Patrick Burke

Patrick Burke is Professor and Chair of the Department of Music at Washington University in St. Louis. He holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BA in music from University of Pennsylvania. His research examines jazz, popular music, and the intersection of music with racial ideology.

He authored two books: Come In and Hear the Truth: Jazz and Race on 52nd Street (2008) and Tear Down the Walls: White Radicalism and Black Power in 1960s Rock (2021). His publications analyze musical scenes from 1930s jazz clubs to 1960s rock, exploring themes of race, masculinity, and radicalism.

Burke received fellowships from the American Musicological Society, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As a performer, he has played guitar in Javanese gamelan and Ugandan amadinda ensembles.