Magic City: How the Birmingham Jazz Tradition Shaped the Sound of America

The views and opinions expressed in this presentation do not necessarily reflect those of the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

The Alabama Department of Archives & History (ADAH) continued its 2025 Food for Thought lunchtime lecture series on Thursday, May 15, as Burgin Mathews presented Magic City: How the Birmingham Jazz Tradition Shaped the Sound of America. The program was held in the ADAH’s Joseph M. Farley Alabama Power Auditorium in Montgomery and livestreamed.

Burgin Mathews is the founding director of the nonprofit Southern Music Research Center, host of The Lost Child radio show, and author of Magic City: How the Birmingham Jazz Tradition Shaped the Sound of America. A native of Montgomery, he currently resides in Birmingham. Food for Thought 2025 is sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Alliance and the Friends of the Alabama Archives.

In his presentation, Mathews uncovered the untold story of Birmingham’s historic and influential jazz community. In the early 20th century, John T. "Fess" Whatley, a pioneering music educator at Industrial High School, established a rigorous training program that produced generations of exceptional musicians. Many of Whatley’s students went on to shape the sound and culture of American jazz, from its vaudeville beginnings through the swing era and into the bebop revolution and beyond. Through archival photographs and historic recordings, Mathews brings this rich legacy to life, illuminating one of the essential yet often overlooked communities in the history of American music.

The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the state’s government-records repository, a special-collections library and research facility, and home to the Museum of Alabama, the state history museum. It is located in downtown Montgomery, directly across Washington Avenue from the State Capitol. The Museum of Alabama is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 to 4:30. The EBSCO Research Room is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30 to 4:30. To learn more, visit www.archives.alabama.gov or call (334) 242-4364.