- unitid
-
{"value"=>"186363", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"Sc Photo John Storm Roberts Collection", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b23446978", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1950s-1996", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1950/1996"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"John Storm Roberts photographs"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"5 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1.87 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"John Storm Roberts (1936-2009) was a British-born, American-based writer, record producer and distributor, and ethnomusicologist whose work explored the influences of African and Latin American music on that of the United States. His photographs date from the 1950s to 1996, and primarily consist of promotional portraits of musicians that he gathered for research."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Roberts, John Storm", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>John Anthony Storm Roberts was born in London, England on February 24, 1936. As a child, he listened to records his father brought back from business trips abroad, including blues, jazz, calypso, and flamenco music. This kickstarted a lifelong interest in music from around the world. After graduating from the University of Oxford with a degree in modern languages, Roberts worked as a reporter in Kenya for the <span class=\"title\">East African Standard</span> and wrote a book, <span class=\"title\">A Land Full of People: Life in Kenya Today</span>. This was followed by a stint at the BBC World Service, where he produced radio programs about African music.</p> <p>Roberts moved to the United States in 1970. He was an editor at <span class=\"title\">The Africa Report</span> before becoming a freelance journalist, writing articles about African and Latin American music for publications such as <span class=\"title\">The Village Voice</span>. In 1972, Roberts published <span class=\"title\">Black Music of Two Worlds: African, Caribbean, Latin, and African-American Traditions</span>, which examines the wide-ranging influence of African music on popular music of the Americas. His 1979 book, <span class=\"title\">The Latin Tinge</span>, similarly surveys the impact of Latin American music on that of the United States.</p> <p>In 1982, Roberts and his wife, Anne Needham, founded Original Music, a mail-order company that distributed record compilations of commercial songs and field recordings largely from Central, East, and West Africa. Roberts and Needham sought to highlight popular music in contrast to traditional music typically studied by ethnomusicologists. A number of records distributed by Original Music were produced by Roberts, such as <span class=\"title\">Africa Dances</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Sound of Kinshasa</span>, and <span class=\"title\">The Tanzania Sound</span>.</p> <p>Roberts' final book, <span class=\"title\">Latin Jazz: The First of the Fusions, 1880s to Today</span>, was published in 1999. He died from blood clot complications on November 29, 2009 in Kingston, New York at age seventy-three.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The John Storm Roberts photographs date from the 1950s to 1996, and primarily contain promotional portraits of commercial recording artists from countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean that Roberts gathered for research. The collection also holds candid photographs of local (usually unidentified) musicians, as well as images depicting everyday life in various countries. Roberts' photographs are arranged into three sections: Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States.</p> <p>Prints make up the majority of the collection, with some contact sheets, slides, and negatives also present. Promotional portraits usually have the artist's name and record label printed on the front. Many candid photographs have identifying information about their subjects written on the back. A number of the candid photographs originate from news or government agencies; photographers are occasionally identified.</p> <p>Most of the Africa photographs are portraits of commercial recording artists. Nigerian artists are heavily represented, namely King Sunny Adé, Fela Kuti, Orlando Julius, Oriental Brothers International, and Kabaka International Guitar Band. There are portraits of South African artists such as Abdullah Ibrahim, Hugh Masekela, and Letta Mbulu. Musicians from Tanzania (Remmy Ongala), Ghana (King Onyina Osibisa), Mali (Toumani Diabaté, Ali Farka Touré), and Zimbabwe (Nashil Pichen Kazembe, Thomas Mapfumo, Peter Tsotsi) are included as well.</p> <p>In addition to musicians, the Africa section documents dancers and dance troupes from Angola, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Sudan. There are also contact sheets of an unidentified African music colloquium, and documentary photographs of everyday life in multiple countries.</p> <p>The Latin America and Caribbean section contains numerous commercial portraits of musicians from Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Dozens of artists are featured here, including those from Argentina (Gato Barbieri), Brazil (Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil), Colombia (Javier Vásquez), Cuba (Cachao, Chico O'Farrill, Sexteto Habanero), Jamaica (Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh), and Trinidad and Tobago (Lord Kitchener, Mighty Sparrow). Additionally, this section highlights artists from the continental United States and Puerto Rico, notably Ray Barretto, Lydia Mendoza, Charlie and Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Ismael Quintana, Johnny Rodriguez, Bobby Sanabria, and Carlos Santana.</p> <p>Candid photographs in the Latin America and Caribbean section are mostly from the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia. Some of these photographs were taken by Roberts and Needham during the 1970s. There are also contact sheets of unidentified concerts from 1974 and 1975, as well as slides of a Tito Puente performance; both of these are in box 3.</p> <p>The United States photographs are arranged into musical genres: Blues and Zydeco; Gospel; Jazz; and R&B, Soul, and Rock. Jazz photographs are the most substantial and contain portraits of musicians from throughout the genre's history. Those depicted include Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Gerry Mulligan. There are reproductions of portraits depicting early jazz and ragtime artists, such as the Reliance Brass Band, Ben Harney, and Charles \"Luckey\" Roberts. Also of note are the Blues and Zydeco photographs, which feature musicians performing at the 1995 Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by an unknown source in 2012.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Nathan Evans</span> in <span class=\"date\">2024</span>.</p>"}
- date_start
-
1950
- keydate
-
1950
- date_end
-
1996
- date_inclusive_start
-
1950
- date_inclusive_end
-
1996
- extent_statement
-
1.87 linear feet (5 boxes)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"John Storm Roberts photographs, Photographs and Prints Division. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library"}