Found 66 collections related to African American musicians

Eddie Bonnemère was an African American composer, church musician, jazz pianist, and New York City public school teacher. Bonnemère's papers comprise correspondence, music compositions, and promotional materials that detail his musical pursuits and performances, educational achievements, and his thirty-three year tenure as a public school music teacher. less

The Stormé DeLarverié photographs document DeLarverié's long career as a singer and gay rights activist from the 1950s until her death in 2014. The collection contains personal and professional photographs, including candid pictures of DeLarverié at events and parties, at home and perfomances, including her role as the Master of Ceremonies for the Jewel Box Review, the first integrated traveling, drag, nightclub act. less

The collection contains materials used to create the Mary Lou Williams documentary, Music on My Mind, directed by Joanne Burke. Music on My Mind focuses on Williams's enduring contribution to American culture as a jazz pianist, composer, and vocalist. This collection includes a short autobiography (incomplete), transcripts of interviews, information on the financial support of the documentary, film technical edits, reel catalog, and an information kit about the documentary. less

Quincy Troupe (born 1939) is a poet, author, and editor, perhaps best known for co-writing Miles: The Autobiography (1989) with the influential jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. His father, Quincy Trouppe, Sr., was an all-star catcher in Negro league baseball. The Quincy Troupe papers, dating from 1915 to 2008, mainly document Troupe's career from the mid-1970s to 2008. They also hold the scrapbooks of Quincy Trouppe, Sr. less

Launched around 2014, the Schomburg Center's Hip-Hop Archive Project aimed to engage activists, writers, collectors, and scholars in documenting the early movement from the mid-1970s. Schomburg Center staff Steven Fullwood and Lela Sowell led the effort. It is unclear when the Project ended. This collection consists of primary source resource materials such as oral histories with journalist Harry Allen and the Awesome 2 (Teddy Tedd, and Special K); promotional materials for Echo Park, "Hip-Hop Nation: Roots, Rhymes and Rage," and "Hip Hop Appreciation Week." There is also information about the Zulu Nation and KRS-One's Temple of Hiphop; a complete run of the International Graffiti Times; the Kid n Play comic series; and various journals, magazines, newspapers, articles, books, theses, and dissertations on hip-hop from various collectors, including James G. Spady and James Top. less

African-American composer, musician, and arranger, Hall Johnson is best known as a choral director and for his arrangements of spirituals. In 1925, Johnson formed the Hall Johnson Negro Choir, which performed spirituals in the traditional style. The Hall Johnson Choir, which he organized in 1928, performed on Broadway in Marc Connolly's play Green Pastures (1930), for which Johnson was music director. Johnson was known for his compositions as well as the articles he authored that discussed the history of spirituals and their performance practice. The Hall Johnson Collection contains a miscellaneous assortment of material including correspondence and news clippings regarding a workshop Johnson held in East St. Louis, Missouri, in 1969; and a letter to Katherine Dunham explaining his need to give more time to the inexperienced chorus. There is a music book with some holographic music; a poem he authored "Changelessness" (1956); and a few notes. This collection also includes biographical notes and personal recollections written in 2001, by Madeline Preston, a friend and member of his choir, along with a letter Johnson wrote to her in 1956. less

Founded in 1984 by Carl MaultsBy, the Rejoicensemble promotes musical performances and compositions by African American and African Diasporic composers and musicians. The Rejoicensemble collection contains programs, brochures, musical scores, and a published book on the basics of learning to play gospel music on piano by Carl MaultsBy. less

Samuel Carroll Buchanan received his Ph.D. from New York University in 1987 with a dissertation on Black quartets in the United States. He also sung with several groups, including the Charioteers, the Carr-Hill Singers, and the Gulf Coast Community Choir. Buchanan taught music in the New York City school system as well as at Five Towns College in Seaford, New York. Additionally, he worked as an administrator in the Peace Corps, serving in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya. Buchanan died in December 2010. The Samuel Carroll Buchanan collection contains letters, sheet music, programs, and research materials related to quartet singers. There are two letters from Harry Douglass, a leader in the famous quartet the Deep River Boys, which began in 1936 at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) and a score by Douglass, "Come Rain or Shine". Additionally, there are two programs in the collection, the United in Group Harmony Association's "20th Anniversary Weekend Celebration" (1996) and the Blues and Rhythm Jubilee's "Whisky, Women, and ..." (1982). The research materials consist of photocopies of correspondence mainly from and to George F. Ketchum of Hampton Institute, detailing various opportunities involving the Hampton Quartette. less

This collection mostly contains material related to Raoul Abdul's career as a singer and author. There is a limited amount of personal information, including some clippings from his early life. A large part of the collection consists of concert programs and tour information. Additionally, there is material on lectures and seminars, and reviews and correspondence regarding his writing, including 3000 Years of Black Poetry, The Magic of Black Poetry, and Famous Black Entertainers of Today. less

"Billy" Butler was a musical arranger, conductor, violinist, and travel editor of the Pittsburgh Courier. A graduate of Chicago Musical College, Butler worked with J. Rosamond Johnson, Eubie Blake, and other prominent African American musicians of the period. He also conducted several musical revues, including Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939, Rhapsody in Black, and Sissle and Blake's Shuffle Along. In 1947, Butler started Travelguide, a directory of public accommodations in the United States which catered to people of African descent. The list was later expanded to include foreign countries. Butler was also co-owner of King Travel Organization, Inc., a New York City agency which specifically catered to travelers of African descent. The William H. Butler papers include correspondence and printed material relating to Butler's musical career; articles by Butler on African American music and musicians; a scrapbook containing reviews of the Lew Leslie musicals in which he appeared; orchestral parts for Blackbirds of 1939 and Rhapsody in Black; holograph scores by Butler; a folder of lyrics; and a playscript by Butler entitled "Let's Forget Papa". less

The Maxine Sullivan Papers document her career as a jazz performer. The papers contain correspondence from both professional and personal contacts, legal contracts, newspaper clippings, performance flyers, posters, and programs, sheet music, and some financial and organizational membership records. Some materials pertain to her third husband, Cliff Jackson. less

The Symphony of the New World was founded in 1964 by an interracial committee of professional musicians to provide opportunities for minorities, particularly black and Puerto Rican musicians, who were being discriminated against by the major symphonies. The Symphony of the New World Records reflect some of the activities of this orchestra. less

Collection reflects Heyward's professional life and activities, particularly his career as a performer; a significant portion of the collection consists of music manuscripts arranged and/or composed by him. Heyward's personal papers contain biographical data, sketches and programs, performance materials, contracts, family papers, and financial records, 1917-1982. Correspondence consisting of letters received from organizations concerning programs, acknowledgements and solicitations reflecting Heyward's involvement in charitable affairs, organizations, and musical events. Heyward's writings and music consisting of manuscripts of his compositions, lyrics and arrangements, as well as music and lyrics which Heyward copied, and musical arrangements for guitar. Organizational records consisting of Heyward's files from his membership in the New Amsterdam Musical Association, Duke Ellington Society, Overseas Jazz Club, and Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Alumni. Also, programs of Heyward's performances, and programs of other artists, along with news clippings. less

This collection documents part of an exhibition on African American musicians organized by the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. The papers consist of research material gathered by consultant Sidney Kaplan and his assistant, including sheet music; research notes; subject files of clippings and printed matter on various African American musicians; and correspondence with Alberta Hunter, Middleton Alexander "Spike" Harris, Caterina Jarboro, Noble Sissle, and several African American university museums and archives. less

The Don Redman Papers consist principally of holograph and printed music of this jazz composer and arranger, as well as some personal and professional papers. Redman's music contains orchestral and vocal scores and parts for various instruments. There is also music and lyrics by other composers most notably Tadd Dameron's "For Europeans Only." A ledger (1931-1932) lists members of the Don Redman Orchestra a.k.a. Don Redman and His Orchestra, for that period together with salaries, scheduled appearances and copyright information. Two scrapbooks document the activities of the Orchestra and other groups which Redman assembled for European tours during the 1940's. The collection also includes biographical information, programs, newsclippings, and an autograph book signed by celebrities. Of interest are two letters written by Louis Armstrong (1939, 1945), one mentioning two songs for which he wants Redman to make dance arrangements. less

"Jabbo" Smith, born Cladys Smith in 1908 in Pembroke, Georgia, was an African-American jazz trumpeter, trombonist and singer. He died in St. Louis in 1991. The collection consists of autobiographical material; correspondence with Lorraine Gordon and others (1957-1991); financial receipts; medical records; contracts and agreements; passports and other official documents; performance files, news articles, press releases and programs (1930-1991), including information on One Mo' Time, Chicago Kool Jazz Festival, and Jazz Fest Berlin; scrapbooks and photographs of Smith, Wynton Marsalis, Louis Armstrong, and others (1982-1991); and an account book (1969-1973) with aphorisms. less

Kenneth P. Neilson is an educator, artist, composer, author, and founder of All Seasons Art, a multimedia production center which seeks to gain exposure for developing African American and Hispanic artists. The Hughes-Neilson music collection consists of musical settings of the poetry and lyrics of Langston Hughes. less

Composer; cornetist; bandleader and publisher, W.C. Handy's fame rests upon his work as a composer. Handy wrote and published more than 150 songs and arrangements of folksongs, mainly spirituals and blues. The popularity of Handy's songs helped to make black folk blues a permanent part of America's popular music. Collection of documents relating to W. C. Handy and the Handy Brothers Music Company. Included is correspondence from Handy and his friends, programs, broadsides and invitations related to affairs honoring Handy. Also, printed material advertising publications by Handy's music and publishing companies, and a 28 page bio-bibliography, "Negro Authors and Composers of the United States" by Handy. less

Bertha Des Verney was a pianist, composer, arranger, writer, singer, playwright, concert promoter, and music teacher. The Bertha Des Verney papers include programs and flyers for musical events that she was involved in, annotated musical texts, scripts, holograph music of her arrangements and compositions, correspondence, and news clippings. From the Washington Music School there are reports, financial records, and a history of the school (1931). Material for the National Association of Negro Musicians includes programs for conventions. The collection also includes two scrapbooks, one of which contains news clippings and programs for musical concerts, primarily featuring African-American artists (1929-1957). The second scrapbook contains news clippings about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and other noteworthy events in the Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson families, as well as obituaries of a number of black personalities, and some musical programs (1936, 1959-1974). There are also a few letters in the collection. less

This collection consists of personal and professional papers reflecting Jenkins's career as a musician and composer, and encompasses four series: personal and professional papers; family papers; Jenkins Orphanage documents; and research material. The personal and professional papers contain letters from Jenkins to his father and stepmother, Eloise C. Harleston Jenkins and letters to Jenkins from friends and professional associates, including a letter from composer Will Marion Cook. The family papers consist of letters written to the family following Jenkins's death in 1926 and documents related to his death and the disposition of his estate. The Jenkins Orphanage documents include letters, programs and playbills, and financial papers. The research material was gathered by Jeffrey P. Green, the donor and author of Edmund Thornton Jenkins: The Life and Times of an American Black Composer, 1894-1926 (1982). This material includes Green's correspondence and interviews with people who knew Jenkins; a listing from SACEM (Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music) of the songs composed by Jenkins; and photocopies of articles regarding Jenkins, the Orphanage, Jenkins family members, and prominent musicians who had some sort of affiliation with the Jenkins Orphanage and the Band. less

Edward D. Coleman was a musical arranger and composer. He was a member of the trio known as Day, Dawn, and Dusk. Coleman was Dawn; the other members of the trio included, at different times, Robert Carver, Augustus Dewey Simons, and Mack Smith. The group performed during the 1930s and 1940s. this collection consists of handwritten sheet music used by the trio Day, Dawn, and Dusk, including some arrangements by Coleman; letters; and clippings. less

Composer, pianist, arranger. Brown worked as Paul Robeson's accompanist for thirty-eight years. The Lawrence Brown papers encompass correspondence reflecting Brown's wide-ranging travels, and his friendships (mostly letters written by his friends and business associates); personal papers; travel file consisting mostly of itineraries for tours; financial records comprised largely of royalty and earnings statements; programs for Brown and other artists; scrapbooks of news clippings and telegrams covering the Brown and Paul Robeson concert years (1928-1968); news clippings of concert reviews; and original scores and sheet music written by Brown and other composers. Papers relate to Brown's life and times, including World War I, Harlem Renaissance, World War II, spirituals, and his collaborator, Paul Robeson. Correspondents include Amanda Aldridge, Ethel Gardner Dingle, Jannett Hamlyn, Roland Hayes, Langston Hughes, Zaidee Jackson, William Lawrence, John Payne, Paul and Eslanda Robeson, Clara Rockmore, Robert Rockmore, Mrs. Corinne Sawyer (Brown's landlady), and Greta and I. W. Sequeira. less

Collection consists of a few of William Spiller's personal papers, programs, and news clippings of William and Isabele Spiller's European and American tours, 1912-1942, and of the Spiller School of Music. Bulk of papers contain material pertaining to Isabelle Spiller's work as a music supervisor and orchestra conductor in New York City public schools. Of particular interest is her work as head of the Federal Music Project in New York. Also, a scrapbook containing her published articles. less

Clarence Cameron White was a Black violinist, composer, and teacher. This collection consists of musical scores, compositions, and librettos, correspondence, biographical information, writing, contracts, financial records, programs, sheet music, press releases, newspaper clippings, and printed material relating to the first thirty years of White's career. less