On the downbeat

A review of the history of jazz in Indiana from the beginnings of ragtime at the turn of the century, through the big-band era of the thirties, to the flourishing of bebop following World War II, and up to the new forms of today. Musicians and jazz scholars such as David Baker of the Indiana University School of Music and jazz historian Duncan Schiedt recall the early contributions of musicians such as Jesse Crump, Russel Smith, and Julia Niebergall, along with renowned figures like Freddy Hubbard, Virgil Jones, and Wes Montgomery. Funded by grants from the Indiana Arts Commission and the Indiana Committee for the Humanities with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.