Top of page

Category: Jazz

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Pic of the Week: Belated Birthdays Edition

Posted by: Pat Padua

September 19th was the birthday of two old friends of the Music Division. Jazz pianist/composer Muhal Richard Abrams was born September 19, 1930 in Chicago. He worked as a sideman behind such luminaries as Dexter Gordon and Max Roach, and was part of the 1970s jazz loft scene in New York,  so  named because of …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Pic of the Week: from Almeida to Zorn Edition

Posted by: Pat Padua

September 2 marks the birthdays of two very different musician/ composers whose works grace the Music Division’s storied vaults. Classical guitarist Laurindo Almeida was born on this day in 1917.  His career ran the gamut from Sao Paulo radio to Hollywood session man, and he worked with a range of artists from Villa-Lobos and Carmen …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Pic of the Week: August Birthdays Edition

Posted by: Pat Padua

As August draws to a close, In the Muse would like to catch up on a number of birthdays you may have missed. August 4, which is the day we celebrated Louis Armstrong’s birthday,  was also the birthday of film composer David Raksin, who donated sketches and scores from films like Laura, Forever Amber, and Carrie …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Pic of the Week: Birth of the Sax Edition

Posted by: Pat Padua

On this date in 1846, Belgian-born Antoine-Joseph “Adolphe”  Sax patented the family of instruments that bear his name.  The saxophone was originally developed in two categories,  an orchestral group and a band or military group, of seven instruments each.  Only a handful of these varieties are in common use today, although composer/musician Anthony Braxton, who …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Jazz in the Spring: David Amram

Posted by: Pat Padua

The following post is by Larry Appelbaum, Senior Reference Specialist, Music Division. For the final night of the Library’s Jazz Film Series, we celebrate composer David Amram, who at age 80 continues to break ground in jazz, classical and world music. As a jazz French horn player, Amram worked with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Jazz in the Spring at the Nation’s Library

Posted by: Pat Padua

Next week, the Music Division’s popular jazz film series returns to the Mary Pickford Theater.  Senior Reference Specialist and In the Muse blogger Larry Appelbaum curated the series and provided program notes. Monday evenings at 7:00 pm – Mary Pickford Theater, 3rd Floor, James Madison Building. No tickets or reservations needed. Limited seating begins at 6:30pm. …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Get Your Gottlieb Here

Posted by: Pat Padua

Today we release the penultimate set of photographs from the William Gottlieb Collection to Flickr.  This set includes classic portraits of jazz legends like Fats Navarro and Tadd Dameron, Ray Nance, and Buddy Rich.  There are also striking images of lesser known figures, like a Kodachrome portrait of singer Dottie Reid.  Her isolation in the frame – …