Scope and arrangement
The New York Jazz Museum records consist of materials related to the administration of the museum. These materials include minutes and agendas of Board of Director meetings; correspondence of Howard Fischer and Ann Ruckert; fundraising records; and membership records. Also included are legal papers documenting the turbulent times before, during, and after the dismissal of Howard Fischer. The Programs and projects series includes information used in the preparation of exhibits sponsored by the Museum, most of which were about jazz greats and other aspects of the history of jazz. Other records pertain to a special "Jamathon", which was an emergency fundraising jazz performance and the Museum Film Program, which includes printed matter and correspondence. Subject files include correspondence, lists, notes, and printed material gathered as resource information about such topics as acquisitions, collection management, and photographs. Printed matter includes press releases and biographical information regarding jazz musicians; newsletters; programs of events held at the New York Jazz Museum and elsewhere; an international magazine clippings file of jazz musicians; and other news clippings. There are also flyers, booklets, catalogs, and some issues of magazines. Of particular interest are three sets of jazz discographies compiled by Walter Bruyninckx of Belgium, covering the period from 1917 to 1980, with information regarding both known and lesser known jazz artists.
The New York Jazz Museum records are arranged in three series:
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1971-1990
This series contains minutes, agendas, and by-laws.
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1968-1987
The Correspondence subseries includes Howard Fischer's employment contract (1973), his involvement with a national organization called the Young President's Organization, and his correspondence with the Board of Directors. The General correspondence subseries consists primarily of correspondence written during the administration of Ann Ruckert, president of the Board of Directors who assumed leadership of the Museum following Howard Fischer's dismissal in February 1977. Fundraising records consist of appeals for federal aid and include correspondence with Edward Koch, then a congressman. Other appeals were submitted to corporations, individuals, New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Membership subseries consists of correspondence with individual and corporate members, mailing lists, and guest books. In addition, there are membership address cards for individual members from the United States and worldwide. Index cards provide the amount donated by some members. Financial information consists of bank statements, check registers, cash disbursements, a budget, insurance papers, and related material. The New facilities subseries provides information on searches for new spaces, renovations, and consist of leases, bills, and contracts. Reorganization subseries contains legal materials for action taken against Fischer and include exhibits prepared to present in court. Documentation includes lawyers' letters to the Attorney General, by-laws, Fischer's employment contract, minutes, correspondence, material pertaining to the foreclosure summons, list of creditors, and evidence of Fischer's inability to get along with individuals on the Board of Directors and others. There are also other materials relating to these problems, including an inventory of the collections and their sale to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
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The Exhibits subseries consists of material used in the preparation of exhibits (including traveling exhibits) and includes information about art, bibliographies, films, photographs, sheet music, and publicity material (flyers, catalogs, and press releases). The General subseries refers to special projects such as a tentative joint venture with the United States Information Agency. The Film Program subseries contains correspondence, copyright information, film sources (such as correspondence with distribution companies), and lists of acquisitions, preservation, rentals, and sales. The Subject files subseries is extensive and includes correspondence, lists, notes, and printed matter (newsletters, catalogs, brochures, and newsclippings), most likely used for exhibition research.Topics includes acquisitions, collection management, inventories, and photograph resources. The collection valuation file enumerates the amount paid for each item collected by the Museum (1975-1977). The subseries Index card files contains information such as resource files on jazz organizations, records, art, books, booklets, and periodicals. The resource file pertaining to forms of media contains information on education, American and foreign jazz writers, magazines, newsletters, newspapers, radio, and television. The Printed matter subseries consists of press releases, biographical information on jazz musicians, various newsletters, programs of events held at the New York Jazz Museum and elsewhere, an international magazine clippings file of jazz musicians, and other newsclippings. There are also flyers, booklets, and catalogs. Two sets of discographies and one incomplete set comprise the Discographies subseries. The discographies were compiled by Walter Bruyninckx of Belgium. The title of the earliest version is "50 Years of Recorded Jazz 1917-1967", while the 1977 discography is an updated version of the 1968 edition. The 1980 version only covers C-E. In addition to the three sets of discographies, there are two sets of additions and corrections prepared for A-G (ca. 1968-1969) and a set of additions and corrections for Ab-Sc (ca. 1974). The discographies provide a great deal of information about both known and lesser known jazz artists. They are arranged alphabetically by last name of musician. The type of information furnished includes the following: biographical data, e.g. date and place of birth; instruments played; musical education; early career and career highlights; and if part of a band, the names of other musicians and instruments which they played. Other information includes name of songs or instrumentals. The number in the left column of each page is the matrix number which is assigned by the company that made the original recording, followed by a letter or digit that denotes the take; the number in the right column refers to the label number. Most of the discographies come in special containers; the rest have been placed in file folders. The 1968 volume, "Aagard-Beau", contains an introduction and a list of abbreviations written by Bruyninckx.