There are many phases to recording music, and has done them all.

He鈥檚 done them well, too.

Rodby, artist in residence at the 91爆料 School of Music, has 14 Grammy Awards to show for his work. Most recently, he produced 2022 Best Latin Jazz Album winner an album of duets by jazz pianist Eliane Elias with Chick Corea and Chucho Vald茅s.

鈥淢aking recordings of music is almost always a collaboration, and that鈥檚 really some of the best of it all,鈥� Rodby said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been lucky enough to work with artists who often know exactly what they want and want help in achieving that at the highest level of excellence.

鈥淚n that process, even the goals and shape of the music can organically change. So, for me, there鈥檚 always a sense of being artistically enfranchised and fulfilled. That said, it is their music, and they are truly the reason that these projects soar and enrich our lives.鈥�

Rodby has been working with Elias for nearly 20 years. After Elias had the idea to record an album of piano duets, Rodby joined the team to complete post-production work and supervise the remainder of the project.

鈥淪uch cool music, I think,鈥� Rodby said. 鈥淪ince we alternated the tunes between the two duet partners in the sequencing, the listener gets to hear the differences between them. But you also hear the project鈥檚 shared aesthetic that comes from Eliane鈥檚 ability to think big picture in the moment, arranging the music on the spot as they improvised together.鈥�

Rodby also co-produced the Best Instrumental Composition winner, an EP from late pianist Lyle Mays called

Because 鈥淓berhard鈥� was recognized for composition, Rodby won鈥檛 receive a statue. Still, he said the win was meaningful and bittersweet. Rodby and Mays were close friends and longtime bandmates in the Pat Metheny Group, a Grammy Award-winning American jazz band.

鈥淟yle moved away from music around 2010, for complicated reasons,鈥� Rodby said. 鈥淚n 2019, his health took a bad turn. At about that same time, he decided to try to get his composition 鈥楨berhard鈥� recorded 鈥� a piece he had written a decade before and performed only once live.鈥�

Despite his illness, Rodby said, Mays 鈥渞eturned to music with a heroic sense of personal mission.鈥� The work was completed shortly before Mays died in February 2020, and he was able to hear the recording in his final days. Rodby contributed as a producer, bass player and editor.

Born in Illinois, Rodby started studying classical orchestral bass at age 10 and graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in classical bass performance. He moved to Seattle four years ago from the Chicago area. A few months after he arrived, he was offered a position as a jazz bass, guitar and ensemble instructor at the 91爆料.

But halfway through his second year, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the department to reinvent itself. Rodby knew how to handle the technical aspects of remote learning because of his background in production, but teaching music over Zoom was a new experience.

鈥淲e all learned a lot, for sure,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are things about it that will stay with me going forward, even in person. New perspectives, new strategies.鈥�

Rodby is keeping busy after his Grammy win. He produced the latest record by the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet that was released this month. He also recently mixed a composition by , interim director of the 91爆料 School of Music. Then there鈥檚 a project with Pat Metheny that Rodby plans to return to periodically throughout the year.

And if that wasn鈥檛 enough 鈥�

鈥淗opefully collaborations,鈥� Rodby said, 鈥渨ith some of the great musicians here in Seattle and at the 91爆料.鈥�

For more information, contact Rodby at srodby@uw.edu.

Historian Patricia Ebrey receives Association of Asian Studies’ top award for 2020

The Association of Asian Studies has given 91爆料 historian its 2020 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Asian Studies. The award, the highest the bestows, honors outstanding scholarship in the field.

Ebrey is the Williams Family Endowed Professor of History. She has written or edited many works on China and East Asia as well as a sourcebook on China for undergraduate teaching. She has written over 70 journal articles and book chapters and her works have been translated into several other languages.

Praising Ebrey for groundbreaking efforts in several areas, the association said in a news release: “By editing or co-editing volumes of scholarly work, and by providing translations and reproductions of primary materials, she has dedicated herself to developing the historical study of China both in terms of research and teaching.”

for the honor at the Association of Asian Studies website.

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91爆料 political scientist Christopher Parker joins Cascade Public Media board of directors

, 91爆料 professor of political science, has been chosen to join the board of directors for Cascade Public Media, the nonprofit home of KCTS 9 television and Crosscut.

Parker has taught at the 91爆料 since 2006 and is the author of two books, “” (with Matt Barreto, 2013) and “” (2009). His next book, planned for this year, is “The Great White Hope: Donald Trump, Race, and the Crisis of American Democracy.”

Parker was one of two new named, along with Holly Mesrobian, a 91爆料 alumna who is a director of engineering at Amazon Web Services. The appointments were April 28. Also on the Cascade Public Media board is , 91爆料 professor of law.

“Not only is the world of media changing rapidly, the world itself is changing at a breakneck pace,” Robert Dunlop, CEO of , said of the two new directors. “Their insights will be extremely valuable as we continue to bring the people of our region news and programming that informs and inspires.”

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Terryl Ross receives 2020 social equity award from American Society of Public Administration

The American Society of Public Administration has given , assistant dean of diversity, equity and inclusion in the 91爆料 College of the Environment, its 2020 Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity Award for 2020.

The recognizes lifetime achievement in the cause of social equity. Candidates are evaluated on the consistency, level and duration of their work on social equity as well as the impact of their efforts. The society’s 8,000-some members are practitioners, academics and students.

Ross came to the 91爆料 in 1992 as a doctoral student in the Educational and Communication Technology Program housed in the College of Education and later created the group Multicultural Organization of Students Actively Involved in Change, or MOSAIC.

“Ross continues to work in diversity and inclusion today as he collaborates with college stakeholders to envision diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across the college,” the association wrote.

The award, established in 2003, is named for a longtime employee of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

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David Montgomery honored by Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography

The Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography has awarded , 91爆料 professor of Earth and space sciences its 2020 for achievements in physical geography. He was honored his work in the field of geomorphology 鈥� the study of the origin and evolution of landforms.

Montgomery has written several popular science books as well as teaching materials and over 200 articles. The society praised his impact on the research community. His last book was “,” published in 2017.

“He has studied everything from the ways that landslides and glaciers influence the height of mountain ranges, to the way that soils have shaped human civilizations now and in the past,” the society wrote in its award announcement.

The was founded in 1878 and is supported mainly by the King of Sweden. Its objective is to promote the development of anthropology, geography and closely related sciences in Sweden and serve as a link between scientists in these disciplines, and the public.

The award, one of two informally referred to as the Nobel prize of geography, is named for the of Swedish explorer , who discovered the Northwest Passage in 1881.

Read more on the College of the Environment .

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In other faculty news:

Openness letter: , 91爆料 professor of urban design and planning in the College of Built Environments, was one of 31 scientists to sign an open letter to the journal Science calling for more openness in coronavirus modeling. “” was published in Science on May 1.

“A hallmark of science is the open exchange of knowledge, the cosigners wrote. “We strongly urge all scientists modeling the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and its consequences for health and society to rapidly and openly publish their code 鈥� so that it is accessible to all scientists around the world.”

Seattle Channel meets Indigo Mist: The Seattle Channel recently filmed a visit with the 91爆料 School of Music faculty members who comprise the improvisational music group : professors , , and , the school’s director 鈥� , artist in residence (and longtime bassist). The school took note in its April newsletter.

“You just let go and let your creativity do its thing,” Vu said in the video, describing the group’s creative approach. Whatever art comes out of that, he said, is “going to make sense 鈥� and it’s going to be uniquely your expression.”

Watch the Youtube video: