The Bent Twig

1.5 OZ Whiskey Del Bac

0.5 OZ Prickly Pear Syrup

1 shake of bitters, twist of orange, essence of lemon

Tyina Steptoe is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Arizona. She writes and teaches about race, gender, and culture in the United States. Her book, Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City, received the Kenneth Jackson Award for Best Book of 2016 (North American) from the Urban History Association, the 2017 W. Jackson Turrentine Book Prize from the Western History Association, and the 2017 Julia Ideson Award from the Friends of the Texas Room (Houston Metropolitan Research Center).  The book uses music to examine racial complexities, tracing the emergence of Houston's blues and jazz scenes as well as the hybrid forms of these genres that arose when migrants forged shared social space and carved out new communities and politics. She recently appeared in the PBS documentary, Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Her latest project, Jim Crow: Voices from a Century of Struggle, will be published in April 2024.

She hosts a weekly radio program called “Soul Stories” on 91.3 KXCI Tucson on Saturdays, 2-5 pm. “Soul Stories” explores the roots and branches of rhythm and blues music. (Click here to see past episodes)

Derrais (sounds like Paris) Carter is an Associate Professor in the Gender and Women's Studies Department at the University of Arizona.  Derrais is an interdisciplinary scholar and artist who has just published Black Revelry: In Honor of the Sugar Shack, a book-album built around Ernie Barnes’ painting The Sugar Shack. Collaborating with writers, visual artists, dancers and a dj, the projects delights in the ways a painting reflects and animates various renderings of Black social life and intimacy. This project is also the basis for Carter’s limited-run radio show Black Revelry Quiet Storm which aired in Los Angeles, Berlin, and Amsterdam from December 2020 through February 2021. The broadcasts can be found here: gathering| dispersal | frequency.

Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona Ernesto “Neto” Portillo Jr. is a proud Tucsonan.   

Ernesto "Neto" Portillo Jr. has been a volunteer DJ for KXCI-FM for more than 20 years. He currently is one of the hosts of Jazz Sundae and is a frequent substitute host for Sabor Del Barrio and other KXCI programs. He has been listening and exploring Afro-Cuban, Latino jazz and jazz for nearly 50 years. He is a former columnist with the Arizona Daily Star and a former reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune. While in San Diego he initiated the newspaper's coverage of Latino music through album and concert reviews, and interviews with touring musical artists. He currently is the public information officer for the Department of Housing and Community Development for the City of Tucson.

Catalina Foothills High School opened its doors in 1992 and its first graduating class walked in 1996. The school has approximately 1700 students. The school has an award winning band program. For an interesting article about the band program's 25th Anniversary, click here. The Jazz Band is directed by Renee Shane-Boyd who has been a band director in the school district for 41 years. Click here for the school's current webpage.

Salpointe Catholic High School opened in 1950 to 170 students. Tuition was $10 a month. The school now has approximately 1200 students. Click here for more information about the history of the school. The Jazz Band is directed by Jim Howell whose favorite flavor of pop tart, according to an interview with Instrumental Music, is Frosted Cherry. Jim was an early supporter of the Sounds of History concept and the Public History Collaborative is in deep gratitude to him and Ben Teller, a student in the band who also was instrumental in getting this inaugural Sounds of History Event launched.   

Tucson High Magnet School is the oldest high school in the Tucson area. It was established in 1892 and continues to be the largest high school in southern Arizona. Click here to see historic Tucson High yearbooks! The Jazz Band is directed by Morani Sanders. Click here for the school's current webpage. 

Tucson Jazz Institute will provide recordings of its musicians as many of them will be at another event and cannot attend Sounds of History. TJI was established in 2008 and was created to support Tucson area band directors and their programs as well as provide opportunities to middle and high school students across Southern Arizona to develop skills in instrumental jazz performance. Although housed in Utterback Middle School (a TUSD school), TJI is inclusive of all Tucson area districts and attracts students from as far away as Nogales and Sierra Vista. TJI is co-owned by Brice Winston and Scott Black. Click here to learn more about TJI.

After the main event, adult members of the audience were treated to jam session in the Century Room - Morani Sanders who played at the after party is the director of the Tucson High School Jazz Band!