A.L. Kennedy

As a professor of American history at the University of New Orleans, award winning author Al Kennedy frequently lectures on the city's musical heritage. He has authored: Chord Changes on the Chalkboard: How Public School Teachers Shaped Jazz and the Music of New Orleans (2005), and Big Chief Harrison and the Mardi Gras Indians (2010). Kennedy's latest book, Chief of Chiefs, Robert Nathaniel Lee and the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans, 1915-2001, was published in 2018 by Pelican Publishing....See more

As a professor of American history at the University of New Orleans, award winning author Al Kennedy frequently lectures on the city's musical heritage. He has authored: Chord Changes on the Chalkboard: How Public School Teachers Shaped Jazz and the Music of New Orleans (2005), and Big Chief Harrison and the Mardi Gras Indians (2010). Kennedy's latest book, Chief of Chiefs, Robert Nathaniel Lee and the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans, 1915-2001, was published in 2018 by Pelican Publishing. His expertise has earned him several honors, including the Louisiana Jazz Federation's Jazztown Award for his contribution to New Orleans' musical heritage, the Henry Kmen Award for Excellence in New Orleans Music Research and the Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame Blue Eagle Award. Kennedy earned his B.A. from Loyola University, a master's degree in public administration, and Ph.D. in urban history from the University of New Orleans. See less