Texas Monthly, NPR, The Wall Street Journal and London’sTelegraph rarely agree on much. But each has recommended John Szwed’s new biography, Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded The World. Lomax, the intrepid collector of folk music, was called a ‘missionary’ by Bob Dylan for his work, and among many other accomplishments launched the careers of giants like Muddy Waters, Leadbelly, and Woody Guthrie.

On Sunday, March 6^{th, 2011} Professor Szwed departed the hallowed halls of Columbia University, where he is a member of the Department of Music, to visit Brooklyn’s Columbia Street.  There, at New York’s greatest old-time folk music venue, Jalopy Theatre, he read from his biography and answered questions about this important figure in the history of the world’s music.