Aidan Levy

Aidan Levy is the author of "Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins" and "Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed," and editor of "Patti Smith on Patti Smith: Interviews and Encounters." A former Leon Levy Center for Biography Fellow, his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, JazzTimes, The Nation and other publications. He holds a doctorate in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University, where he has served as co-convener of the African American Studies Colloquium and works with the Center for Jazz Studies. For ten years, he was the baritone saxophonist in the Stan Rubin Orchestra.

Musical Biographers

The life of a star musician can get complicated. Chronicling that life gets complicated, too. Today, we will meet the biographers of Stevie Nicks, Chuck Berry and Sonny Rollins. They will take us backstage, and describe how hard it can be to hit just the right note with a musical biography.

UA BookStore (Seats 150)  
Sun, Mar 5, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
History / Biography
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - UA BookStore Lower Level (following presentation)  

Panelists: Aidan Levy, Simon Morrison, RJ Smith
Moderator: John Booth

Books:

Saxophone Colossus

The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins

Hachette Books
December 2022
ISBN 9780306902796
752 pages

Patti Smith on Patti Smith: Interviews and Encounters

Music / Performing Arts
Chicago Review
ISBN 9780912777009