Thank you to the trustees at the National Jazz Archive, who have kindly backed our crowdfunder campaign
About
The National Jazz Archive holds the UK’s finest collection of written, printed and visual material on jazz, blues and related music, from the 1920s to the present day. Founded in 1988 by trumpeter Digby Fairweather, the Archive’s vision is to ensure that the rich tangible cultural heritage of jazz is safeguarded for future generations of enthusiasts, professionals and researchers.
In 2011 the Archive received a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to conserve and catalogue the collection. The successful three-year project ‘The Story of British Jazz’ significantly improved access to the Archive’s rich and diverse holdings, and many photographs, journals, documents and learning resources have been made available on the Archive website.
A second Heritage Lottery Fund project began in 2016 and ran for 18 months. The Intergenerational Jazz Reminiscence Project built on previous work to increase access and public engagement with the Archive’s collections. As part of the project a series of interviews explored the investments that different generations have made in promoting, performing, supporting and documenting our jazz heritage. The interviews have been added to the Archive’s transcripts of interviews, mostly by music journalist Les Tomkins of British and visiting American musicians. This whole collection of oral history may be explored here.
The Archive arranges fundraising concerts, talks and displays, which are publicised through our free monthly e-Newsletter, Facebook and Twitter.
Collections
The National Jazz Archive holds more than 4,000 reference books, specialist periodicals and journals, which alongside photographs, memorabilia, artworks and personal papers, tell the story of jazz and blues in the UK. The collections include:
– runs of all major jazz periodicals past and present
– an extensive collection of rare British journals
– concert posters and programmes, interviews, photographs, letters, artefacts and memorabilia
– personal papers donated by leading musicians and writers, including Ian Carr, John Chilton, Ken Colyer, John Cumming, Charles Fox, Johnny Simmen and Mike Westbrook.
Explore our catalogue and collections here.
National Jazz Archive Loughton Library, Traps Hill, Loughton, Essex IG10 1HD
Mon to Wed + Fri: 10am – 1pm
Tel: (020) 8502 4701
Email: enquiries@nationaljazzarchive.org.uk
Registered charity no: 327894
www.nationaljazzarchive.org.uk
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