Exhibits

"Those Frenchmen Got a Hellova Nerve":
European Jazz Discography and the Creation of a New Art Music, 1932-1976

April 28 - June 5, 2005
Reference area exhibit space, 2nd floor

To help celebrate the Smithsonian Institution's Jazz Appreciation Month, the Alvin Sherman Library will host a month-long exhibit of books from the collection of Hollywood resident and NSU alumnus Bruce Epperson.

Entitled "Those Frenchmen Got a Hellova Nerve: European Jazz Discography and the Making of a New Art Music, 1932-1976", the exhibit explains how a group of French, Belgian, and British record collectors re-wrote jazz history by documenting the time, place, date and personnel of every known jazz recording. By ignoring the group names and catalog numbers printed on the records' labels and focusing on the master number microscopically engraved into the shellac itself, these usually amateur scholars proved that the origins of jazz were far more rich and diverse than American critics claimed.

The exhibit of books and disc recordings will be shown from April 28 to June 5 on the second floor reference area of NSU's Alvin Sherman Library. The books are a selection of the collection of jazz books assembled in the last decade by Bruce Epperson, a local lawyer and author. Mr. Epperson graduated from the NSU law school in 2004.

On Saturday, May 21 NSU law Professor Michael L. Richmond will present a talk with musical examples on the history and cultural influence of jazz music and dance. "Storytelling, Jazz and Dance" will be held at 2:00 PM in Room 4009 of the Alvin Sherman Library. A reception with light refreshments will be held after. Both Professor Richmonds lecture and the reception are open to the public.

The exhibit is sponsored by Donna M. Ballman, P.A., a Fort Lauderdale law firm specializing in employment and discrimination law.

Exhibit Notes.