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.
The Bill Holman Collection consists of original music compositions and arrangements, posters, performance contracts and a photograph dating from 1952 to 1999. The collection is organized into two series: Series 1: Music Manuscripts; and Series 2: Photographs and Business Records.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into two series.
Series 1: Music Manuscripts, 1952-1999
Series 2: Photographs and Business Records, 1975-1997
Biographical / Historical:
Born Willis Leonard Holman on May 21 in Olive, California, Bill Holman is considered one of the great jazz composers of the last half of the twentieth century. He is best known as one of the architects of the style of jazz defined as "West Coast" and as the major arranger for the Stan Kenton Orchestra from 1952 - 1955.
Holman began playing clarinet in junior high school and tenor saxophone while in high school eventually leading his own band. After serving in the Navy and studying engineering, he chose a career in music instead and attended Westlake College of Music in California from 1948-1950. While attending Westlake, he studied counterpoint with Russ Garcia and one hallmark of a Holman work continues to be the distinguished use of that compositional element.
While performing as a tenor and baritone saxophonist for Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra in 1951, Holman submitted his first composition for a name band to Woody Herman. Originally titled Prez Conference in honor of Lester Young, the piece - which featured solos for four tenors - was recorded in 1954 with a baritone and trumpet introduction and ending tagged on by Herman and re-titled Mulligantawny Stew.
From 1952 - 1954, Holman performed in the reed section of the Stan Kenton Orchestra and there he received international recognition. Within six months, Kenton encouraged Holman's voice as a composer and arranger and he quickly became a principal. His distinctive swinging approach was always evident resulting in songs still beloved by Kenton fans all over the world such as Stomping At The Savoy and Whats New. Taking advantage of his clout in the industry, Stan Kenton facilitated Holman's first recording as a leader in 1954 (Kenton Presents Jazz B Bill Holman: Bill Holman Octet) as one in a series of Capitol recordings featuring Kenton's sidemen as bandleaders. Unfortunately, this was not released until five years later. After returning to the West Coast in 1955, Holman continued as a Kenton staff arranger until 1956 and contributed compositions and arrangements on an occasional basis until the late 1950s.
Upon his return to Los Angeles, California in 1955, Holman B as an instrumentalist, composer and arranger B helped shape the sound later dubbed West Coast Jazz. At first, Holman worked in small groups for others including Conte Candoli (1955), Shelly Manne (1955), and Art Pepper (1957) but in 1957 Holman longed to Amake a statement@ for himself and formed his own big band. The band eventually recorded three albums that have become collector=s items among jazz aficionados: The Fabulous Bill Holman (1957), Big Band In A Jazz Orbit, (1958) and Bill Holman's Great Big Band. (1960) Holman continued to work in small group settings as well recording Jive For Five with a quintet co-led by Mel Lewis and Jazz Erotica (re-titled in CD release as West Coast Jazz) in an octet featuring Richie Kamuca.
In 1960, Holman entered into a twenty-seven year hiatus from recording. However, he remained active in the business and was continually sought out as a composer and arranger for both jazz and popular music. His arrangements for Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, Woody Herman, and Shorty Rogers, among others, are considered the pinnacle of jazz composition and orchestration. Holman=s occasional forays into film, television and popular music include Aquarius as recorded by the Fifth Dimension and The Association=s Never My Love and Cherish. A long relationship with the Tonight Show band directed by Doc Severinson (1967 B 1992) developed eventually awarding him with his first Grammy award for an arrangement of Billy Strayhorn=s Take The >A= Train.
Bill McKay, the co-owner of a Los Angeles night club Donte's, encouraged Holman to re-form his band in 1975 leading to his legendary rehearsal band which still meets most weeks at the Hollywood Musician=s Union. However, the Bill Holman Band did not record until the release of World Class: The Bill Holman Big Band in 1987, followed by A View From the Side. (for which Holman earned a Best Instrumental Composition Grammy for the title track) in 1995. Although Holman's arranging style matured, his characteristic use of line writing, unison sections, uneven bar lengths, and reference for rhythm were distilled and refined rather than complicated in the interim.
Beginning in 1980, Holman received regular commissions from the WDR band in Cologne Germany including ones for extended works and special programs featuring noted jazz instrumentalists such as Lee Konitz, Al Cohn and Phil Woods. Since 1990, he has been conducting that renowned Orchestra. In 1997, Holman embarked on what has become an annual European trip B as a composer/conductor for the Netherlands Metropole Orchestra B and in that same year recorded Further Adventures with them. Holman continues to work extensively in Europe and in 2001 will conduct orchestras in Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands.
Continually sought after by contemporary vocalists, Holman supplied the arrangements (with the exception of the title tune) for Natalie Cole=s 1991 Unforgettable B a tribute to her father Nat King Cole. He continues to provide settings for elite jazz vocalists including Tony Bennett and Carmen McRae. Holman remains active. In 1998, he received a composer=s grant from the International Association of Jazz Educators. The Bill Holman Band still rehearses weekly and appears periodically in the Los Angeles area. Brilliant Corners: The Music of Thelonius Monk is a big band and arrangers tour-de-force and garnered Holman his third Grammy award in 1997.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Archives Center does not own the reproduction rights to the music of the Bill Holman Collection. All requests for performance or publication of Mr. Holman's compositions and/or arrangements should be directed to Bill Holman at 323-466-8809.
Collection Citation:
Bill Holman Collection, 1951-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
