Edward B. Hill, Music Professor, Scores Jazz Critics, Labelling Them "Amateur Highbrows"

"Jazz is scorned only by amateur highbrows," maintained Edward B. Hill, '94, professor of Music, in a recent interview with The CRIMSON. Real Jazz, he thinks, should not be considered in depreciatory sense, for in France the only American compositions thought worthy of notice are the popular songs. In the French musical magazines several pages each month are devoted to reviews of American records. Any other American musical offerings are considered as mere reflections of the music of the continent and unworthy of special attention.

Professor Hill, who teaches among other courses the History of Music from the Time of Palestrina to the Present Day", is himself the author of what he terms "Jazz Studies". He first became interested in this type of composition when he wrote his first study for the piano team of Meyer and Patterson, prominent radio and concert artists several years ago.

Despite the success of this initial attempt, he had no intention of writing anything further in this line until he saw a reference to himself in a French work entitled "The Panorama of Contemporary Music" which it was stated that he was the author of "Jazz Studies".

"So", said Hill, "there was nothing for me to do but write some more." He has four completed studies at the present time.

He does not, however, consider himself a full-fledged writer of jazz tunes. "I only wish I were," he said rather ruefully. Instead, he terms his recent efforts as "flirtations with jazz."

Queried as to his future plans in the field of jazz, he stated that perhaps he would arrange his latest study for orchestration