The image above is the 1915 passport photo of Joseph Zachariah Taylor "Joe" Jordan, who was born in 1882 in Cinncinnati, Ohio, and enjoyed the last few decades of his life in Tacoma, where he passed away in 1971. Joe Jordan was a composer, arranger and pianist who made substantial contributions to ragtime. His long and... Continue Reading →
Many of the stories we've shared here are about homegrown Tacoma musicians. Occasionally, though, we stumble on an interesting coincidence of history, a moment in time when Tacoma played a significant role in the career of a musician from elsewhere. Such is the tale of how an appearance on Tacoma television would lead to recording... Continue Reading →
A few years back, I spent a good portion of my free time researching 'booster songs' about Tacoma, in preparation for a talk I gave in August of 2017. In the early decades of the 20th century, booster songs were published in cities around America as musical representations of civic pride. Tacoma was no exception,... Continue Reading →
For her final paper in my Musical History of Tacoma class at UW Tacoma, student Kaisa Cannon decided to explore her father's favorite band, Nirvana, and determine whether the band typically associated with Seattle had any roots in Tacoma. Even a casual devotee of the grunge group would likely guess the answer to be yes,... Continue Reading →
For her final paper in my Musical History of Tacoma class this past Spring, UW Tacoma student Sunny Cada explored the vital role that music played in helping along the desegregation of the US military, specifically citing the example of musician Meltarrus Washington. Sergeant Meltarrus "Mel" Washington (1919-2007) came to Fort Lewis in 1944 as the drum... Continue Reading →
By Kim Davenport A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with my longtime neighbor, Loraine Lewis, to learn more about the history of the Tacoma Banjo Club, a group with which she has been involved since its inception in 1985. That 30+ year history was enough to engage my curiosity as... Continue Reading →
Thanks to a great audience at this talk! If you missed the opportunity to attend in person, you can still view the presentation here! *** Want to learn more about Tacoma music history AND enjoy a great evening out at the same time? Join Kim Davenport and special guest Ryan Bede for the August iteration... Continue Reading →
Tacoma historian Michael Sullivan was kind enough to sit down with me for a conversation about music's role in Tacoma's history, which I shared with my students taking my 'Musical History of Tacoma' course at UW Tacoma. Our wide-ranging conversation begins with the arrival of the railroad, and extends to about 1950. Enjoy! https://vimeo.com/202963786/f8b27009e1 Video... Continue Reading →
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