The Sheldon Presents Dennis Owsley in a Lecture at Washington Public Library

The Sheldon Arts Foundation, with the support of a grant from the Mid-America Arts Alliance, will be presenting jazz educator, author and radio host DJ Dennis Owsley at the Washington Public Library, 415 Jefferson Street in Washington, Missouri on Tuesday, March 16 a 6:30 p.m.  Owsley will present a lecture entitled “The Great Jazz Pianists.” The lecture is free, and attendees will be invited to attend a jazz concert at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis for a discounted ticket price.

Dennis C. Owsley was born in California in 1943 and earned a B.A. and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, Riverside.  Since 1959, he has been an avid jazz record collector and scholar of the music.  His lifetime hobby led to a radio career with KWMU (90.7 FM) in St. Louis, where he has produced a weekly jazz show since 1983.  His current show, “Jazz Unlimited,” is heard every Sunday night from 9 p.m. to midnight.  He is also a jazz photographer of note, and his work was included in an exhibition at the Sheldon Art Galleries in 2002 and in his own exhibit, “In the Moment: Jazz Music in Performance” at The Sheldon.  His photographs have also been published in music textbooks, several jazz publications, and as jazz compact disc cover art.  Owsley is also the author of City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973, an oral history that is the result of twenty years of research into the history of jazz in St. Louis.  It is an extension of a radio documentary on St. Louis jazz that Owsley produced in 1987.
 
For more information, call The Sheldon at 314-533-9900 or the Washington Public Library at 636-390-1070.