Jazz club photographs by noted Jazz photographer Herman Leonard.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 110 black-and-white photographic prints depicting musicians performing at various American and European jazz clubs between 1948 and 1991. The collection contains mounted and unmounted 11" x 14" and 16" x 20" prints made by Leonard. Artists represented among these photographs are Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Lester Young, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk. The photographs are organized into three series: Series 1: 11"x 14" prints, Series 2: 16" x 20" prints, and Series 3: Addenda. The series are arranged alphabetically by performer's last name. Unmatted 16" x 20" prints can be found in box 2 but are listed alphabetically by performer.
Biographical / Historical:
Herman Leonard (1923‑2010) was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and served as a military photographer in Burma during World War II. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in photography from Ohio University and began working with Yousuf Karsh, a Canadian portraitist. Settling in New York in 1949, Leonard began photographing jazz musicians at various jazz clubs on Broadway and Fifty‑Second Streets, and in Harlem for such publications as Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Life, Look, Playboy, and Time. He later to Paris to begin a fashion and advertising business. He also continued photographing jazz musicians. In 1988 Leonard presented his first exhibition, "Images of Jazz," in London. This show established his reputation as a leading photographer of jazz and sparked further shows and publications.
Provenance:
The Herman Leonard Photographs were donated to the National Museum of American History by Mr. Leonard on December 17, 1991 and in 2006.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
The Archives Center does not own the rights to the Leonard photographs. All requests for permission to use these photographs for non‑museum purposes must be addressed to: Herman Leonard Photography, LLC, 530 South Lake Avenue #503, Pasadena, CA 91101 (818) 509-8987.
Publicity photographs of musicians and entertainers, mostly jazz musicians, such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie, but including many rock and even a few classical performers. The collection also contains tape recorded radio interviews conducted between 1970 and 2003. In addition there are posters relating to musical performances.
Scope and Contents:
This collection was formed by W. Royal Stokes in the course of his professional work as a music and arts critic. It is composed primarily of publicity portraits of musical performers, both single acts and groups. The emphasis is on jazz musicians and singers, although many rock stars and groups, and other popular musical performers are included. Even a few classical musicians are represented. The pictures are primarily mass-produced black and white publicity photographs distributed to newspapers, writers, etc., by agents for entertainment personalities. Some prints were made from the original negatives, while others clearly were made from copy negatives after typography was stripped together with a print and re-photographed. However, there are some rarer original photographs included in the collection, such as personal color snapshots, higher quality prints by art photographers, etc. Nearly all the prints are unmounted, and are 8 x 10 inches or smaller in size. The bulk of the photographs date from circa 1970 to 2000, however, a number of the earlier photographs are included as well as slightly later examples.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into nine series.
Series 1, Photographs of Musicians and Ensembles, circa 1970-2000; undated
Subseries 1.1, Musicians and Ensembles
Subseries 1.2, Recording Company Photographs
Subseries 1.3, Unidentified Musicians
Series 2, Photographs of Performances, 1987-2002; undated
Subseries 2.1, Music Festivals, 1987-2002; undated
Subseries 2.2, Concerts, Music Clubs and Other Venues, 1920s-1940s and circa 1980s-1990s; undated
Series 3, Formal and Informal Groups, circa 1980s-2000; undated
Series 4, Photographs of Musicians in Films, Radio, Television and Theater, 1940s-2000; undated
Series 5, Photographs of Subjects and Products related to Musicians and Music, 1970-2000; undated
Series 6, Photographs of Non-Musicians, circa 1980s-2000; undated
Series 7, Interviews with Musicians, 1970-2003
Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1970-2003
Subseries 8.1, Audio Recordings - Audiocassettes
Subseries 8.2, Audio Recordings-Audiotapes
Series 9, Posters, 1976-1990; undated
Biographical / Historical:
Born in Washington, D.C., W. Royal Stokes served in the Army and then embarked on an academic career, teaching at the University of Pittsburgh, Tufts University, Brock University and the University of Colorado. He left the academic profession in 1969 and become a writer, broadcaster and lecturer, journalist, and critic and authority on jazz music. A follower of jazz since his teens in the 1940s, Stokes has written about music for such publications as Down Beat, Jazz Times, and the Washington Post, and hosted the public radio shows "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say . . ." and "Since Minton's". Today he is the editor of the quarterly Jazz Notes, and is the author of The Jazz Scene: An Informal History From New Orleans to 1990 and Swing Era New York: The Jazz Photographs of Charles Peterson.. He is also the author of Living the Jazz Life: Conversations with Forty Musicians about Their Careers in Jazz (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). Dr. Stokes lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of Ameican History:
Duke Ellington Collection, 1928-1988 (AC0301)
Herman Leonard Photoprints, 1948-1993
Frank Driggs Collection of Duke Ellington Photographic Reference Prints [copyprints], 1923-1972
Jazz Oral History Collection, 1988-1990
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, 1910s-1970s (mostly 1930s-1960s)
Jeffrey Kliman Photographs
Stephanie Myers Jazz Photographs, 1984-1987, 2005
Chico O'Farrill Papers
Paquito D'Rivera Papers, 1989-2000.
Louis Armstrong Music Manuscripts, undated
Tito Puente Papers, 1962-1965.
Audrey Wells "Women in Jazz Radio Series, 1981-1982
Mongo Santamaria Papers, 1965-2001
Ramsey Lewis Collection, 1950-2007
Earl Newman Collection of Monterey Jazz Festival Posters, 1963-2009
James Arkatov Collection of Jazz Photographs, 1995-2003
Francis Wolff Jazz Photoprints, 1953-1966
Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection, circa 1920s-2006
Jazz Oral History Program Collection, 1992-2009
Leslie Schinella Collection of Gene Krupa Materials
Provenance:
Donated by W. Royal Stokes to the Archives Center in 2001.
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.
Topic:
Jazz musicians -- 1950-2000 -- United States Search this
Photographic prints taken by photographer William Claxton (October 12, 1927-October 11, 2008) of jazz musicians.
Scope and Contents:
Collection consists of twenty-eight photographic prints processed in 1999 by a professional laboratory for photographer William Claxton. The prints document jazz artists in recording sessions and performing throughout the United States. It is divided into two series: Series 1, Duke Ellington, 1955-1960, and Series 2, Other Artists, 1955-1970.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into two series.
Series 1: Duke Ellington, 1955-1960
Series 2: Other Artists, 1951-1970
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Duke Ellington Collection, NMAH.AC.0301
William H. Quealy Collection of Duke Ellington Recordings, NMAH.AC.0296
Duke Ellington Oral History Project, NMAH.AC.0368
Billy Strayhorn Ephemera Collection, NMAH.AC.0383
Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera and Related Audio-visual Materials, NMAH.AC.0386
Robert Udkoff Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera, NMAH.AC.0388
Frank Driggs Collection of Duke Ellington Photographic Reference Prints, NMAH.AC.0389
New York Chapter of the Duke Ellington Society Collection, NMAH.AC.O390
Felix Grant Collection, NMAH.AC.0410
Carter Harman Collection of Interviews with Duke Ellington, NMAH.AC.0422
Archives Center Collection of Music Transcriptions of Duke Ellington Compositions, Carter Harman NMAH.AC.0430
Jazz Oral History Collection about Duke Ellington, NMAH.AC.0431
Herman Leonard Photoprints, NMAH.AC.0445
Don Brown Collection of Duke Ellington Recordings, NMAH.AC.0472
Betty McGettigan Collection of Duke Ellington Memorabilia, NMAH.AC.0494
Dr. Theodore Shell Collection of Duke Ellington Ephemera, NMAH.AC.0502
Jay McCarter Phonograph Record Collection, NMAH.AC.0541
Tom Whaley Collection, NMAH.AC.0652
Edward and Gaye Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials, NMAH.AC.0704
Andrew Homzy Collection of Duke Ellington Stock Arrangements, NMAH.AC.0740
John Gensel Collection of Duke Ellington Materials, NMAH.AC.0763
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Publicity Photoprints, Interviews and Posters, NMAH.AC.0766
Milt Gabler Papers, NMAH.AC.0849
Paquito D'Rivera Music Manuscripts and Photograph, NMAH.AC.0891
Charismic Productions Records of Dizzy Gillespie, NMAH.AC.0979
Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection, NMAH.AC.1222
Al Celley Collection of Duke Ellington Materials, NMAH.AC.1240
James Moody Papers, NMAH.AC.1405
Provenance:
The National Museum of American History purchased the collection on March 31, 1999.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Gloves required with unprotected photographs.
Rights:
Copyright restrictions. Contact staff for information.
Topic:
Musicians -- 1950-1960 -- United States Search this
The collection consists of 235 pieces of music ephemera assembled by an anonymous California musicologist over several decades. The contents include such things as concert ticket stubs; show programs; handbills; publicity stills; record store posters; nightclub souvenirs; autographs; contracts, lobby cards; movie stills; postcards; fan and record industry magazines; sheet music; an oversize RKO theatre owners' advertising book for the 1942 sensation "Syncopation," starring Charlie Barnet, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Gene Krupa, et al; and miscellany such as matchbook covers and novelty promotional pieces. There are just a few letters in the collection. The collection contains materials representing both bands and band members, and individual artists. In many cases, there are only one or a few relevant items. Persons and acts represented include: Ray Anthony, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Barnet, Tex Beneke, Les Brown, Dave Brubeck, Cab Calloway, June Christy, Nat King Cole, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Erroll Garner, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Glen Gray, Fletcher Henderson, Woody Herman, Harry James, Louis Jordan, Sammy Kaye, Stan Kenton, Gene Krupa, Kay Kyser, Frankie Laine, Peggy Lee, Guy Lombardo, Vincent Lopez, Jimmy Lunceford, Gordon MacRae, Freddy Martin, Billy May, Johnny Mercer, Glenn Miller, Vaughn Monroe, Gerry Mulligan, Red Norvo, Patti Page, Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Charlie Spivak, Rudy Vallee, Sarah Vaughan, Fred Waring, Chick Webb, Ted Weems, Lawrence Welk, Paul Whiteman, Margaret Whiting, and Benny Goodman. In other cases, the collection contains an item or items (such as menus) that have been autographed. The collection contains autographs or autographed items for the following: Gene Krupa, Jess Stacy, Teddy Wilson, Blue Barron, Eddie Duchin, Shep Fields, Ziggy Elman, Glen Gray Band, Milt Gabler, Horace Heidt, Dick Jurgens, Kay Kyser, Guy Lombardo, Xavier Cugat, Hal McIntyre, Art Mooney, Buddy Morrow, Harry James and "Tiny" Timbrell.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into six series.
Series 1: Magazines, 1939-1950
Series 2: Programs, 1930-1975
Series 3: Publications, 1949-1965
Series 4: Sheet Music, 1935-1943
Series 5: Advertisements, 1932-1954
Series 6: Ephemera, 1938-1953
Provenance:
Purchased at auction by the Archives Center from Cohasco, Inc. in 2016.
Restrictions:
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.
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.
Ella Fitzgerald, often called the "First Lady of Song," was one of the 20th century's most important musical performers. The collection reflects her career and personal life through photographs, audio recordings, and manuscript materials.
Scope and Contents:
The Ella Fitzgerald Papers document the performing and personal life of the "First Lady of Song." The collection contains music manuscripts, sheet music, photographs, scripts, correspondence, clippings, business records, sound recordings and video. The bulk of the materials reflect Fitzgerald's career as a singer and performer. The collection comprises materials found in Ella Fitzgerald's home at the time of her death.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into 10 series.
Series 1: Music Manuscripts and Sheet Music, 1919-1973
Suberies 1.1: Television Shows
Series 2: Photographs, 1939-1990
Subseries 2.1: Ella Fitzgerald Performing Alone
Subseries 2.2: Ella Fitzgerald Performing With Others
Subseries 2.3: Publicity
Subseries 2.4: Ella Fitzgerald With Family, Colleagues, and Friends
Subseries 2.5: Ella Fitzgerald Candid Photographs
Subseries 2.6: Performing Venues
Subseries 2.7: Photographs From Friends and Fans
Series 3: Scripts, 1957-1981
Series 4: Correspondence, circa 1960-1996
Series 5: Business Records, 1954-1990
Series 6: Honorary Degrees and Awards, 1960-1996
Series 7: Concert Programs and Announcements, 1957-1992, undated
Series 8: Clippings, 1949-1997
Subseries 8.1: Magazine Articles, 1949-1997
Subseries 8.2: Newspapers, circa 19650-circa 1990
Series 9: Emphemera, 1950-1996
Subseries 9.1: Album Jackets
Subseries 9.2: Miscellaneous
Series 10: Audiovisual, 1939-1995
Subseries 10.1: Sound Discs: Test Pressings, Transcription Discs, and Performer Copies, 1939-1979
Subseries 10.3: Demonstration Sound Discs: Other Artists
Subseries 10.4: Sound Tapes, 1938-1996
Subseries 10.5: Videotapes, 1967-1999
Subseries 10.6: Reference Tape Cassettes (for 1/4" open reel originals)
Biographical / Historical:
Born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25th, 1918, Ella Fitzgerald was sent to an orphanage in Yonkers, New York at the age of six. In 1934, she was discovered as a singer in New York's famed Apollo Theater Amateur Contest. This led to a stint with drummer Chick Webb's Band, with whom she recorded her first big hit, "A -tisket A-tasket" in 1938.
After Webb died in 1939, Fitzgerald took over leadership of the band for three years, during which time they were featured on a live radio series. She then embarked upon a solo career, which included recording for Decca Records, and in 1946, she began a pivotal association with producer Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic series, which brought her a large international following.
In 1956, Fitzgerald left Decca Records to join Granz's newly formed Verve label. Among her notable Verve recordings were a series of "songbooks" featuring the work of major American composers such as Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Harold Arlen as well as classic collaborations with Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Fitzgerald's toured and performed extensively and her immense popularity also led to appearances on television, in movies, and in commercials and magazine ads.
Despite increasing health problems, Fitzgerald continued to tour, perform and record into her seventies with musicians such as guitarist Joe Pass, arranger-producer Quincy Jones, and pianist Oscar Peterson. Throughout her life, Fitzgerald was active in charitable work with particular emphasis on the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the Ella Fitzgerald and Harriette E. Shields Child Care Centers.
Ella Fitzgerald was admired and honored world-wide. In addition to receiving more than a dozen Grammy awards, she was awarded numerous honorary degrees and many states and cities had commemorative Ella Fitzgerald days. Fitzgerald was a Kennedy Center honoree in 1979 and Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Club named her "Woman of the Year" in 1982.
The "First Lady of Song" died on June 17, 1996, of complications from diabetes.
Related Materials:
Materials at the Archives Center
Benny Carter Collection, 1928-2000 (AC0757)
Charismic Productions Records of Dizzy Gillespie, 1940s-1993 (AC0979)
Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program Collection, 1992-2012 (AC0808)
Milt Gabler Papers, 1927-2001 (AC0849)
Tad Hershorn Collection, 1956-1991 (AC0680)
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, circa 1910- circa 1970 (AC0491)
Separated Materials:
"The National Museum of American History, Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds Ella Fitzgerald artifacts including costumes and clothing.
"
Provenance:
The collection was donated by the Fitzgerald 1989 Trust, Richard Rosman, trustee on April 14, 1997. The Ella Fitzgeral Charitable Foundation is the successor to the Fitzgerald 1989 Trust.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Only reference copies of audiovisual materials can be used.
Rights:
The Archives Center can provide reproductions of some materials for research and educational use. Copyright and right to publicity restrictions apply and limit reproduction for other purposes. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, November 15, 1977.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, November 15, 1977.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. Some duplication is allowed. Use of materials needs permission of the Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
This is a collection of 20 eight by ten inch black and white photographs taken by Stephanie Myers at Le Grande Parade du Jazz, a jazz festival held in Nice, France.
Scope and Contents:
This is a collection of 20 eight by ten inch black and white photographs taken by Stephanie Myers at Le Grande Parade du Jazz, a jazz festival held in Nice, France. They feature numerous well-known jazz artists and date from 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987. These are arranged in folders 1-6 alphabetically by the artists' names. The contact sheet number from which each was selected is indicated.
The contact sheets portray many additional jazz artists of note. Their names are listed on the back of the sheets and they are filed by year in folders 7-10. In addition, a list of these contact sheets, naming the artists appearing on them, has been provided by Ms. Myers.
Twenty-four black-and-white photoprints (enlargements) of jazz musicians in concert, and twenty contact sheets of scenes from the same performances.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Photographer.
Provenance:
Donated by Stephanie Myers in 2005.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
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.
On September 13, 1970, Stanley J. Anderson, Marion Hope, Alton Jones, and Almore Dale presented with Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (ANM) Founders' Awards. John Kinard announces night before Distinguished Service Awards were presented to Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie. After the presentation of his Distinguished Service Award, jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal performs with accompanists (Ahmad Jamal Trio). The trio also performs with The Colombians. The Young People's Choir of the Bethlehem Baptist Church (Anacostia) perform spirituals. A another group performs Evolution of the Black Man in Jazz which shows the changes the black man went through in music from before he came to America up until today. Other musicians perform spirituals, gospel and jazz music. Shirley Horn also performs. John Kinard speaks in celebration of the 3rd anniversay of the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum. He thanks the community, ANM's staff, and day's master of ceremonies, Tony Taylor. Kinard's short speech is followed by additional musical performances.
Award presentations and music. Part of ACM Museum Events, PR, and Ceremonies Recordings. AV003529-1: celebration begins at 002945. AV003530-1: celebration begins at 001926. AV003529-1 and AV003530-1: content overlaps [also on recordings: Musical Performance: Public School 186 from Harlem]. AV003529-2, AV003530-1, AV003530-2, and AV003438: content overlaps. Undated.
Local Numbers:
ACMA AV003529-1
ACMA AV003529-2
ACMA AV003530-1
ACMA AV003530-2
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection documents the career of noted American jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie, through a donation from his former manager, Charles Fishman.
Scope and Contents:
The collection primarily documents Charles Fishman's tenure as Gillespie's manager, 1985-1993, and is composed of business records. There is also a significant amount of personal material and photographs from the 1940s-1980s, much of which was saved by Mr. Fishman when Dizzy Gillespie wanted to throw these materials away or take them home.
Born in South Carolina in 1917, John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was a master jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. In the 1940s, he was one of the principal developers of both bebop and Afro-Cuban jazz. Through the multitudes of musicians with whom he played and who he encouraged; he was one of the most influential players in the history of jazz.
The youngest of nine children, Gillespie was exposed to music by his father, a part-time bandleader who kept all his band's instruments at home, where young Gillespie tried them out. At age twelve, he received a music scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina, where he played trumpet in the school band. In 1935, at age eighteen, he moved to Philadelphia and joined his first band, where his clownish onstage behavior and sense of humor earned him his nickname, "Dizzy." Thereafter, he was almost constantly joining and leaving, or forming and disbanding, bands of various size and style, as he set out to first hone his talent, then to develop his own creative innovations and to publish his recordings, and then to fulfill his lifelong desire to lead his own band. Along the way, he played with, collaborated with, encouraged, and influenced, all the major – and most of the minor – jazz musicians of his age, including Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter, Billy Eckstine, Cab Calloway, and John Coltrane.
In 1937, Gillespie moved to New York, where he joined Teddy Hill's band; with Hill he made his first overseas tour, to England and France. By 1939, he had joined Cab Calloway's band and had received his first exposure to Afro-Cuban music. In 1940, Gillespie met Charlie "Bird" Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Kenny Clarke and together they began developing a distinctive, more complex style of jazz that became known as bebop or bop. In the early 1940s, Gillespie made several recordings of this new sound. In 1945, he formed and led his own big band, which was quickly downsized into a quintet due to financial problems. He was able to reform the band the next year and keep it together for four years, but it was disbanded in 1950. During this time, he began to incorporate Latin and Cuban rhythms into his work. In 1953, a dancer accidentally fell on his trumpet and bent the bell. Gillespie decided he liked the altered tone and thereafter had his trumpets specially made that way.
In 1956, after leading several small groups, the United States State Department asked Gillespie to assemble a large band for an extensive cultural tour to Syria, Pakistan, Turkey, Greece, and Yugoslavia; a second tour, to South America, took place several months later. Although he kept the band together for two more years, the lack of government funding prevented him from keeping such a large group going and he returned to leading small ensembles. In 1964, displaying the humor for which he was well-known, Gillespie put himself forward as a candidate for President.
Gillespie continued to tour, perform, record, and to collaborate with a wide range of other musicians throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He continued to encourage new styles and new talents, such as Arturo Sandoval, whom he discovered during a 1977 visit to Cuba. In 1979, Gillespie published his autobiography, To Be or Not to Bop. In the late 1980s, he organized and led the United Nations Orchestra, a 15-piece ensemble that showcased the fusion of Latin and Caribbean influences with jazz. In these later years, although still performing, he began to slow down and enjoy the rewards of his extraordinary talent. He received several honorary degrees, was crowned a chief in Nigeria, was awarded the French Commandre d'Ordre des Artes et Lettres, won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and received both the Kennedy Center Medal of Arts and the ASCAP Duke Ellington Award for Fifty Years of Achievement as a composer, performer, and bandleader. Dizzy Gillespie passed away on January 6, 1993.
Related Materials:
Materials held in the Archives Center
John and Devra Hall Levy Collection NMAH.AC1221
Paquito Rivera NMAH.AC0891
James Moody Papers NMAH.AC1405
Chico O'Farrill Papers NMAH.AC0892
Boyd Raeburn Papers NMAH.AC1431
William Claxton Photographs NMAH.AC0695
Ray Brown Papers NMAH.AC1362
Earl Newman Collection of Monterey Jazz Festival Posters NMAH.AC1207
Graciela Papers NMAH.AC1425
Leonard Gaskin Papers NMAH.AC0900
Ella Fitzgerald NMAH.AC0584
Herman Leonard Photoprints NMAH.AC0445
Stephanie Myers Jazz Photographs NMAH.AC0887
John Gensel Collection of Duke Ellington Materials NMAH.AC0763
Duke Ellington Collection NMAH.AC0301
Benny Carter Collection NMAH.AC0757
Chuck Mangione NMAH.AC1151
Bill Holman Collection NMAH.AC0733
Duncan Schiedt Photograph Collection NMAH.AC1323
Fletcher and Horace Henderson Music and Photographs NMAH.AC0797
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection NMAH.AC0491
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Publicity Photoprints, Interviews, and Posters NMAH.AC0766
William Russo Music and Personal Papers NMAH.AC0845
Pat and Chuck Bress Jazz Portrait Photographs NMAH.AC1219
Milt Gabler Papers NMAH.AC0849
Floyd Levin Reference Collection NMAH.AC.1222
Materials held in the Division of Culture and the Arts
Includes Dizzy Gillespie's iconic "bent" trumpet (1986.0003.01); sound recordings, a button, and a sculpture.
Materials held in the Smithsonian Institution Archives
National Museum of American History. Office of Public Affairs Accession 95-150
Smithsonian Institution. Division of Performing Arts Accession 84-012
Smithsonian Institution. Office of Telecommunications Record Unit 296
Smithsonian Institution. Office of Telecommunications Record Unit 590
Materials held in the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Gertrude Abercrombie AAA.abergert
Materials at Other Organizations
Dizzy Gillespie Collection, circa 1987-2000, University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Charles Fishman, Dizzy Gillespie's manager, in 2007.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Verso contains handwritten notes: "B.C.--Dizzy--Louis" and "Paul Blair--Photos--VDA."
Exhibitions Note:
Shown in exhibition "Jazz Photographs: Composed and Improvised," Archives Center display cases, National Museum of American History, March 28-May 10, 2005.
Verso contains handwritten notes: "B.C.--Dizzy--Louis--Tommy--J.J.J." and "Paul Blair--Photos--VDA."
Exhibitions Note:
Shown in exhibition "Jazz Photographs: Composed and Improvised," Archives Center display cases, National Museum of American History, March 28-May 10, 2005.
Musicians standing together at airport with luggage, instruments, etc. Left to right: Webster, Dizzy Gillespie, Bob Cranshaw, James Moody, T. Wilson, second row: Sims, Benny Carter, Louis Bellson, Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas?, T. Bone Walker. Sitting: Clark Terry.Photographer unidentified.
Local Numbers:
AC0757-0000010.tif (AC Scan No.)
Exhibitions Note:
Included in Archives Center Jazz Appreciation Month display, April 1-May 31, 2010, "Jazz at the Philharmonic--Bringing Jazz to the World," curated by Wendy Shay.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. Gloves required with unprotected photographs.
Included in Archives Center Jazz Appreciation Month display, April 1-May 31, 2010, "Jazz at the Philharmonic--Bringing Jazz to the World," curated by Wendy Shay.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. Gloves required with unprotected photographs.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Included in Archives Center Jazz Appreciation Month display, April 1-May 31, 2010, "Jazz at the Philharmonic--Bringing Jazz to the World," curated by Wendy Shay.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. Gloves required with unprotected photographs.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Subject is sitting in chair with his legs crossed.
Local Numbers:
AC0979-0000008.tif (AC Scan No.)
Exhibitions Note:
Included in Archives Center Jazz Appreciation Month display, April 1-May 31, 2010, "Jazz at the Philharmonic--Bringing Jazz to the World," curated by Wendy Shay.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. Gloves required with unprotected photographs.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Photographer unidentified, possibly Gillespie? Commercially processed snapshot with deckled edges.
Arrangement:
Box No.1.
Local Numbers:
AC0979-0000009.tif (AC Scan No.)
Exhibitions Note:
Included in Archives Center Jazz Appreciation Month display, April 1-May 31, 2010, "Jazz at the Philharmonic--Bringing Jazz to the World," curated by Wendy Shay.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. Gloves required with unprotected photographs.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Photographer unidentified. Commercially processed snapshot with deckled edges.
Arrangement:
Box No.1.
Local Numbers:
AC0979-0000010.tif (AC Scan No.)
Exhibitions Note:
Included in Archives Center Jazz Appreciation Month display, April 1-May 31, 2010, "Jazz at the Philharmonic--Bringing Jazz to the World," curated by Wendy Shay.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. Gloves required with unprotected photographs.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Photographer unidentified. Commercially processed snapshot print with deckled edges.
Arrangement:
Box No.1.
Local Numbers:
AC0979-0000011.tif (AC Scan No.)
Exhibitions Note:
Included in Archives Center Jazz Appreciation Month display, April 1-May 31, 2010, "Jazz at the Philharmonic--Bringing Jazz to the World," curated by Wendy Shay.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. Gloves required with unprotected photographs.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Photographer unidentified. Commercially processed snapshot print with deckled edges.
Arrangement:
Box No.1.
Local Numbers:
AC0979-0000012.tif (AC Scan No.)
Exhibitions Note:
Included in Archives Center Jazz Appreciation Month display, April 1-May 31, 2010, "Jazz at the Philharmonic--Bringing Jazz to the World," curated by Wendy Shay.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. Gloves required with unprotected photographs.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
