A wide-ranging and intriguing conversation about pianist, composer, arranger, activist Margaret Bonds (1913-1972). What a rich life she led! And what wonderful music she composed and arranged! (btw, be sure to listen to the end)
Dr. Tammy L. Kernodle is the Park Creative Arts Endowed Professor and University
Distinguished Professor of Music at Miami University (OH). She is a recognized
musician and scholar whose research focuses on African American music, gender
studies in music, and race and American popular culture. Kernodle is the author of Soul
on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams, a comprehensive examination of the
pianist/arranger’s six-decade career. She served as Associate Editor of the three-
volume Encyclopedia of African American Music. Her scholarship has appeared in
journals, reference books, edited volumes, and anthologies. Additionally, she has been
featured in several award-winning documentaries, including "Mary Lou Williams: The
Lady Who Swings the Band," "Miles Davis: The Birth of Cool," and the most recent films
"The Disappearance of Miss Scott" and King of Them All: The Story of King Records.
She is currently a member of the Editorial Board for Grove Music Online, an online
music encyclopedia offering comprehensive coverage of music, musicians, music-
making, and music scholarship. She is also a member of the Advisory Board for
Folkways Records, a recording label associated with the Smithsonian Institute.
Much of Kernodle’s work is public-facing and focused on fostering new understandings
of musical genres and the recovery of excluded musicians and composers from the
margins of our historical narratives. As a result, Tammy has written for and consulted
with the American Jazz Museum, the National Museum of African American History and
Culture, Walker Art Center, NPR, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, BBC, Smithsonian
Folkways, and Carnegie Hall.
Kernodle is the Past President of the Society for American Music and currently curates
the I Dream a World Festival, a multi-year initiative with New World Symphony that
celebrates the legacy of Black composers.
https://drtammykernodle.com/
:
My Song is My Weapon: The Long Sonic History of Black Resistance
https://folkways.si.edu/playlists/my-song-is-my-weapon-the-long-sonic-history-of-black-resistance
Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p085536
womenofnotes.substack.com
