Dr George Burrows from the University of Portsmouth has won a prestigious award from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC).
Dr Burrows’ book 'The Recordings of Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy' won 'Best Discography' in the 2020 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence in Recorded Sound Research in the category of Best Historical Research in Recorded Jazz.
The ARSC Awards are given to authors of books, articles or recording liner notes to recognise those publishing the very best work today in recorded sound research. In giving these awards, ARSC recognises the contributions of these individuals and aims to encourage others to emulate their high standards and to promote readership of their work.
Dr Burrows, a Reader in Performing Arts, said: “When I was researching and writing 'The Recordings of Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy' I certainly didn't think the book would win any awards because it is on quite a specific topic, even for jazz scholarship. I'm really thrilled that the ARSC have decided that the book is amongst the best historical research on recorded jazz. As the discography nearly didn’t make it into the book, I'm especially surprised and delighted that the award is for excellence in discographical research.
“I hope that this award will bring others to the discussions of race and musical style that are central to the book and are all the more important in view of the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement.”
The awards will be presented at a virtual ceremony during ARSC’s annual conference, which will be held online in May 2021.