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Category: Jazz

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Jazz Appreciation in Moving Images and Recorded Sound

Posted by: Karen Fishman

April is Jazz Appreciation Month! The Smithsonian National Museum of American History began this month-long celebration in 2001 to encourage people to listen to, read about, and play jazz music. Unsurprisingly, jazz is well-represented in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division at the Library of Congress, from commercial recordings to film and more. …

A view looking past a digital display screen towards the doors of an indoor theater, with

Rarities! Mystery! The Marty Alexander Collection

Posted by: Karen Fishman

Today’s post is by David Sager, Research Assistant in the Recorded Sound Research Center. Marty Alexander, a chemist, collected rare 17th Century French furniture and art and also amassed one of the world’s most comprehensive and exotic collections of pre-WWII 78 rpm jazz recordings. After his death in 2009, the Library of Congress acquired the …