[Akin Euba]
An influential African composer and musicologist who is featured at AfriClassical.com is Dr. Akin Euba, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Music at the University of Pittsburgh. The composer and author was born in Lagos, Nigeria on April 28, 1935. Jason Squinobal notes that Akin Euba's theory of “Creative Musicology” is mainly used for classical music but can also apply to jazz:
“Euba’s Concept of Creative Musicology
Euba has also identified four stages of intercultural activity in a process he calls creative musicology:
1. The collection of information by means of fieldwork.
2. The composition of short creative works based on folk or traditional music.
3. The inclusion of embellishments and original material in the composition of short creative works based on folk or traditional music.
4. Finally, the creation of large-scale compositions that are influenced by folk songs or traditional music but do not contain any specific references to traditional music or folksongs.
"According to Euba this is the same process Béla Bartók used to implement traditional music into his compositions. Euba’s concept of creative musicology is generally used to identify the synthesis of traditional musics with Western art (classical) music. However, I believe that the concepts and characteristics of creative musicology may also be identified in the activities of jazz musicians who merge traditional music from around the world with jazz.
Akin Euba
Creative Musicology
International Jazz Archives Journal
Jazz As A Model For African Composition
Classical Music
Not only does Euba's concept of Creative Musicology apply to jazz and classical music, I think it is a great conceptual starting place for any style of music that attempts to incorporate elements of a second distinctive style of music. It's great to see Euba getting recognition through your blog- Jason Squinobal
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