinson was the Athenaeum’s newly hired program director. He and Pickens soon brought in piano great Mike Wofford and flutist Holly Hofmann to duet with Pickens. From those modest beginnings, the Athenaeum’s jazz presentations have steadily grown.
Read more: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/may/31/athaneum-jazz-concerts-reach-quarter-century-mark/
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