Pitt Music Department Faculty Michael Heller discusses his recently published book, Loft Jazz: Improvising New York in the 1970s, an examination of Loft Jazz, a cultural phenomenon that occurred in the mid-1970's, not referring to a specific style of jazz, but rather named for the venues where this free jazz was played: former industrial loft spaces in NYC's SOHO district.

Thornburgh Room, First floor, Hillman Library, University of Pittsburgh

Michael C. Heller is an ethnomusicologist, music historian, and Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Pittsburgh. Professor Heller documents a historical account using both ethnographic and archival research, exploring issues surrounding this avant-garde music scene, from socio-political, economic, racial, and artistic perspectives that, along with gentrification efforts, ended up transforming the social atmosphere in lower Manhattan.