UCSB History Associates Marks 20th Anniversary with Afternoon of Jazz and Blues

The UCSB History Associates will celebrate its 20th anniversary with "An Afternoon of Jazz and Blues" later this month at SOhO Restaurant and Music Club in Santa Barbara. The event will feature a lecture by Douglas Daniels, a professor of history and black studies at UC Santa Barbara, and music provided by a jazz trio that includes Frank Frost, a professor emeritus of history at UCSB.

Co-presented by the UCSB Music Affiliates, the event will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, January 27. The cost, including lunch, is $20 for members of the UCSB History Associates and UCSB Music Affiliates and $25 for all others. Reservations must be received by January 22.

Daniels will give a talk titled "The Santa Barbara Blues Society and the Resurgence of the Blues." Founded 30 years ago, the Santa Barbara Blues Society is the oldest organization of its kind in the United States. Daniels has interviewed many of its founders, members, and volunteers in an effort to document the role the society played in the resurgence of the Black American blues tradition.

A recipient of numerous fellowships, most recently a Fulbright to lecture and teach in Japan last fall, Daniels is the author of "One O'clock Jump: The Unforgettable History of the Oklahoma City Blue Devils" (Beacon, 2005), "Lester Leaps In: The Life and Times of Lester ‘Pres' Young" (Beacon, 2002), and "Pioneer Urbanites: A Social and Cultural History of Black San Francisco" (University of California Press, 1991).

Following Daniels's talk, special guest vocalist Perline Thurston will join a Santa Barbara jazz trio made up of Frost on the piano, Hank Allen on bass, and Tom Devaney on drums.

Founded by the late Dick Cook, a former advertising executive and history buff, the UCSB History Associates has a membership of more than 200 and over the years has awarded over $500,000 in scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students in UCSB's history department.

The organization sponsors talks and programs that feature history department faculty members exploring both historical and contemporary topics. Recent events have included talks on ancient Greek warfare and modern Middle East politics, a panel discussion examining author Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code," and a behind-the-scenes viewing of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Angels in America."

For more information about the event, call (805) 893-3753.