Established | 1988 |
---|---|
Location | Loughton Library, Traps Hill, Loughton, IG10 1HD |
Coordinates | 51°38′57″N0°03′32″E / 51.6492°N 0.059°E |
Public transit access | Loughton tube station |
Website | nationaljazzarchive |
The National Jazz Archive is a collection of materials pertaining to jazz and blues that is kept at the Loughton Library in Essex, England. The archive was founded by British trumpeter Digby Fairweather in 1998 and contains visual and print materials from the 1920s to the present. [1]
Patrons of the archive have included Baroness Amos, John Altman, Liane Carroll, Deirdre Cartwright, Gary Crosby, Paul Jones, Soweto Kinch, Cleo Laine, Michael Parkinson, Courtney Pine, John Prescott, Clare Teal, Kate Westbrook, and Mike Westbrook. [1]
In 2011 the Archive was awarded a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The grant enabled the cataloguing and digitisation of a substantial proportion of the collection, as well as a learning programme for schools and young people. [2]
The National Jazz Archive is a registered charity and relies on support from donations and volunteers.
The National Jazz Archive holds more than 4,000 reference books, specialist periodicals and bulletins. It also tells the story of jazz and blues in the UK through photographs, printed articles, memorabilia, artworks and personal papers. [3]
The archive has built up a collection of books on jazz, blues, popular music and dance. Books date from 1914 to recent publications on the subject of jazz. Rarities include two early books on jazz: R.W.S. Mendl's The Appeal of Jazz (1927) and Stanley R. Nelson's All About Jazz (1934). Duplicate books are distributed to library outreach partners at institutes of higher education throughout the UK. All books are available for visitors to browse.
The archive also holds more than 800 journals dating from 1927 to the present. They reflect historical, cultural, social, and aesthetic developments in jazz. Although the archive holds an extensive collection of rare British journals, it also holds publications from around the world, including important titles from the US and Europe. These are a vital resource for those interested in knowing more about jazz and related popular music.
The archive also holds a poster collection documenting a wide range of promotional material. These include posters from major and small-scale British jazz festivals and concerts, international jazz events, and posters promoting album releases.
Important donations to the archive include unique items such as correspondence, written material and photographs. These belonged to eminent jazz musicians, enthusiasts, and professionals in the music industry. Of particular significance, the archive holds the collections of Mike Westbrook (pianist, composer and arranger), Ian Carr (trumpeter, composer, writer and educator), Charles Fox (author and broadcaster), Ken Colyer (trumpeter and band leader), John Cumming of Serious Music and Johnny Simmen (Swiss jazz historian).
The National Jazz Archive runs a popular talks programme featuring leading musicians and personalities from the British jazz scene. Past speakers have included Michael Parkinson, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber, Sir John Dankworth, and Dame Cleo Laine.
Other events featuring talks and jam sessions have included musicians such as Buddy Greco, Alan Barnes, Paul Jones, John Altman, Roy Williams, and Simon Spillett.
The National Jazz Archive has online learning resources for schools and also participates in Heritage Open Days and has a presence at national jazz festivals.
On 2 June 2016 its founder Fairweather launched a new charity named The Jazz Centre (UK). [4] The newer charity celebrates the music's heritage, art and memorabilia and actively supports and promotes contemporary performance and education. Its library was founded using overstock from the National Jazz Archive.
Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth is an English singer and actress known for her scat singing. She is the widow of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth and the mother of bassist Alec Dankworth and singer Jacqui Dankworth.
Chetham's Library in Manchester, England, is the oldest free public reference library in the English-speaking world. Chetham's Hospital, which contains both the library and Chetham's School of Music, was established in 1653 under the will of Humphrey Chetham (1580–1653), for the education of "the sons of honest, industrious and painful parents", and a library for the use of scholars. The library has been in continuous use since 1653. It operates as an independent charity.
Beecroft Art Gallery is an art gallery in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. The gallery is housed in the former municipal central library that opened in 1974 in the brutalist style as part of Southend Civic Centre. The Beecroft Art Gallery has a busy programme of changing exhibitions of art, photography and fashion. On the ground floor, the gallery presents temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary artists, focusing on the work of emerging and established local artists. On the first floor, visitors can see works from the permanent collection and exciting fashion exhibitions. In the basement of the building is the charity The Jazz Centre UK.
Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE, also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he was a music educator and also her music director.
Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record "Confessin' that I Love You" as he passed by a shop window.
British jazz is a form of music derived from American jazz. It reached Britain through recordings and performers who visited the country while it was a relatively new genre, soon after the end of World War I. Jazz began to be played by British musicians from the 1930s and on a widespread basis in the 1940s, often within dance bands. From the late 1940s, British "modern jazz", highly influenced by American bebop, began to emerge and was led by figures such as Sir John Dankworth, Tony Crombie and Ronnie Scott, while Ken Colyer, George Webb and Humphrey Lyttelton played Dixieland-style Trad jazz. From the 1960s British jazz began to develop more individual characteristics and absorb a variety of influences, including British blues, as well as European and World music influences. A number of British jazz musicians have gained international reputations, although the music has remained a minority interest there.
Alexander William Tamba Dankworth is an English jazz bassist and composer.
Claude "Fiddler" Williams was an American jazz violinist and guitarist who recorded and performed into his 90s. He was the first guitarist to record with Count Basie and the first musician to be inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.
Guy Jeffrey Barker, is an English jazz trumpeter and composer.
Richard John Charles "Digby" Fairweather is a British jazz cornetist, author and broadcaster.
The Bull's Head, also known as The Bull, is a pub in Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It hosts live music in an attached music room that has a seated capacity of 70 people.
Horsham Museum is a museum at Horsham, West Sussex, in South East England. It was founded in August 1893 by volunteers of the Free Christian Church and became part of Horsham District Council in 1974. It is a fully accredited museum and serves both Horsham and its district with the support of the Friends of Horsham Museum and an active volunteer base.
Jacqueline Caryl Dankworth is a British jazz singer. She is the daughter of jazz singer Cleo Laine and musician John Dankworth.
The Australian Jazz Museum (AJM), incorporating the Victorian Jazz Archive (VJA), is located in Wantirna, Victoria. It is an incorporated association arising out of a meeting held in Sydney on 23 June 1996 to address the growing concern among the jazz community that the rich Australian jazz heritage was at risk of being lost.
Sidney Denis Preston was a British record producer, recording studio owner, radio presenter and music critic. He was particularly influential in the British jazz and associated skiffle scenes from the 1940s to the 1960s.
Frank Holder was a Guyanese jazz singer and percussionist. He was a member of bands led by Jiver Hutchinson, Johnny Dankworth and Joe Harriott.
The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre is "one of Europe's leading specialist libraries on migration, race and ethnicity" open to members of the public as well as to students and researchers. It increases access to and visibility of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) histories with a growing archive of material relating to the local area. Its sister organisation, the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Education Trust offers advice, training, networking opportunities, project support, exhibitions, publications and events to help community organisations to record and share their heritage. The Centre is part of the University of Manchester and is located in Manchester Central Library, where it is part of the Archives+ partnership. The current head of both the Centre and the Trust is Dr Safina Islam, who was appointed in March 2019.
John Jansson is a British conductor, composer, arranger and pianist.
NIVAL (National Irish Visual Arts Library) is a public research resource which is dedicated to the documentation of twentieth- and twenty-first-century Irish visual art and design. It collects, stores and makes available for research documentation of Irish art and design in all media. NIVAL's collection policy encompasses Irish art and design from the entire island, Irish art and design abroad, and non-Irish artists and designers working in Ireland. NIVAL is sustained by material contributions from artists, arts organisations and arts workers. Information is also acquired from galleries, cultural institutions, critics, the art and design industries, and national and local authorities responsible for the visual arts. NIVAL is housed on the campus of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin.
The Jazz Centre UK is a cultural charity organization focused on jazz music, based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. It was established in 2016 by British musician Digby Fairweather. The Centre's published aim is "to preserve, promote, and celebrate jazz music". In 2023, it renewed its relationship with Southend City Council and continues to operate from the Beecroft Art Gallery. The Centre houses a collection of jazz LPs, offers a live music program, and displays heritage and memorabilia such as Louis Armstrong's trumpet, the Humphrey Lyttelton collection, and Sir John Dankworth's first piano. The live music program includes performances by both international artists, like Daryl Sherman, and emerging musicians such as Emma Rawicz.