Devoted to Jazz and 20th Century America
In cooperation with Frank Driggs and Chuck Haddix, authors of Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop — a look at the fascinating historyof Kansas City’s golden age through book excerpts, photos and music […] Continue reading »
Doug Ramsey’s biography of saxophonist Paul Desmond is a lavish, detailedwork of art, filled with photographs, letters, and memories of a complexand frequently inspiring life. “Paul Desmond: A Life Told in Pictures,Music and Memories,” a Jerry Jazz Musician production published in cooperation with Ramsey and Parkside Publications, features photographs and excerpts from the book, as well as sound samples of Desmond’s music. […] Continue reading »
Although it only encompasses about six square miles, the New York City neighborhood of Harlem has played a central role in the development of American culture. Originally rural farmland, then an affluent suburb, since 1911 Harlemhas been predominantly an African American community. Its residents havehad a disproportionately large impact on all aspects of American culture,leaving their mark on literature, art, comedy, dance, theater, music, sports, religion and politics. […] Continue reading »
A photo exhibit illustrating the essence of sports during the first third of the American century — featuring forty photos from the Harry E. Winkler Photographic Collection. […] Continue reading »
Romare Bearden (1911 – 1988) was one of America’s great artistic innovators,blazing his own trail in a time of turbulent cultural change. Whilehis work offers an invaluable view of mid-twentieth-century African-Americanexperience, it has also come to occupy a significant place in the wider historyof American art and speaks to the universal concerns of artists everywhere. […] Continue reading »
The Negro League Baseball Photographs of Charles “Teenie” Harris, published with the permission of the Carnegie Museum. […] Continue reading »
Kansas City Jazz: A Pictorial Tour _____ In cooperation with Frank Driggs and Chuck Haddix, authors of Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop — a look at the fascinating history of Kansas City’s golden age through book excerpts, photos and music * All photos and book excerpts used with the permission of Frank Driggs, […] Continue reading »
Vintage record buffs have long been bedazzled by the bizarre, cartoonish album covers tagged with the signature “Flora.” For Columbia in the 1940s and RCA Victor in the mid-1950s, James (Jim) Flora (1914-1998) designed diabolic and hallucinatory covers that enticed music shop habitués browsing in the jazz, ethnic, and classical aisles. His jaw-dropping boldness and savory color combinations invited lingering glances. Although you shouldn’t judge an album by its cover, in the case of Flora’s work, the disc inside almost seemed an afterthought. […] Continue reading »