John Szwed Named New Director of Center for Jazz Studies

John F. Szwed , professor of music and jazz studies at Columbia University, has been appointed director of the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia. An anthropologist and jazz scholar, Szwed is the author of the recent biography, Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded the World . His publications range from anthropological studies of Newfoundland and the West Indies to record liner notes and jazz journalism. Szwed has written or edited 15 books, including Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra and Jazz 101 . Doctor Jazz , a book included with the CD set, J elly Roll Morton: The Complete Library of Congress Recordings by Alan Lomax , was awarded a Grammy in 2005. In addition, he has written for The New York Times , The Washington Post , Wire , and other publications in the U.S. and Europe. He is currently general editor of the Jazz Perspectives book series published by The University of Michigan Press.