Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Duncan Schiedt Jazz Collection, 1900-2012, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Sponsor:
Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
The collection documents the activities of the Duke Ellington Orchestra under the leadership of both Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington and his son Mercer Ellington. Materials include music manuscripts, business records, lyrics, scripts, and other writings, magazine articles, newspaper clippings and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The Edward and Gaye Ellington collection contains the records of the businesses and material left by their father, Mercer Kennedy Ellington. Ruth Ellington, Duke's sister, and Mercer managed similar aspects of Duke's estate and music. Ruth Ellington managed Tempo Records while Mercer managed Fantasy Records. This collection indicates that there was a distinct line of demarcation between Fantasy Records and Tempo Records. If there were issues of copyright or contractual agreements, the collection contains paperwork covering the matter. There are, however, some overlaps in material particularly in the music manuscripts, photographs and personal papers relating to the Ellington family. The collection is divided into eight series and includes music manuscripts, programs, awards, business records, photographs, slides, correspondence, contracts, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, press releases, catalogues lyrics, scripts and handwritten notes.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight series.
Series 1: Music, Scripts and Compositional Materials, 1928-1974, undated
Subseries 1.2: Published Song Books, 1944, undated
Subseries 1.3: Oversize Scores, undated
Subseries 1.4: Untitled Music Manuscripts, undated
Subseries 1.5: Notes, Scripts, and Compositional Materials, 1963-1967, undated
Series 2: Personal Papers, 1899-1980, undated
Series 3: Photographs, 1933-1974, undated
Series 4: Business Records, 1959-1977, undated
Series 5: Correspondence, 1959-1975, undated
Series 6: Performance Materials, 1957-1978, undated
Series 7: Publicity, 1934-1981, undated
Series 8: Awards and Recognition, 1962-1979
Biographical / Historical:
Edward and Gaye Ellington are the children of the late Mercer Kennedy Ellington. The son of jazz great Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington, Mercer continued the musical family legacy as a trumpet player, pianist and composer. A musician from a young age, Mercer led his own bands, as well as his father's Duke Ellington Orchestra. Edward, who played the guitar, often traveled with his grandfather and father on tour. After Duke's passing, Mercer inherited leadership responsibilities of the orchestra. Edward then became a member of the band and continued to work with his father on the road. Mercer managed and controlled Mercer Records and Fantasy Records, and eventually managed Ellington Productions, Incorporated and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In 2003, Edward and Gaye founded the Duke Ellington Legacy Band. Shortly after the success of the new band, Edward and Gaye created the Duke Ellington Legacy Big Band, an eighteen piece ensemble dedicated to the Ellington sound. The Legacy also produces educational curricula and develops programming and lecture series for the public.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Duke Ellington Collection (AC0301)
Ruth Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0415)
Provenance:
Collection donated by Edward K. and Gaye Ellington on October 12, 1999
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but copyright held by the donors. The Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Citation:
Edward and Gaye Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Sponsor:
Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
Collection documents Willie Smith's career as a musician and arranger between 1945 and 1958.
Scope and Contents:
The Willia Smith Collection consits of correspondence, event programs, a periodical entitled Musikkunde in beispielen, thirty-siz black and white photograph, and nine music arrangements documenting Smith's career as a musician and arranger between 1945 and 1958.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into three series.
Series 1: Music Manuscripts, 1945-1947
Series 2: Photographs, 1938-1958
Series 3: Ephemera, 1945-1987
Biographical / Historical:
Willie Smith, aleading alto saxophonist and arranger of the swing period, was born in Charkeston, South Carolina on November 25, 1910 and died in Los Angeles on March 7, 1967. He attended Nashville Tennessee's Fisk University during the 1920s and played with the Jimmy Lunceford Orchestra between 1929 and 1942. After a brief period performing with Charlie Spivak's band between 1942 and 1943, Smith began his tenure with the Harry James Orchestra in 1944. Hew remained with the Harry James Orchestra until 1964 with brief interruptions between 1951 and 1953 performing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Jazz at the Philharmonic, and leading several of his own small ensembles in Los Angeles. In addition to Smith's reputation as a section leader and soloist, he is best known for his arrangmenets of Sophisticated Lady and Rose Rooom for the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Fischella Smith, August 14, 1990.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but the original and master audiovisual materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Copyright restrictions. Consult the Archives Center at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Paul Ellington, executor, is represented by:
Richard J.J. Scarola, Scarola Ellis LLP, 888 Seventh Avenue, 45th Floor, New York, New York 10106. Telephone (212) 757-0007 x 235; Fax (212) 757-0469; email: rjjs@selaw.com; www.selaw.com; www.ourlawfirm.com.
Collection Citation:
Duke Ellington Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Sponsor:
Processing and encoding partially funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
Primarily audiotapes, sheet music, and photographic images. Also: correspondence, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, itineraries, awards, and ephemera.,Of particular interest are recordings or photographic images, including the personalities listed below, and President and Mrs. Tubman of Liberia; also, two interviews and three recordings of Cat Anderson as guest with various university and college jazz bands.
Arrangement:
Collection is divided into four series.
Series 1: Music
Series 2: Original tapes and recordings
Series 3: Photographs
Series 4: Miscellaneous
Biographical/Historical note:
Cat Anderson (Sept 12, 1916 - April 29, 1981) was one of the premier trumpet players of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Known for his effortless high notes, he was a strong section leader and a great soloist whose style exhibited humor and precision. He grew up in Jenkins= Orphanage in Charleston, SC, received basic music training there, and participated in many of their famous student ensembles. He formed and played with the Cotton Pickers, a group of orphanage teens while still a young man. Before joining Ellington in 1944, he played in several big bands, including Claude Hopkins and Lionel Hampton. Anderson left the Ellington organization from 1947 through 1949 again to lead his own group. From 1959 to1961 and after 1971 Anderson free lanced, working with the Ellington orchestra intermittently. He died in 1981 after receiving honors from the US Air Force, the Prix du Disque de Jazz, and the City of Los Angeles.
Related Archival Materials:
Related artifacts include: awards, plaques, mutes, trumpet mouth pieces, and the Jon Williams/Cat Anderson simulator in the Division of Cultural and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life). See accession: 1998.3074.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the National Museum of American History in January 1998, by Dorothy Anderson, Cat Anderson's widow. It was acquired through negotiations with her, her brother, Mr. John Coffey and her nephew, Andrew Brazington. The materials were picked up from Mr. John Coffey of upper N.W. Washington, DC on January 21, 1998.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Master tapes not available to researchers.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Copyright status of items varies. Signed copies of releases on file.
Performer(s): Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, personnel: Hodges, Hamilton, Gonzalves, Mercer, Rufus Jones, strings
Song Title(s):
1. "I Can't Stop Lovin' You"
2. "Summertime"
3. "Sweet Georgia Brown"
4. "Lover Man"
5. "Mack the Knife"
6. "People"
Video reference copy
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the films are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Sponsor:
America's Jazz Heritage: A Partnership of the The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution provided the funding to produce many of the video master and reference copies.
Descriptive Summary: Feather explains what the Blues are and aren't, includes the Duke Ellington Orchestra performing "Frankie and Johnny" (see 491.20). Also includes Maxine Sullivan perfrorming "St. Louis Blues" from Birth of the Blues (1939) and "Route 66" performed by the King Cole Trio from King Cole and His Trio (1950).
Copyright: 1967
Corporate Creator: Universal Studios, distributed by MCA-TV Performer(s): hosted by Leonard Feather
Video reference copy available.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the films are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Sponsor:
America's Jazz Heritage: A Partnership of the The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution provided the funding to produce many of the video master and reference copies.
Descriptive Summary: 1025f., b&w, an Archives Center compilation reel, note that not all these selections are Soundies
1. Unidentified
Descriptive Summary: a movie excerpt
Copyright: 1944
Corporate Creator:
Producer:
Director:
Performer(s): The Andrews Sisters
Song Title(s): "Shoo, Shoo, Baby"
2. Edna Mae Harris and Slim Thomas, "Legs Ain't No Good"
Copyright:
Corporate Creator: Minoco Pictures, Inc.
Producer:
Director:
Performer(s): Edna Mae Harris, Slim Thomas
Song Title(s): "Legs Ain't No Good"
Descriptive Summary: reverse image, audio is out of synch with film
3. International Sweethearts of Rhythm
Descriptive Summary: see also 491.237
Copyright: 1947
Corporate Creator: Soundies, an Alexander Production
Performer(s): The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Anna Mae Winburn
Song Title(s): "That Man of Mine"
4. "Mama Yo Quero in Portuguese"
Copyright: 1941
Performer(s): unidentified male vocals and dancing
5. Shine
Performer(s): Bubbles singing and dancing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra
6. Musical Madcaps, "Shoot the Liquor to Me, John Boy"
7. Musical Madcaps, "The Rhythm of the Rhythm Band"
8. Fats Waller, "The Joint is Jumpin'"
9. Tommy Reynolds Orchestra and His Orchestra with Sunnie O'Dea in "Smiles"
Copyright: 1942
Corporate Creator: Minoco Productions, Inc.
Performer(s): Tommy Reynolds and His Orchestra, Sunnie O'Dea
Song Title(s): "Smiles", vocals by Reynolds
Video reference copy available.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the films are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Sponsor:
America's Jazz Heritage: A Partnership of the The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution provided the funding to produce many of the video master and reference copies.
The Rex Stewart Papers consist of book manuscripts, scrapbooks, photographs, correspondence, genealogical records, newsclippings, periodicals, and ephemera materials that document the life and career of Rex Stewart, as well as the history of jazz from the perspective of one who witnessed first-hand the genre's "golden era". The collection is organized into four series: Series 1: Book Manuscripts, circa 1950-1972; Series 2: Scrapbooks and Photo Albums, c.1930-1959; Series 3: Photographs, c.1875 and circa 1920-1967; and Series 4: Memorabilia, 1880-1905 and 1924-1988.
Of particular interest are the book manuscripts that were produced from the 1950's until Stewart's death in 1967. These document Stewart's impressions of and interactions with such jazz legends as Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington. Interesting photographic images include "A Great Day in Harlem", taken in 1958, portraits and candid shots of Rex Stewart, Duke Ellington, Benny Carter and others jazz greats, photographs autographed by Rex Stewart, a portrait of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra at Danceland, tintypes of Stewart's family, a photo album and scrapbook documenting Stewart's 1948 tour in Berlin, Germany, and a photo album containing candid photographs of Ellington and Stewart's family. Other materials of interest include Stewart's cabaret card from 1959-1962 and some Stewart family genealogy records from 1880 to 1905.
Overall, the Rex Stewart Papers exist as a unique look into the creative process and life of a leading jazz figure of the 1930's through the 1960's. Stewart's colorful and poetic writing allows the reader to experience first-hand the excitement and honesty of jazz.
Arrangement:
the collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1:
Series 2:
Series 3:
Series 4:
Biographical / Historical:
Rex William Stewart Jr.(1907-1967) was born in Philadelphia on February 22, 1907. He received musical inspiration from his parents, who played piano and sang in both religious and social settings, and from his maternal grandmother, Angelina Denby Johnson, who wrote poetry and hymns. Stewart took up the cornet as a teenager, playing in several small time bands in Washington D.C. and New York. His first big break came in 1926 when he was invited to join the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra as a replacement for Louis Armstrong. However, he did not become a regular member of the orchestra until 1928. Stewart remained with Fletcher Henderson until 1933 when he unsuccessfully tried to form his own band. In 1934, he worked briefly for Louis Russell before being invited to join the Duke Ellington Orchestra. As Ellington's lead cornetist, Stewart became widely known for his Aunique conversational style of playing and experimentation with half-valve effects. He also co-composed several numbers with Ellington including "Boy Meets Horn" and "Morning Glory". In addition, Stewart led small-group recording sessions during the late thirties with Ellington and his fellow sidemen, including Johnny Hodges and Harry Carney.
Rex Stewart left Ellington's orchestra in 1945 and briefly played with Jazz at the Philharmonic. He toured Europe as a soloist and leader of several bands between 1947 and 1951. It was also during this period that Stewart began to lecture and write about jazz. In the fifties and sixties, he entered into semi-retirement in order to concentrate on his writing. Stewart continued to perform periodically with numerous small jazz ensembles on the festival circuit. He was instrumental in the organization and recording of the Fletcher Henderson Reunion band in 1958 and 1959. Stewart died on September 7, 1967 in Los Angeles. A collection of his essays, Jazz Masters of the 30's, was published posthumously in 1972 by Macmillan Publishing Company.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Anne Kennedy Collection, 1959-1967 (AC 506)
Duke Ellington Collection, 1927-1982 (AC 301)
Provenance:
Mrs. Claire Gordon, Stewart's companion, co-writer, and recipient of his estate, donated the Rex Stewart Papers to the National Museum of American History on January 3, 1992 and July 18, 1994.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Reproduction fees for commercial use. All rights transferred to Museum in Deed of Gift.
Collection is open for research. Access and use of audiovisual materials available in the Archives Center reading room or by requesting copies of audiovisual materials at RightsReproductions@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Leonard and Mary Gaskin Papers, 1923-2006, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
