Scope and Contents

The collection consists of compact cassettes of live jazz music recorded by Joe Gradinger. Recordings include the Topeka Jazz Workshop, Wichita Jazz Festival, KC Jazz Workshop All Stars, Mid-American Jazz Festival, Denver Jazz Party, and performances by Jay McShann, Milt Abel, Priscilla Bowman, Woody Heman, Dave Brubeck, Zoot Simms, and Marilyn Maye.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of cassette tapes and CD’s of live concerts at Penn Valley Park, Crown Center, Line Creek Park and the Cowtown Ballroom in Kansas City. The dates of the concerts range from 1973-1979. There is also a copy of the 2009 documentary "Cowtown Ballroom… Sweet Jesus" which was produced and directed by Heyen in the collection.

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A portion of the collection consists of recordings of performances and compositions by John Benson Brooks on lacquer discs. A large part of the collection are recordings of music, broadcasts, documentaries, etc. that Brooks had recorded to open reel audiotape.

Scope and Contents The John Coon Collection includes personal and professional correspondence, financial documents, business records, programs, handwritten musical parts and commercial sheet music, awards, periodicals, scrapbooks, and photographs related to John Coon, the Coon family, The Coon Agency, the Johnny Coon Orchestra, and the Carleton Coon Blackhawks Orchestra.The collection also includes recordings of the Johnny Coon Orchestra and recordings of and about the Coon-Sanders Original...

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Consists of live performace recordings of jazz musician John Park.

Scope and Contents The Joseph V. Thomas Collection was donated to the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1997 by Theron Johnson, the daughter of Thomas.Housed in LaBudde Special Collections, the manuscript collection consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings, music scores, song books, photographs, material related to the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra and the St. Stephen Baptist Church (Kansas City), and other miscellaneous items. The heart of the collection are the several hundred photographs...

Scope and Contents The Judy Chaikin Collection was gifted to the UMKC University Libraries by Chaikin in October 2016. The collection contains materials related to the creation and production of Chaikin’s 2011 documentary film, The Girls in the Band. The film tells the story of female jazz musicians, from the genre’s inception to contemporary times, detailing prominent figures and the struggles they faced competing in a male-dominated world.Among the collection, there are biographical notes on...

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The Kansas City Jazz Festival Collection was gifted to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library by the Ed Roche family estate after his death in 1997. The collection consists of festival programs for every year between 1964 and 1972, which are housed in LaBudde Special Collections. Also in the collection are live recordings engineered by Roche between the years 1964 and 1971, which are housed in the Marr Sound Archives.

Scope and Contents The Kerry Strayer collection was a gift to the University Libraries in October 2016 from Strayer’s wife, Gailyn. The collection is comprised of jazz arrangements for ensembles of varying size and instrumentation, with many pieces arranged by Strayer himself. There are also a handful of original compositions by Strayer, such as “Jeru Blue” and “KAS’s Blues.” In this collection, there are arrangements for the Polycurrents ensemble; jazz quartet, quintet, and sextet; Kerry Strayer and the New...

Scope and Contents

Live recordings of performances by Kansas City jazz musicians on cassette tapes.

Scope and Contents The Louis Katzman Collection was a gift of Michael M. Katzman in July 2013. Housed in LaBudde Special Collections, the bulk of the manuscript collection consists of sets of band and orchestra parts, mostly for tunes arranged by Katzman. Also present are some pieces of sheet music (individual songs and collections) in which Katzman played a role as composer or arranger, as well as publications including advertising materials, discographies, and periodicals.Housed in...

Scope and Contents The Major N. Clark Smith Collection was gifted to the University of Missouri-Kansas City by Mrs. Robert Lee Groves on April 25, 1973. Housed in the Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections, the collection consists of original and photocopied manuscript music scores and published sheet music composed and/or arranged by Major N. Clark Smith, including Frederick Douglass Funeral March, O’ Lincoln High, Tuskegee Institute March, and Negro Folk Suite. Also included are titles by...

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of many recordings that were accumulated since the founding of the Marr Sound Archives but the provenance and/or donors are unknown. There is limited information about the recordings in this collection. Much of the collection are lacquer discs of various music performances and home recordings. The collection also holds various test pressings, open reel tapes, cassettes, CD-Rs, and films.

Scope and Contents The Mel Lewis Collection was donated to the Miller Nichols Library at the University of Missouri-Kansas City by Doris Sokoloff in 1996. The collection consists of material related to Lewis’ life and career and dates from the 1940s to the 1990s.Housed in LaBudde Special Collections, the manuscript materials include biographical information, correspondence, business records, programs, datebooks, publications, clippings, awards, music scores, miscellaneous ephemera and memorabilia,...

Scope and Contents

The audiovisual materials in this collection consists of many live recordings of renown jazz musicians playing in the Kansas City area and surrounding region, including Jay McShann, Pat Metheney, Clark Terry, Zoot Simms, Woody Herman, Barney Kessel, and Ella Fitzgerald, among other legends. The collection also consists of jazz festival recordings, including the Mid-America Jazz Festival, Wichita Jazz Festival, Jazz Olympics, and the Kansas City Women's Jazz Festival.

Scope and Contents The Norman Saks Collection was donated by Saks to LaBudde Special Collections in the summer of 2014. The expansive nature of this collection is a reflection of Mr. Saks’ dedication to all aspects of Jazz music. A series of personal documents feature Saks ’correspondences as well as research materialsspecifically related to jazz artists, including: newspaper clippings, interviews, and artist contracts. Includedwith this series is a copy of The Charlie Parker Discography, completed by Saks,...

Scope and Contents

Contains recordings of of jazz performances, including Kerry Strayer, Kim Park, and Kansas City 7.

Scope and Contents Photos in UMKC Digital Special CollectionsThe collection consists of 65 black-and-white photographs related to the entertainment complex formerly at Linwood and Main in Kansas City, Missouri. Included are architectural renderings of the proposed development; interior and exterior shots; bandleaders and musicians, most notably Pla-Mor band director Chic Scoggin and his orchestra; as well as other...

Scope and Contents The Raymond Scott Collection was donated to the University of Missouri-Kansas City by Mitzi Scott, Raymond Scott’s widow, in 1993.Housed in LaBudde Special Collections, the original manuscript collection, which encompasses much of Scott’s career until 1980, is organized into 11 series: manuscript music scores; published music; correspondence; news clippings; journals, diaries and scrapbooks; production notes; personal; engineering and inventions; miscellaneous; oversized...

Scope and Contents The Robert Brookmeyer Collection consists of manuscript scores and copies of manuscript scores created for performance by jazz ensembles. The vast majority of the material was either composed or arranged by Robert Brookmeyer, although there are five arrangements by jazz musician and composer Bill Holman. The manuscripts date from 1958 to 1982 with the majority having been created between the years 1979-1982.The collection is arranged in three series: Jazz Ensemble Compositions,...

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The majority of the materials consists of broadcast recordings of Robert "Old Uncle Bob" Mossman's jazz program on KKFI, Kansas City.

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The collection consists of DVDs, VHS Tapes, and U-matic tapes of Ruth's Music Corner, a public access television program hosted by Ruth Rhoden from 1988-1996. The collection contains many interviews and recordings of live performances by Kansas City jazz musicians. Other recordings include live performances and raw footage from Kansas City Alive, where Ruth had her own jazz-oriented segment, which evolved into Ruth’s Music Corner.

Scope and Contents Sheet Music Collection Finding Aid (PDF).Sheet music from the Kansas City, World War I and World War II imprint collections is temporarily unavailable through Digital Special Collections. If you'd like to request any titles, please contact SpecialCollections@umkc.edu. The Sheet Music...

Scope and Contents The Steve Miller Collection was a gift to the University Libraries in September 2011. Materials date from 1951-2012, with the majority of non-musical materials originating from the 1980s and 1990s. The impressive bulk of this collection can be found in the music manuscripts. Contained are over one thousand pieces of music, including pieces that are original arrangements and pieces that were performed by Miller’s ensembles.Most non-musical items in the collection give a wide...

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The Stuart MacKay Collection was gifted to the LaBudde Department of Special Collections in May 2010. The collection consists primarily of jazz and classical music arrangements by John Saunders for MacKay’s woodwind quintet and band. These manuscripts are undated and unpublished. Included also are copies of two published MacKay compositions, fake books, bassoon and woodwind scores, a theory textbook, and some promotional material and personal papers. Inclusive dates are 1938-1986.