Alfred Appel on Classic Jazz June 9, 2011

Alfred Appel Jr., who taught at Northwestern University from 1968 until his retirement in 2000, was a scholarly expert and author of wide-ranging interpretive books on modern jazz and art. One of his titles, 'Jazz Modernism: From Ellington and Armstrong to Matisse and Joyce (Knopf, 2002),' attempted to place jazz in the larger context of the modern movement in 20th century art. The display quotes Appel, who died of heart failure at age 75 in May 2009, on classic jazz, including three of his favorite musicians: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Fats Waller.