Jazz in July Summer Music Programs Director Mark Baszak has just reached an agreement with UMass Press to distribute its acclaimed publicationSuch Sweet Thunder: Views on Black American Music to booksellers and libraries nationwide. This generous collaboration with Umass Press will allow the book to reach a much wider audience.

Such Sweet Thunder chronicles an annual gathering of some of the nation’s finest black musicians and commentators. Established in 1971 to recognize the major contributions that African Americans have made to American and world music, the Black Musicians Conference and Festival at the University of Massachusetts came to be a magnet for performers, scholars, and fans of jazz, blues and gospel music. Such Sweet Thunder documents eleven years of the festival, from 1989 to 1999, with a stimulating range of essays and panel discussions.

Such Sweet Thunder was edited by Mark Baszak and features evocative photographs by local photographer Edward Cohen. Copies of the book can still be purchased directly from the Fine Arts Center by phone at 545-3530, and through the website at suchsweetthunder.com.