Wendell Morris Logan (November 24, 1940 – June 15, 2010), was an American jazz and concert music
composer who created the jazz department at the
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of ...
.
Biography
Wendell Logan was born in
Thomson, Georgia
Thomson (originally called Slashes) is a city in McDuffie County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,778 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of McDuffie County. Thomson's nickname is "The Camellia City of the South", in honor ...
on November 24, 1940. His first musical studies were with his father, an amateur
alto saxophonist
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...
. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in music in 1962 from the
historically black Florida A&M University
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...
, which he had attended on a football scholarship.
[ At Florida A&M in 1962, Logan heard Igor Stravinsky's '' Firebird Suite'' for the first time. This initial exposure to the ]twelve-tone technique
The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition first devised by Austrian composer Josef Matthias Hauer, who published his "law o ...
led Logan to undertake a path leading to a career as a composer.[Janas, Marci]
"Wendell Logan, Legendary Founder of Oberlin’s Jazz Studies Department, Dies at 69"
Oberlin College News, June 17, 2010. Accessed June 24, 2010. He earned a master's degree in music in 1964 from Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 st ...
and was awarded a Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in music theory and composition in 1968 from the University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...
.[Fox, Margalit]
"Wendell Logan, Composer of Jazz and Concert Music, Dies at 69"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', June 22, 2010. Accessed June 24, 2010.
After graduating from college, Logan served on the faculties of Ball State University, Florida A&M University and Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College.
History
Western Illin ...
, before joining the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1973, where he eventually become chairman of the jazz studies department and professor of African-American music
African-American music is an umbrella term covering a diverse range of music and musical genres largely developed by African Americans and their culture. Their origins are in musical forms that first came to be due to the condition of slaver ...
. When Logan first arrived at Oberlin, jazz was exclusively an extracurricular activity. Dr. Logan began teaching jazz music shortly after joining Oberlin, forming the Oberlin Jazz Ensemble in 1973.[ Logan developed a curriculum for a jazz major in 1989, and by 1991 he helped modify Oberlin's admission standards to allow students to be selected for admission to the conservatory based on their talent as jazz performers.][Wolff, Carlo]
"Wendell Logan, Jazz Composer and Educator, Dies: Logan brought jazz to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music"
''JazzTimes
''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store.
Coverage
After a decade of growt ...
'', June 16, 2010.
In addition to playing soprano saxophone and trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
, Logan composed both jazz and concert music. Among his concert works are the 1989 "Runagate, Runagate" based on a poem by Robert Hayden
Robert Hayden (August 4, 1913February 25, 1980) was an American poet, essayist, and educator. He served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1976 to 1978, a role today known as US Poet Laureate. He was the first African-Ameri ...
about a fugitive slave and "Doxology Opera: The Doxy Canticles" in 2001 which features a libretto by Paul Carter Harrison. Logan's music has been recorded on Orion Records and other labels.[
Logan believed that being described as a "black composer" was a two-edged sword. He would have preferred music by African-American composers to simply be performed alongside works by other composers. Regarding that distinction, he remarked: "No one is asking for a special day: 'Here's the day for black American composers.' That's kind of demeaning. But it's better than nothing".][ On his Oberlin College profile, Logan described ]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 m ...
as "our classical music" and said that it "belongs here just as much as Americans belong on this soil."
He was selected for a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1991.[
A resident of ]Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students.
The town is the birthplace of th ...
, Logan died in Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
at age 69 on June 15, 2010, after suffering a short illness. He was survived by his wife, the former Bettye Reese, as well as by a daughter, a son and four grandchildren.[
]
Selected works
Orchestral
* Concert Music (1963)
* Polyphony I (1968)
* Orbits, sym. band (1982)
* The Drum Major: in memoriam Dr M.L. King (1983)
* Ibo Landing (1994–5)
Vocal
* What time is it? for soprano and piano (1967)
* Songs of our Time for SATB and chamber ensemble (1969)
* 3 Fragments (K. Patchen) for soprano, clarinet, piano, percussion (1974)
* Ice and Fire (M. Evans), song cycle for soprano, baritone, and piano (1975)
* Malcolm, Malcolm for SATB and tape (1976)
* Hughes Set (L. Hughes) for TTB and percussion (1978)
* Dream Boogie for voice and piano (1979)
* Sling Along (J.W. Johnson) for baritone (1982)
* Runagate, Runagate for tenor, flute, clarinet, piano, violin, and violoncello (1990)
* Runagate, Runagate for tenor and orchestra (1993-1994)
* My Lord What a Morning for SATB (1988)
* Variations on Doo-Wah for TTBB (1988)
Chamber and solo instrumental
* Ww Qnt (1964)
* Stanza for 3 Players for flute, violoncello, and piano (1967)
* Evocation, harmonica, tape, (1973)
* Music for Brass for brass quintet (1976)
* Song of the Witchdoktor for flute, violoncello, piano, and percussion (1976)
* 3 Pieces for violin and piano (1977)
* Duo Exchanges for clarinet and percussion (1978)
* To Mingus for vibraphone (1979)
* Praeludium for wind ensemble (1983)
* 4 Miniatures for saxophone (1985)
* Children's Pieces (1989)
* Roots, Branches, Shapes and Shades (of Green) for piano and chamber orchestra (1991)
* Moments for alto flute, piccolo, clarinet and bass clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, and violoncello (1992)
Multimedia
* From Hell to Breakfast for jazz quintet, speakers, lights, tape (1973)
* Noah (A Jazz Cant.) for narrator, chorus, dancers, jazz quintet, tape (1983)
* Return of the Collard People for dancers, tape (1988)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Logan, Wendell
1940 births
2010 deaths
American jazz composers
American male jazz composers
American jazz soprano saxophonists
American male saxophonists
American jazz trumpeters
American male trumpeters
Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state)
Ball State University faculty
Florida A&M University alumni
Florida A&M University faculty
People from Oberlin, Ohio
Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumni
University of Iowa alumni
Western Illinois University faculty
Jazz musicians from Ohio
Oberlin Jazz Ensemble members
20th-century American saxophonists