{"value"=>"<p>This subseries documents the career and life of George Avakian, many of the artists he worked with, Aram Avakian, and other significant figures in and outside of music. It holds a deep set of interviews and oral histories with George Avakian and others; audio memoirs; lectures and panel discussions; home recordings made by Louis Armstrong and the families of George and Aram Avakian; and a variety of other non-music recordings. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by artists or subject.</p> <p>The interviews/oral histories are with George Avakian; Anahid Ajemian; Aram Avakian; Danny Barker (an oral history conducted by Aram Avakian); W.C. Handy; Louis Armstrong; Pops Foster; Dave Brubeck; Miles Davis; Wild Bill Davison; Ravi Shankar; Johnny Mathis; Mahalia Jackson; Dave Brubeck; Benny Goodman; Miriam Makeba; Charles Lloyd; Marty Napolean; John Sanders; Steve Allen; Ingmar Bergman; Marlin Brando; songwriters Alan Jay Lerner, Jule Styne, and Marc Blitzstein (recorded off of a television broadcast); recording engineers William S. Bachman, William Savory, Jack Towers, and Vincent Liebler; writers Ralph Berton, William Saroyan, and Brendan Behan; composer/conductor Pierre Boulez; and photographer Bert Stern. The interviews with the recording engineers pertain to the development of the long-playing 33 1/3 microgroove record; the William Savory interviews also include a nearly three-hour discussion about Benny Goodman, whom Savory knew well. The hour-long interview of Miles Davis was conducted by Avakian in May, 1957, and has never been heard before. See also Eames, JaRon, in videos in subseries IV.C, for brief interviews with other musicians.</p> <p>The interviews of George Avakian include an oral histories conducted by the Oral History of American Music at Yale University and the Smithsonian Institution; <span class=\"title\">The Myth Maker</span>, a multi-part BBC radio documentary on Avakian; and several other long radio or telephone interviews, some on specific topics such as Erroll Garner, J.J. Johnson, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, or Avakian's career as a whole. See the video recordings in subseries IV.C for more interviews.</p> <p>The lectures and panel discussions include presentations by or discussions with Avakian at the Newport Jazz Festival; the Music Library Association annual conference; Satchmo Summerfest in New Orleans; meetings of Duke Ellington Societies in the United States and Sweden; the University of California at Los Angeles; the New School; Jersey City University; and Recording Academy events. Other lectures are by Ed Berger of the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies; the producer John Hammond; and the author Donald Marquis.</p> <p>The 1953 Louis Armstrong home recordings, which were gifted to Avakian by Armstrong, have been available in part since the 1990s at the Louis Armstrong House Museum, but additional, previously-unheard material was uncovered during the processing of this collection (see the container list for more details). The recordings consist partially of discussion about Armstrong's memoir <span class=\"title\">Satchmo: My Life In New Orleans</span>, and partially of general conversation, humor, and stories; they include George and Aram Avakian, Lucille Armstrong, and other friends of Armstrong.</p> <p>The home recordings of George and Aram Avakian (dating from the 1950s to the 1970s) mainly feature their children, but also include birthdays, social gatherings, and impromptu musical performances, as well as discussions about family history with Mesrop Avakian (father of George and Aram).</p> <p>The subseries has a set of George Avakian's personal recordings. These include two audio memoirs on specific events in his career; a recording of a Recording Academy luncheon at which Avakian received the organization's Governor's award; and telephone conversations with Charles Lloyd and producer Hank O'Neal (early 1980s), among others. Other content includes unreleased recordings of the comedians Bob Newhart and \"Prince\" Igor Yahilevich; and documentaries on the producer Jerry Wexler and the Newport Jazz Festival.</p> <p>The subseries also has a set of recordings related to Aram Avakian. These consist of soundtrack material for films Avakian edited or directed, including <span class=\"title\">End of the Road</span>, <span class=\"title\">11 Harrowhouse</span>, <span class=\"title\">Girl of the Night</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Next Man</span>, and two documentaries about the musicians Woody Herman and Bill Crow. Aram Avakian's personal recordings include excerpts of Senator Joseph McCarthy's 1954 Army hearings, some edited creatively. Also present is a recording of Aram Avakian's 1987 memorial service, hosted by George Avakian.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>The Louis Armstrong home recordings contain sexual and scatalogical humor, drug use, and racial language some may find offensive.</p>"}