Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the

history of jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...

and the biographies of its musicians.

Education

In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

; then, from April 1970 to September 1972, he focused on being a professional saxophonist. In October 1972, Kernfeld enrolled at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

, where, in 1975, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in musicology. From 1975 to 1981, he studied at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

where he focused on jazz. Cornell awarded him a master's degree in 1978 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree 1981.

Editing and writing career

Kernfeld was the editor of the first and second editions of ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz,'' the largest jazz dictionary ever published. The first edition was published in 1988. ''Volume 1'' had 670 pages and ''Volume 2'' had 690. John S. Wilson
"Books of The Times; Updating the Minutiae of a Truly American Sound"
''The New York Times'', December 30, 1988. In 2005, Kernfeld initiated a long-term project, transcribing and editing the contents of th
Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program
A number of lengthy interviews are now available at the institution's website. Also in 2005, Kernfeld became a staff archivist in th

at the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

library. In 2012, he taught a writing course at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, "American Jazz Masters in their Own Words." Kernfeld spent a decade researching pop song piracy which culminated him publishing two books, one about

fake books A lead sheet or fake sheet is a form of musical notation that specifies the essential elements of a popular song: the melody, lyrics and harmony. The melody is written in modern Western music notation, the lyric is written as text below th ...

(2006) and the other a general survey (2011). (see book listings below)

Selected published works

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kernfeld, Barry 1950 births Living people Pennsylvania State University faculty Hamilton College (New York) faculty Cornell University faculty University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Davis alumni Cornell University alumni American music educators Music historians Jazz writers American music historians American male non-fiction writers American musicologists Discographers Historians from New York (state)