Title: "Sirius Musicology"

Abstract: This talk presents an exploration of the implications that the "Africa turn" in African-American culture of the 1960s and 1970s had on music theoretical thinking in avant-garde jazz.

Michael Veal has been a member of the Yale faculty since 1998. Before coming to Yale, he taught at Mount Holyoke College (1996 – 1998) and New York University (1997-1998). A self-described “musical pan-Africanist,” Veal’s work has typically addressed musical topics within the black Atlantic cultural sphere of Africa and the African diaspora. His 2000 biography of the Nigerian musician Fela Anikulapo-Kuti uses the life and music of this influential African musician to explore themes of African post-coloniality, the political uses of music in Africa, and musical and cultural interchange between cultures of Africa and the African diaspora. His documentation of the “Afrobeat” genre continued with the 2013 co-authored autobiography Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat. Professor Veal’s 2007 book Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae 2007 examines the ways in which the studio-based innovations of Jamaican recording engineers during the 1970s transformed the structure and concept of the post-WWII popular song, and examines sound technology as a medium for the articulation of spiritual, historical and political themes. Professor Veal is also the leader of the musical groups Michael Veal & Aqua Ife and Michael Veal’s Armillary Sphere.

Admission Information

• Free admission