[William Grant Still, left, with W.C. Handy]
Jan 4th, 2009
by Scott Barretta
On Wednesday Jan. 21 Judith Anne Still and Jackson Symphony director Crafton Beck will be the guests at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History's “History is Lunch” program, celebrating Still’s father, composer William Grant Still. An exhibit about Still will be on display beginning January 20 at the Winter F. Building in Jackson, where the talk will be held; it was recently on display in Columbus and Clarksdale.
A native of Woodville, MS — also home to Lester Young and bluesmen Scott Dunbar and Robert Cage — Still is best known for his classical work including his blues-themed “Afro-American symphony, but he also made arrangements for W.C. Handy and was the musical director for Black Swan Records, a Harlem Renaissance project in the early ’20s. A MS Blues Trail marker honoring Still, Young, Dunbar and Cage was scheduled to go up in December, but has been tentatively rescheduled for some time in February. [William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, where a complete Works List by Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma is also found]
Highway 61 RadioJudith Anne Still
Crafton Beck
History is Lunch
William Grant Still
W. C. Handy
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