If you're interested in interdisciplinary work, UMass has a lot of faculty working from Marxist perspectives. Just off the top of my head: Jordana Rosenberg (English), Sut Jhally (Communications), and multiple professors in the Economics department. Regarding your current interests, Ron Welburn (English) has published on topics concerning Jazz. The American Studies track of the English PhD would certainly encourage your interdisciplinary interests, however, I don't think the UMass English dept. is the most fitting place for someone interested in contemporary literature and culture.