Jazz Objects | National Museum of American History | Traveling Exhibits | National Portrait Gallery Smithsonian Affiliates | Jazz Programs and Organizations

Smithsonian Jazz Exhibits

Exhibits at the National Museum of American History

Ella Fitzgerald-First Lady of Song
An exhibition at the National Museum of American History
Produced by the National Museum of American History
Smithsonian Institution.

Objects from the Duke Ellington Collection
On view on the third floor of the National Museum of American history are Duke Ellington concert posters, musical instruments and sheet music.

Herman Leonard's photographs of Jazz Greats
On view on the third floor of the National Museum of American History are a sampling of Herman Leonard's Jazz photography collection. He captured Jazz greats from Duke Ellington to Ella Fitzgerald in unforgettable moments.

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Recent Smithsonian Exhibits Featuring Jazz Objects

Piano 300-Celebrating Three Centuries of People and Pianos
An exhibition at the International Gallery
Produced by the National Museum of American History
Smithsonian Institution
March 9, 2000 through October 21, 2001

Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service Exhibits

Latin Jazz: La Combinacion Perfecta
Latin Jazz celebrates this moveable melange of musical styles and sounds. This bilingual exhibition explores the history, cultural context, musicians, places, instruments, and dance aesthetic behind the development of this musical genre. It features instruments: a tres, claves, maracas, congas, bongos, güiros, tamboras, drums, horns, cuatros, timbales, and five-key flutes (some owned by jazz greats); documents; photographs; musical scores; programs; album covers; and other artifacts. Maps, audio-visual stations, vintage film footage, and oral history interviews enhance the exhibition's impact.
Tour begins: December 2002
Itinerary

Jazz Age in Paris 1914-1940
With graphics and backgrounds evocative of the period, the small-format exhibition presents nearly 100 images, including portrait and candid photographs, posters, programs, and other printed memorabilia. The visual story is complemented by introductory text and wide-ranging quotations from jazz-age musicians, writers, and entertainers. A 30-minute video accompanies the exhibition.
Tour through: March 2003
Itinerary

Red Hot and Blue- A Salute to American Musicals
The National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of American History salute Broadway and Hollywood with this jointly sponsored major exhibition on the history of the American musical and the people who gave it life. Approximately four hundred photographs, caricatures, set designs, costumes, other memorabilia, and audio and video clips trace the musical from its immigrant roots in nineteenth-century vaudeville, through its glittering rise on Broadway's "Great White Way," and through Hollywood's gleaming soundstages, to its heyday in the 1940s and 1950s, ending with the modern musical.
Tour through: September 2004
Itenrary Information: Michelle Torres-Carmona (202) 357-3168 x122

Past Exhibits

Beyond Category The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington
This small-format presentation of Beyond Category is based on the 5,000-square-foot exhibition originally developed by SITES and the Division of Musical History, National Museum of American History. Retaining the dramatic atmosphere of the original exhibition, this freestanding panel design incorporates theatrical photo murals and panels layered with deep, vibrant colors as backdrops to over 130 copy photographs and documents. The exhibition is comprised of six sections to tell Ellington's complete story. The video Beyond Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington and an interactive computer program complete this multidimensional portrait of the man and his music.
Toured through: March 2001( Fully booked)
Itinerary

Louis Armstrong- A Cultural legacy
Video and audio clips of Armstrong in performance, paintings, drawings, photographs, and related memorabilia combine to create a vivid portrait of the jazz giant who rose from poverty to prominence as one of the most important musicians of his time. Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. Support for the Washington showing is provided by Infiniti Division of Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A. First floor.
July 26 through December 1, 1996.

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The National Portrait Gallery

Past Exhibits

Le Tumulte Noir: Paul Colin's Jazz Age Portfolio
In 1927, Josephine Baker's friend and advocate, the French poster artist Paul Conlin, captured Baker's explosive performing presence, and Paris's profound reaction to black culture during the 1920s. In a portfolio of forty-four lithographs titled Le Tumulte Noir ("The Black Craze"). The fifteen sheets on view were selected from the portfolio in the Gallery's collection. First floor.
January 31 through September 14, 1997.

 

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Smithsonian Affiliates

Affiliates- National Jazz Museum in Harlem
The National Jazz Museum is looking to open next door to the Apollo Theater in New York City. The museum plans to showcase art and artifacts marking the history of jazz.

Affiliates- American Jazz Museum in Kansas
The American Jazz Museum demonstrates the journey of Africans in America, from the motherland to 18th and Vine. The museum is dedicated to the memory of the nameless and unremembered men and women whose daring, endurance, and commitment to African American self-sufficiency made 18th and Vine the vibrant center of jazz, swing and Bebop in Kansas City and the world.

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Smithsonian Jazz Programs and Organizations

Smithsonian Jazz Alliance
The Smithsonian Jazz Alliance is a consortium of individuals who research or work to preserve and present the history of jazz through collections, exhibitions, performances, recordings, radio programs, publications and educational programs both at the Smithsonian and across the nation. Staff members represent the Office of the Secretary, the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Productions, the Center for Folklife Studies, SITES, the Center for African American History and Culture, the Anacostia Museum, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and the Smithsonian Associates.

Jazz Oral History Project
The Smithsonian Institution initiated the Jazz Oral History Project in 1972 with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1980, the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey, became the administrator and repository of the 122 taped and transcribed interviews collected until the project's end in 1984.
In 1992, a new collaboration reactivated the project and expanded its scope as the Jazz Oral History Program (JOHP). The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund awarded a grant to the Smithsonian Institution to create "America's Jazz Heritage, A Partnership of the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution." This partnership supports a ten-year national jazz celebration including touring exhibitions, performances, educational programs, recordings, special events, publications, radio programs, and the Jazz Oral History Program, located at the National Museum of American History.

The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra (SJMO)
The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra (SJMO) was founded in 1990 by the National Museum of American History. Its mandate is to preserve the history of jazz by re-creating the greatest performances of all time. The ensemble is led by conductor David Baker (photo on left), chairman of the jazz department at the Indiana University School of Music, and a noted composer and author. Its eclectic repertoire ranges from Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Fletcher Henderson to Jimmie Lunceford, Glenn Miller, and Stan Kenton. The SJMO's versatile musicians don't just play the music; they duplicate the individual styles of saxophonist Johnny Hodges, trumpeter Miles Davis, and dozens of other outstanding instrumentalists.

The Program in African American Culture (PAAC)
The purpose of PAAC is to systematically research, interpret, document and preserve the historical and cultural life and legacy of Americans of African descent through public programs, publications, and other media. The program's work requires the development of strong ties with community organizations, schools, and scholarly research centers for the purpose of organizing programs, broadly disseminating educational materials, and training emerging researchers and scholars in African American studies, cultural studies, and public history.

Duke Ellington Youth Project
From its inception, The Duke Ellington Youth Project has encouraged young people to absorb the life and times of Duke Ellington and enjoy his music. This gallery offers only a small glimpse into the postive energy, quality and creativity exhibited by participants in The Duke Ellington Youth Project; and demonstrates well the power of the project and its curriculum.

The Anacostia Museum Center for African American Culture
The Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture has grown from an experiment in community outreach to a national resource devoted to the identification, documentation, protection, and interpretation of the African American experience. The museum also examines contemporary urban issues, including housing, transportation, and health care, and their impact upon the African American community.

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