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Posted by: Claudia Morales
On Saturday, October 16, 2019, Concerts from the Library of Congress hosted Afro-Cuban jazz master, Chucho Valdés. Founder and director of the legendary Cuban jazz band Irakere, winner of six GRAMMYs and four Latin GRAMMYs, Chucho Valdés is not just an authority in the jazz world, he is a living legend. As part of his engagement at …
Posted in: Composers, Concerts and Events, Conservation, Interviews, Jazz, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
The Library of Congress is home to the Charles Mingus Collection, the institution's first acquisition of a jazz composer's personal papers and the first multi-format jazz collection process by the Music Division of the Library of Congress.
Posted in: African American History, Composers, Conservation, Guest bloggers, Jazz, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
On Patriots' Day, we celebrate musician, publisher, and patriot Josiah Flagg (1737-1794), a friend of Paul Revere and major figure in Early American music.
Posted in: Composers, Holidays, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
The following is a guest post from Music Reference Specialist James Wintle. Let me begin with a personal anecdote. My parents are or were both musicians – my father was a composer – and so my appreciation for classical music was probably equal parts nature and nurture. So, when I entered graduate school as a …
Posted in: Guest bloggers, Musicians, Special Collections
Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld
Vincent Novara, Head of the Music Division's Acquisitions & Processing Section, describes his section's new teleworking practices during a global pandemic.
Posted in: Guest bloggers, Special Collections, Staff
Posted by: Cait Miller
This blog post celebrates composer David Diamond's contributions to the enrichment of Jewish synagogue music. The Music Division of the Library of Congress is home to the David Diamond Collection.
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers, Jewish American History, Special Collections
Posted by: Larry Appelbaum
Jazz specialist Larry Appelbaum retired from the Library of Congress on March 31, 2020. Larry reflects on his career at the Library of Congress and provides links to interviews, panels, and blog posts he created and facilitated at the Library of Congress.
Posted in: Curators, Exhibitions, Interviews, Jazz, Special Collections, Staff, Webcasts
Posted by: Melissa Wertheimer
An undeniable musical trend during social distancing right now is the wealth of online music making. In the spirit of music keeping us together while we’re apart, I propose a Spring-Themed Online Music Challenge! Use the sheet music I recommend in this blog post about spring and flowers from the Music Division’s digital collections, make videos, and tag us on social media.
Posted in: Sheet Music, Special Collections
Posted by: Paul Sommerfeld
Musician Machito (c. 1908-1984) and his group the Afro-Cubans performed from 1940 to the early 1980s, forming an influential legacy that includes salsa music and Afro-Cuban jazz. The Music of Machito and His Afro-Cubans collection primarily contains approximately 150 manuscript and published compositions and arrangements performed by the ensemble.
Posted in: Composers, Guest bloggers, Jazz, Special Collections