Jazz On the Web

DownBeat Magazine
www.downbeat.com
For jazz news and reviews, CD recommendations and reviews, and online Jazz 101, jazz artist bios, and masterclasses.

JazzTimes, America's Jazz Magazine
www.jazztimes.com
The history of the magazine dates back to Radio Free Jazz, a publication founded in 1970 by Ira Sabin when he was operating a record store in Washington, DC. It was originally a newsletter designed to update shoppers on the latest jazz releases and provide jazz radio programmers with a means of communicating with the industry. However, Radio Free Jazz grew substantially over the next decade, attracting readers and writers from around the world. In 1980, the magazine's broader focus and appeal prompted a name change, so Radio Free became JazzTimes. In 1990, the magazine also underwent a change, receiving a bold new look that incorporated exclusive cover photography and state of the art graphic design. Since then JazzTimes has continued to evolve into what is widely regarded as the world's leading jazz publication.

Cadence Magazine
www.cadencebuilding.com/cadence/cadencemagazine.html
A monthly review of Creative Improvised Music: interviews, oral histories, music and book reviews. The most complete coverage of the Jazz/Improvised Music scene.

America's Jazz Heritage
www.si.edu/ajazzh
America's Jazz Heritage is an initiative to research, preserve, and present the history of jazz through exhibitions, performances, recordings, radio, publications, and educational programs at the Smithsonian Institution and across the nation. It is a partnership of the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution. The program was established in 1992 by a major grant from the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund. Headquartered at the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), America's Jazz Heritage coordinates the activities of Smithsonian experts from offices across the Institution including the National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian Associates, and Smithsonian Productions, as well as SITES and several other divisions.

In 1987, the US Congress passed HR 57, a resolution declaring jazz "a rare and valuable treasure." The Smithsonian Institution Jazz Oral History Program, supported in part by a special congressional appropriation, reaffirms the Institution's commitment to the preservation of jazz as the most significant musical culture to emerge in the United States.

The National Ragtime and Jazz Archive at Southern Illinois University
www.library.siue.edu/jazz/
In March 1974, the Board of Trustees, in recognition of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's part in the St. Louis metropolitan community and its rich cultural tradition of jazz and ragtime music, established the National Ragtime and Jazz Archive at Lovejoy Library. The archive documents early recorded jazz and the lives of notable jazz musicians from the St. Louis area. The John Randolph Collection, with approximately 10,500 78-rpm records, provided the basis of the archive's record collection. Today there are more than 20,000 records in the archive. Audio and videotapes, sheet music, piano rolls, and oral history materials are also included.

From the creation of the archive, many dedicated musicians and members of the University community have donated time, funds, and materials to develop the archive. A group of SIUE faculty members formed a jazz and ragtime band called the "Old Guys." Included in the group were W. Deane Wiley, Dan Havens, Ray Helsel, Jack Ades, Lyman "Zeke" Holden, Warren Brown, and the ever-popular ragtime pianist and vocalist, Jean Kittrell. The Old Guys performed benefit concerts and issued three recordings which have been sold to further benefit the archive. Two albums in particular, Hot Ginger and Dynamite and Jazz In the Parlor, have been well-received. These albums can be purchased for $10.00 each; proceeds support the archive.

During the early 1980s, the Illinois Arts Council funded an oral history project through which St. Louis area jazz musicians were interviewed. The corresponding tapes and transcripts of the interviews were subsequently added to the Jazz Archive. The oral history memoirs highlight the careers of these musicians and give descriptions of musical life in the St. Louis area during the 20th century. Carol Clarkin, Dan Havens, Charles Rose, and Deane Wiley were the primary interviewers in the project, and Carole Wiley was the project coordinator. Therese Zoski Dickman is continuing the oral history interviews.

All About Jazz
www.allaboutjazz
It has everything you could want when it comes to jazz, from shopping to streaming radio and beyond. Debate, discuss, learn, laugh and share at All About Jazz. Probaby the best, most active, jazz resource on the web.

Jazz Review
www.jazzreview.com
A close second to "All About Jazz" as the best, most actie, jazz resource on the web.

Red Hot Jazz
www.redhotjazz.com
This is a very interesting early jazz site with a great archive featuring music, film, and essays.

A Great Day in Harlem
www.harlem.org
An interactive photo of historical jazz artists. Explore history by timeline, artist, instrument, and style.

Jazz Institute of Chicago
www.jazzinstituteofchicago.org
A local area resource, complete with concert listings.

rainerJazz - The Jazz Archive
www.rainerjazz.com
European website archiving historical jazz

Signal to Noise Magazine
www.signaltonoisemagazine.org
The official website of Signal to Noise, the journal of improvised and experimental music.

The Improvisor
www.the-improvisor.com
The Improvisor is a resource for musicians and composers of free improvisation, to share music, ideas, articles, reviews, scores, and links to interesting sites.

National Public Radio
www.nprjazz.org
National Public Radio's official jazz website.

The Library of Congress
Start at http://memory.loc.gov/ or http://www.loc.gov/and search for "jazz"
The Library of Congress has a great archive that is often overlooked. It's a little hard to navigate, but it features material culture like early sheet music, photo collections, and writings on original manuscript.

The Center for Black Music Research
www.cbmr.org/links.htm
While not exclusively a jazz site, the Center for Black Music Research offers many links to other online jazz resources.