Local Author Talk with Burgin Mathews on Birmingham Jazz Tradition this Saturday, January 27

The Archives Department is hosting a Local Author Talk with Burgin Mathews on his latest book, Magic City: How the Birmingham Jazz Tradition Shaped the Sound of the South. Mathews' Local Author Talk is happening at the Central Library this Saturday, January 27, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

He will play local jazz records, interspersed with archival film footage, photos, and audio artifacts from Birmingham's jazz history after the discussion.

Magic City uses archival research and original interviews from living members of the Birmingham scene to highlight how our jazz heritage affected the genre throughout the country. Mathews details the stories of Erskine Hawkins, Sun Ra, John T. "Fess" Whatley, and other locals "who nurtured a vital culture of Black expression in one of the country's most notoriously segregated cities."

Burgin Mathews is a local author, radio host, and founding director of the Southern Music Research Center (SMRC) nonprofit.

The SMRC is a digital collection that hosts photos and documents about Birmingham jazz history and other southern music subcultures, like punk flyers from across the South and recordings of Mississippi hymn singing to name a few. Mathews developed this public archive out of his research in and love of southern music traditions. He hopes that the SMRC collections empower communities to connect with their cultural and social histories.

Supporting this mission, the Archives Department played an integral role in the development of Magic City. Their department helped Mathews research his subjects and find photos for his book.

The Archives Department frequently hosts published authors they assisted. Programs like the Local Author Talk help keep Birmingham's community connected and invested in preserving our history and culture.

If you want to see the original photos found in Magic City, schedule an appointment with the Archives Department to see this history in person and consider attending their Archives 101 program to learn how to best utilize our archives. 

Join us tomorrow, Saturday, January 27, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Central Library for the Local Author Talk: Burgin Mathews and Magic City.

This program is free and open to the public. 

The Local Author Talk will be held in the Arrington Auditorium on the 4th floor of the Research Library. Patrons can access the Research Library by entering the main East Building and crossing the skywalk found on the 3rd floor.

Light refreshments will be served.

For more information about this program, contact Catherine Oseas, Head of the Archives Department, at 205-226-3630 or at catherine.oseas@cobpl.org. 

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Check out our Calendar page to see what other programs are happening at the BPL.

By Cheyenne Trujillo and Weston Flippo | Library Assistant Ⅲ and Librarian Ⅰ, Central Library