Samuel Jones: The Uncompromising Life and Music of an American Composer

Pickett, Susan E.; Scarborough, Douglas

ISBN 10: 1496863542 / ISBN 13: 9781496863546

Published by University Press of Mississippi, 2026

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 407899774

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Samuel Jones: The Uncompromising Life and Music of an American Composer
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1496863542
• ISBN 13: 9781496863546
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Samuel Jones: The Uncompromising Life and Music of an American Composer traces the extraordinary life and career of classical composer Samuel Jones, who, at age ninety, continues to write music that resonates with audiences around the world. Honored with the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017, Jones joins the ranks of Eudora Welty, Leontyne Price, and Morgan Freeman—Mississippi luminaries who made a lasting cultural impact.

Drawing on more than two hundred hours of recorded conversations, authors Susan E. Pickett and Douglas Scarborough present a vivid, chronological account of Jones’s life—from his Mississippi childhood and early training to his studies with composer Howard Hanson, and on to his influential roles as conductor, educator, and founding dean of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.

The book follows Jones’s career through some of the most turbulent decades in classical music, showing how his refusal to abandon audience connection—amid an era of avant-garde dominance—ultimately ensured the enduring relevance of his work. As resident composer of the Seattle Symphony, Jones reached new creative heights, and this book devotes particular attention to this fruitful period, including the creation of his monumental second oratorio. Combining historical context, personal reflection, and musical insight, Samuel Jones reveals a composer whose dedication, resilience, and belief in the power of accessible, emotionally rich music helped shape American classical music.

About the Authors

Susan E. Pickett is Catharine Chism Professor of Music, Emerita at Whitman College. She is a music historian, theorist, violinist, author of Marion and Emilie Frances Bauer: From the Wild West to American Musical Modernism, and coauthor of The Enigma of Grief and the Sublime. She has also authored two encyclopedia articles about women composers, published over forty modern editions of music composed by women between 1700 and 1925, written three music theory books, and released three recordings of music by women composers.

Douglas Scarborough is a former associate professor of music and director of jazz studies at Whitman College, as well as an acclaimed composer, theorist, and multi-instrumentalist, performing on trombone, electric bass, and piano. A native of the Mississippi Delta, he blends jazz with global influences, as showcased in his fourth album, The Color of Angels (Origin Records), a vibrant fusion of jazz and Middle Eastern sounds. A three-time DownBeat jazz award winner, Scarborough has performed across four continents. He continues his work in music education at West Nairobi School in Kenya. Among the musicians in his family, one in particular stands out: Samuel Jones, his uncle.