Kenneth Prouty

ABOUT

Ken Prouty, is associate professor of musicology and jazz studies at the Michigan State University College of Music.

A member of the faculty in musicology and jazz studies since 2007, Ken Prouty received a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh and an MM in jazz studies from the University of North Texas, where he was a member of the acclaimed One O’Clock Lab Band. At Michigan State, Dr. Prouty teaches courses in jazz history, American music, and popular music. His recent research focuses on the nature of jazz community and the culture of jazz pedagogy. He is a frequent presenter at scholarly conferences in the U.S. and Europe, and he has published articles in academic journals such as Critical Studies in Improvisation, Popular Music and Society, and Journal of Music History Pedagogy, to name a few. Dr. Prouty’s first book, Knowing Jazz: Community, Pedagogy, and Canon in the Information Age, is forthcoming from the University Press of Mississippi in early 2012. His current research involves a detailed musical and historical study of early jazz trombone playing, for which he received a grant from MSU’s Humanities and Arts Research Program (HARP).