David Luhrssen

Milwaukee

Art and Entertainment Editor at Shepherd Express

Author, Critic, Historian, Speaker. The original founder and Entertainment Editor of the Shepherd Express, Wisconsin's largest independent weekly newspaper.

Featured in: Favicon

shepherdexpress.com Favicon

foreignaffairs.com Favicon

sacurrent.com Favicon

historynet.com Favicon

wuwm.com

64parishes.org Favicon

warfarehistorynetwork.com Favicon

mirrorspectator.com Favicon

wisconsinmuslimjournal.org Favicon

einnews.com + 3 more

Articles

Wisconsin Writer Explores ‘100 Heroes’ Who Changed the World

1 week ago | shepherdexpress.com | David Luhrssen

Dean Robbins wasn’t born in Wisconsin but has lived here for half his life by now and became familiar with Badger history through his long tenure at Madison’s alternative paper, Isthmus. Marveling at the number of well-known Wisconsinites, he assembled several dozen mini biographies into his new book, Wisconsin Idols: 100 Heroes Who Changed the State, the World, and Me. Robbins will speak about Wisconsin Idols at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23 at Boswell Book Company.
Steve Meisner and the Legacy Band: A New CD titled "Legacy" - Whitewater Banner

1 week ago | whitewaterbanner.com | David Luhrssen

Steve Meisner, a Whitewater resident until his passing in 2023, per his obituary “was a multi-talented musician, entertainer, composer, and arranger who traveled the country and world with his band.” A master on the accordion, Meisner was particularly known for his polka band. An article on the Shepherd Express dated April 11 provides a review of a new Steve Meisner and the Legacy Band album titled “Legacy.” Below are some excerpts; the complete article may be viewed from the link above.
Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra Turns … 125 This Year?

1 week ago | shepherdexpress.com | David Luhrssen

The Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra (MMO) traces its origins to 1900, and at 125 years old, it’s outlived every local jazz orchestra and rock band and even makes the Florentine Opera look like newcomers. Nowadays, the mandolin is associated with that hazily drawn genre called Americana. In 1900, it was Italian and other European immigrants who brought the instrument to the fore through mandolin orchestras that sprang up in many American cities.
Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots by Jade Scott

1 week ago | shepherdexpress.com | David Luhrssen

Mary Queen of Scots is legendary as the woman who lost the game of thrones. Imprisoned for 18 years by her cousin, England’s Queen Elizabeth I, she was the center of plots within and beyond the British Isles. Her correspondence was closely monitored. Sometimes servants smuggled letters to the outside world but most of her messages were opened and read by Elizabeth’s spies. Mary resorted to writing in code.
Sax Expat: Don Byas by Con Chapman

1 week ago | shepherdexpress.com | David Luhrssen

Saxophonist Don Byas played behind jazz greats Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton and Count Basie and subbed for many other prominent musicians. He began recording in 1938, logging studio time and earning respected from his peers. Nurtured by swing, Byas was on hand in New York for the birth of bebop and played on hit records yet was eclipsed by other musicians with bigger reputations.
On Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life by Agnes Callard

1 week ago | shepherdexpress.com | David Luhrssen

Socrates must have annoyed most of his fellow Athenians. Little wonder that he was condemned to death by a jury of his peers. He asked too many questions, and he probably asked the men who voted “death”: “What’s so great about the jury system?” With Open Socrates, University of Chicago philosophy professor Agnes Callard gets to the heart of the ancient philosopher’s mission. The “unexamined life isn’t worth living” is a maxim attributed to Socrates, and he meant it.
Steve Meisner and the Legacy Band: Legacy

1 week ago | shepherdexpress.com | David Luhrssen

Over a dozen years before his 2023 death at 62, Whitewater polka bandleader Steve Meisner had the ambition to record an album that represented the breadth of his musical taste and what he enjoyed playing in concert. Though he wasn't able to see that task through to its completion, some friends and admirers have. Legacy is comprised the rudiments of the career-defining statement he was able to track before his passing.
Blue Bossa in the Bronx by Kenny Dorham

1 week ago | shepherdexpress.com | David Luhrssen

Trumpeter Kenny Dorham was respected by fellow musicians, admired by jazz fans and overshadowed by such estimable predecessors as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. Although best known as a sideman, he periodically led his own ensembles, including on this 1967 date at New York’s Blue Morocco nightclub. The previously unissued concert represented several aspects of his repertoire. The bopping pace of “Confirmation” recalls his days with Miles. Eubie Blake’s “Memories of You” is colored by the blues.
Milwaukee is Home to America’s Oldest Urban Little League

1 week ago | shepherdexpress.com | David Luhrssen

James W. Beckum had already left his baseball career behind when he moved to Milwaukee to work at Ladish, but he still played ball. Formerly of the semi-pro, all-Black St. Louis Colts and St. Louis Giants, Beckum joined a Milwaukee County Recreation team that jealously guarded their allotted time in a county park. When inner city kids tried to play baseball on their field, the adult team, armed with a permit, chased them off.
Milwaukee’s Texas Dave ‘Thru the Years’

1 week ago | shepherdexpress.com | David Luhrssen

Singer-songwriter Texas Dave isn’t from the Lone Star State. Dan Matzner was born on Milwaukee’s East Side half a block from where he lives today. But in the late ‘60s, he spent a lot of time in Austin, where he learned about country blues. “I would hitchhike down there and hang around,” he recalls. “Even then, it was a music town.” The Texas moniker sticks to him as he enters his sixth decade as a performer.