History Café Audio Archive

Hear past History Café programs, with topics ranging from Seattle through the eyes of its first Chinese resident to the city’s classical music scene.

Syncopated Classic: Rediscovering an Early Seattle Jazz Pioneer

In 1924, Seattle Jazz pioneer Frank D. Waldron created 9 original compositions for his saxophone tutorial book Syncopated Classic. Obscured by time, these works are the earliest archived compositions by a Seattle jazz musician. Greg Ruby, a Seattle jazz musician, unearthed this rare archive and performed Waldron’s work and discussed his life, the times, and importance to Seattle Jazz history at this November 2015 History Café.

The Legacy of Seattle Hip-Hop

As a prelude to The Legacy of Seattle Hip-Hop exhibit, Dr. Daudi Abe discussed the Seattle Hip-Hop community, from Seattle’s champion break dance crew, to highly collaborative and diverse performers and DeeJays. Dr. Abe is a professor, writer and historian who has taught classes on culture, race, gender, communication, education, hip-hop and sports, and wrote Emerald Street: A History of Hip-Hop in Seattle 1979-2015.

Uncorking the Past at Seattle's Finntown