First Wednesdays: The Electric Period of Miles Davis

With Reuben Jackson

The ever-changing music that Miles Davis recorded from 1969 to 1975 angered and bewildered many critics and fans, who accused the trumpeter of “selling out.” Jazz archivist and poet Reuben Jackson shares how recordings from Davis’ “Electric Period”—including 1974’s Get Up With It—prove otherwise.

Reuben Jackson is the Archivist with the University of The District of Columbia’s Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives. For 20 years he was archivist and curator with the Smithsonian Institution’s Duke Ellington Collection. He was also host of Vermont Public Radio’s Friday Night Jazz from 2012 until 2018. His music reviews have appeared in The Washington Post, Jazziz, Jazz Times, and on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. He is also the author of two books of poetry- 1990’s fingering the keys (Gut Punch Press)-and 2019’s Scattered Clouds (Alan Squire Publishing).

The First Wednesdays series includes in-person events in Fall and Spring with virtual events in the Winter. Director of Programs Ryan Newswanger said of the new format: “Many of our attendees in recent years have told us they value viewing First Wednesdays talks from the comfort of their homes, especially during the winter months.” Click for the full First Wednesdays schedule for 2022-23

The Brattleboro series is funded by the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library.

The program is free of charge and open to the public. The venue, 224 Main St. in Brattleboro, is accessible to people in wheelchairs.  For more information visit www.brookslibraryvt.org or call 802-254-5290

Underwriter: Peter Gilbert Endowment Fund

Miles Davis Image by r2hox