Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives – Collections Summary

Overview of major archival collections documenting jazz, with an emphasis on Washington, D.C., held at the University of the District of Columbia.

Collecting focus: Recordings, photographs, radio broadcast materials, manuscripts, and other archival resources related to all aspects of jazz, with special emphasis on Washington, D.C. jazz history.
Strengths: Radio and broadcast history, major personal collections, extensive discographies, documentation of local festivals and institutions, and rich visual and ephemera holdings.
Jazz Archives Washington, D.C. Radio & Broadcast Sound Recordings Festivals & Events

Overview

The Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives hold a wide range of collections that document jazz locally, nationally, and internationally. Guided by an acquisitions policy that emphasizes research value, the Archives collect commercial and private recordings, interviews, photographs, radio programs, festival and concert documentation, personal papers, and ephemera. Many collections highlight the Washington, D.C. jazz scene, key broadcasters and historians, and the careers of major artists such as Duke Ellington, Charlie Byrd, and Dizzy Gillespie.

Materials exist in multiple formats—LPs, 78s, 45s, CDs, reel-to-reel tapes, cassettes, VHS, scrapbooks, programs, posters, and business records—and many interviews and photographs have been digitized and made available through UDC Search and the WRLC Digital and Special Collections.

Highlights of Major Collections

  • Paul Anthony Collection Commercial LP recordings (5,100+), interviews, and radio shows from a veteran D.C. jazz broadcaster, documenting mid- to late-20th-century American jazz. Interviews have been digitized and are available for listening.
  • Larry Appelbaum Collection Unique interviews and radio programs (audiocassettes and reels), jazz-related VHS videos, and periodicals donated by the Library of Congress music reference specialist, producer, and critic.
  • Dennis Askey Collection A major audio-taped Duke Ellington collection (149 reels, 3,300 selections from 1924–1947) with a detailed discography, plus 16mm “Soundies” jazz films and additional reel-to-reel broadcast recordings.
  • William A. Brower, Jr. Collections Thousands of CD recordings and archival materials documenting Brower’s work, including the historic Jazz Forum and CBC Jazz Concerts, and the Capital City Jazz Festival (1985–1988) with programs, publicity, photos, records, and performance recordings.
  • Charlie Byrd Collection Two large scrapbooks (1957–1970) containing over 1,500 items that trace the early professional career of the internationally acclaimed guitarist, including clippings, reviews, programs, and advertisements.
  • Ernest Dyson Collection Extensive commercial recordings, reel-to-reel interviews, radio shows, festival recordings, books, lectures, reviews, concert programs, photographs, and promotional materials assembled by the writer and historian.
  • Fishman–Peters Collection for the Study of Jazz and World Music A private collection of LPs supplemented by materials documenting the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival and DC Jazz Festival (2005–2014), including posters, photographs, video, event badges, business records, and biographical and marketing materials. Highlights the work of producer Charles Fishman.
  • Herb and Will Friedwald Collection Approximately 10,000 LPs spanning traditional New Orleans jazz through avant-garde, built by producer and historian Herb Friedwald and later expanded and donated by critic and author Will Friedwald.
  • Felix Grant Collection & Digital Collection The core archive of 16,500+ commercial recordings, interviews, and radio shows from Felix Grant’s four decades as a D.C. jazz broadcaster. Includes books, periodicals, posters, program logs, liner notes, reviews, photographs, and memorabilia. Many interviews and photographs are available online via the WRLC digital repository.
  • George I. Hall Collection A large private collection from discographer George I. Hall, including thousands of LP, 78 rpm, and 45 rpm recordings, plus books, periodicals, and related ephemera.
  • John Edward Hasse Collection Commercially issued LPs and 45s (primarily jazz, with ragtime, blues, soul, and rock), plus VHS music documentaries from the Smithsonian curator, author, and producer of major Duke Ellington and jazz anthologies.
  • Gene Hyden Collection A unique photographic archive focusing on musicians in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, arranged chronologically by location.
  • Maurice Jackson Collection Rare LPs (especially Cuban artists), books on jazz history and artists, and documentation from the 2016 NEA Jazz Masters Concert donated by the historian and activist.
  • Willard Jenkins Collection A substantial run of jazz journals and magazines from the private collection of the author, journalist, consultant, and DC Jazz Festival artistic director.
  • Hugo A. Keesing – “The Jazz Scene” A rare 1949 limited-edition Mercury Records folio compiled by Norman Granz, containing six 78 rpm records, high-quality photographs by Gjon Mili, art by David Stone Martin, and extensive liner notes.
  • Collection of Richard Rosman – In Memory of Norman Granz A gift of LPs originally presented by Norman Granz to his attorney Richard D. Rosman, primarily Pablo label recordings, plus Ella Fitzgerald memorabilia.
  • Tom Scanlan Collection Recordings in multiple formats, periodicals, scripts, and playlists from the longtime journalist and critic, including materials for Voice of America’s Sound of Jazz and Jazz Today programs.
  • W. Royal Stokes Collection Over 9,000 recordings, 5,000 books and periodicals, archival materials, and professional papers from the author, historian, critic, and broadcaster, documenting his extensive writing and radio work.
  • UDC Jazz Studies Program Collection Audiovisual recordings and documentation of UDC’s Jazz Studies Program from 1976 onward, including concerts, recitals, workshops, programs, correspondence, posters, and materials highlighting the legacy of Calvin Jones. Also reflects the program’s community outreach activities.
  • WDCU Collection Recordings from WDCU-FM, including roughly 14,000 commercial recordings, NPR jazz and world music programs, interviews, and episodes of the talk show Cross Talk, plus periodicals, posters, membership records, business correspondence, and awards.
  • Hollie West Donation Nearly 50 issues (2006–2009) of Japan’s influential Swing Journal, noted for its photography and international jazz coverage.

Formats, Access & Research Use

  • Holdings include commercial and private sound recordings (LPs, 78s, 45s, CDs, cassettes, reels), video (VHS, 16mm film), photographs, scrapbooks, programs, posters, correspondence, business records, and personal papers.
  • Many radio interviews and selected photographs from the Felix Grant and related collections have been digitized; streaming audio and images are accessible through UDC Search and the WRLC Libraries Digital and Special Collections.
  • Inventories and finding aids (including detailed discographies and item-level lists) exist for several collections and continue to be developed as cataloging progresses.
  • The Archives support coursework in UDC’s Jazz Studies Program and broader scholarly research on jazz, broadcast history, and the Washington, D.C. music community.