“On the Books: Using Jazz Archives and Libraries"
Wednesday, May 19, 6-8pm
New School jazz performance space
(55 W. 13 St., 5th floor, New York, NY)
This panel might be more accurately titled “On the Books, Recordings, Sheet Music, Manuscripts, Memorabilia and the assorted other materials in jazz archives and libraries." At some point in their work, most jazz journalists - as well as musicians and students - need to draw on materials not in their direct possession. This panel seeks to address strategies for researchers and locally available resources at three prominent institutions: the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University's Newark campus, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, and the Louis Armstrong House & Archives at Queens College. The panel will be moderated by Lara Pellegrinelli and includes esteemed guests: Peggy Alexander (Armstrong Archive), George Boziwick (NYPL), pianist/researcher Frank Kimbrough, Annie Kuebler (IJS), and Dan Morgenstern (IJS).
Beyond research, our panelists will make a pitch for you to become part of the community represented in their collections. Jazz history is largely dependent on what we leave behind for future researchers. Journalists, have you ever considered finding a home for your old interview cassettes and transcripts? Musicians, do you keep copies of your publicity materials and recordings in a safe place, one where future generations will have access to them? The panel will address being your own archivist and making donations to the above institutions.
For further information call (212) 533-9495 The New School Jazz performance space is located at 55 W. 13 St., 5th floor, New York, NY (just east of 6th Avenue, accessible via 14th st. stops on the 1, 9, A, B, D, F and 6 lines). The event is free and open to the public.
Panelist bios:
Peggy Alexander , the Curator of the Louis Armstrong House & Archives at Queens College, is responsible for preserving and caring for Louis Armstrong's personal belongings as well as building the Archives' growing collection of Armstrong materials. In addition, Mrs. Alexander curates three exhibits per year at the Louis Armstrong Archives, and regularly gives presentations on Louis Armstrong and the Louis Armstrong House & Archives. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Music performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and a Masters of Library Science from the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at Queens College. Before her work as the Curator of the Louis Armstrong House & Archives, she was the Archivist at The Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the second largest sound archives in the United States. She is an active member of the Society of American Archivists and the Music Library Association.
George Boziwick has been Curator of the American Music Collection in the Music Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center since 1991. He has contributed articles to various journals including American Music, the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, American Organist, The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, and the forthcoming Routledge Encyclopedia of the Blues. He holds a Master of Library Service degree from Columbia University. He has been an active member of the Music Library Association and is on the Board of the Society for American Music. Mr. Boziwick is also a composer. He has had works commissioned and performed by the Dorian Wind Quintet, Goliard Concerts, The National Association of Composers, and the Newport Music Festival. His music has been recorded on the Opus One label, and his work Magnificat will be published by C.F. Peters in 2004. In addition, Mr. Boziwick plays a mean harmonica, and has performed with a number of bands and on recordings featuring blues and R & B musicians such as Bob Gaddy, Larry Dale, and Roscoe Gordon.
Frank Kimbrough , a composer-in-residence of the Jazz Composers Collective since its inception in 1992, has been active on the New York music scene for more than twenty years. As a leader, he has recorded for Palmetto, OmniTone, Soul Note, and Mapleshade. He has appeared on such popular NPR shows as Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz and All Things Considered, his work cited in the Downbeat Critics Poll for Talent Deserving Wider Recognition (2001-2003). Kimbrough has received grants from Meet the Composer, The National Endowment for the Arts, and Chamber Music America's Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project. In addition to his work as a leader, he co-leads the Collective's Herbie Nichols Project, which has recorded three critically acclaimed CDs, and toured internationally. He also plays in many Collective groups, including Ben Allison's Medicine Wheel, Ted Nash and Still Evolved, and with ensembles led by Michael Blake and Ron Horton. He has also played with the Maria Schneider Orchestra since 1993. Frank's latest CD is Lullabluebye (Palmetto), with bassist Ben Allison and drummer Matt Wilson.
In November 2000, Annie Kuebler began work at the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University as archivist for the Mary Lou Williams Collection. Ms. Kuebler now serves as the Institute's Collections Manager, currently concentrating on the James P. Johnson and John Benson Brooks Collections. Before moving to Newark, Ms. Kuebler worked as an archivist for the Smithsonian Institution's American History Museum from 1988-2000. Her accomplishments include the organization of the music manuscripts in the Duke Ellington Collection, and establishing relationships with such donors as Benny Carter and Bill Holman. Ms. Kuebler has presented research papers to both domestic and international audiences, assisted jazz orchestras in preparing performances and contributed program notes to Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center.
Dan Morgenstern has been the Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies (IJS) at Rutgers University's Newark campus since l976. IJS is the world's largest archival collection of jazz and jazz-related materials, serving as a major resource to the field. Still active as a writer/editor/broadcaster, Morgenstern has served as the editor of Down Beat, Metronome and Jazz Magazine. He has annotated hundreds of albums, winning six Grammy Awards for his efforts. Living with Jazz: A Dan Morgenstern Reader, will be published by Pantheon Books this fall. His Jazz People (1976, with photographer Ole Brask) is still in print as a Da Capo paperback.
Lara Pellegrinelli is a Ph.D. candidate in ethnomusicology at Harvard University and a music journalist. In 1997, she moved to New York City and began combining research on contemporary jazz vocalists with variety of writing assignments. Her work has appeared in such publications as The New York Times, The Village Voice, Jazz Times, New Music Box, Ms. Magazine, the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, and the African American Lives. Vocalists Andy Bey, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Jon Hendricks, Shirley Horn, Sheila Jordan, Abbey Lincoln, Mark Murphy, Anita O'Day, Jimmy Scott, and Cassandra Wilson count among her interview subjects. She expects to complete her dissertation, “The Song is Who? Beyond Doubleness in Contemporary, Mainstream Jazz Singing," by August 2004.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
