Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection
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There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
Object Details
- Scope and Contents
- Research materials on jazz, jazz artists, jazz festivals and jazz organizations compiled by Levin over several decades. The richest portion is the series of biographical files on jazz artists, with emphasis on lesser known but influential artists, and includes such things as obituaries, memorial programs, press releases, concert programs, and newsletters. Photographs are also widely found in this series, many of them inscribed to, or taken with Levin and his wife Lucille, as well as posters, recordings, letters and other correspondence, awards and plaques, Levin's writings, business cards, newspaper articles, advertisements, and miscellaneous ephemeral items. Artists who are strongly represented include one-time Ellington Orchestra clarinetist "Barney" (Albany Leon) Bigard, who was a close personal friend of the Levins and whose personal papers are in the collection; Louis Armstrong; "Jelly Roll" (Ferdinand Lemott) Morton; "Wild" Bill Davison; "Duke" (Edward Kennedy) Ellington; Joe Darensbourg; Edward Bertram "Montudie" Garland; "Kid" (Edward) Ory; "Eubie" (James Herbert) Blake; and "Rosy" (James) McHargue.
- Summary
- Floyd Levin was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. The collection consists of research materials including biographical files. In addition, there are numerous photographs that were taken and collected by Levin.
- Restrictions
- The collection is open for research. Only reference copies of audiovisual materials may be used.
- Provenance
- Donated to the Archives Center in 2011 by Floyd Levin's widow, Lucille Levin.
- Arrangement
- The collection is divided into ten series. Series 1, Personal Papers, 1920-2010, undated Series 2, Correspondence, 1948-2006, undated Series 3, Research Materials, 1914-2006, undated Series 4, Writings, 1949-2006, undated Series 5, Artists Files, 1880-2010, undated Subseries 5.1, General Materials, 1880-2010, undated Subseries 5.2, Obituaries, 1941-2004 Subseries 5.3, Interviews, 1969-2001 Series 6, Subject Files, 1916-2004, undated Series 7, General Materials, 1908-2006, undated Series 8, Jazz Organizations and Publications, 1943-2010, undated Series 9, Photographs, 1939-2001, undated Series 10, Audiovisual Materials, 1964-1997, undated Subseries 10.1, Audiocassettes, 1970-1997, undated Subseries 10.2, Compact Discs, 1966-1994, undated Subseries 10.3, Sound Tape Reels, 1964-1973, undated
- Biographical / Historical
- Floyd Levin (1922 - 2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second, contemporaneous, career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians (University of California Press, 2000), which –like his articles – chronicled his first-hand encounters with countless jazz musicians. In 1949, he co-founded the Southern California Hot Jazz Society, the second-oldest jazz appreciation club in the country. Levin led the drive to create the Louis Armstrong Park and statue in New Orleans in the 1970s. During his career, he conducted scores of oral history interviews with jazz musicians, which he donated to NMAH and to Tulane University's jazz archive. He received several awards for his work, including the Leonard Feather Communicator Award, given annually by the Los Angeles Jazz Society. Levin died in 2007.
- Creator
- Garland, Ed
- Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971
- Morton, Jelly Roll, 1890-1941
- Collector
- Levin, Floyd, 1922-2007
- Creator
- Darensbourg, Joe, 1906-1985
- Davison, Bill
- Blake, Eubie (James Herbert), 1883-1983
- Wilson, Buster
- Donor
- Levin, Lucille
- Creator
- Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Genre/Form
- Newsletters -- 20th century
- Posters -- 20th century
- Obituaries
- Correspondence -- 20th century
- Photographs -- 20th century
- Advertisements -- 20th century
- Ephemera -- 20th century
- Concert programs -- 20th century
- Clippings
- Business cards
- Audiocassettes
- Signatures (names)
- Audiotapes
- Interviews
- Personal papers -- 20th century
- Biography files
- Awards
- Writings
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.1222
- Creator
- Garland, Ed
- Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971
- Morton, Jelly Roll, 1890-1941
- Collector
- Levin, Floyd, 1922-2007
- Creator
- Darensbourg, Joe, 1906-1985
- Davison, Bill
- Blake, Eubie (James Herbert), 1883-1983
- Wilson, Buster
- Donor
- Levin, Lucille
- Creator
- Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Newsletters
- Posters
- Obituaries
- Correspondence
- Photographs
- Advertisements
- Ephemera
- Concert programs
- Clippings
- Business cards
- Audiocassettes
- Signatures (names)
- Audiotapes
- Interviews
- Personal papers
- Biography files
- Awards
- Writings
- Extent
- 42.5 Cubic feet (110 boxes, 12 oversize folders)
- Citation
- Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection, 1880-2010, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Processing Information
- Collection processed by Rebekah Keel, intern; Elizabeth Livesey, intern; Justine Thomas, intern; Cooby Greenway, volunteer; Marian Tatum-Webb, volunteer; Ramona Williamson, volunteer and Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist, 2016.
- See more items in
- Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection
- Sponsor
- Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
- Topic
- Jazz
- Jazz musicians
- Date
- 1880 - 2010
- Rights
- Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
EAD Collection Results
2,122 result(s) Skip to facets for narrowing search resultsFacetas
- Media Type
- Resource Type
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Date
- filtro 1880s 3 Excluir 1880s
- filtro 1890s 5 Excluir 1890s
- filtro 1900s 9 Excluir 1900s
- filtro 1910s 22 Excluir 1910s
- filtro 1920s 69 Excluir 1920s
- filtro 1930s 88 Excluir 1930s
- filtro 1940s 191 Excluir 1940s
- filtro 1950s 221 Excluir 1950s
- filtro 1960s 322 Excluir 1960s
- filtro 1970s 403 Excluir 1970s
- filtro 1980s 488 Excluir 1980s
- filtro 1990s 594 Excluir 1990s
- filtro 2000s 155 Excluir 2000s
- filtro 2010s 10 Excluir 2010s
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Set Name
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection 2,122 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 5: Artists Files / 5.1: General Materials 1,310 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 5: Artists Files / 5.1: General Materials
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 9: Photographs 174 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 9: Photographs
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 10: Audiovisual Materials / 10.1: Audiocassettes 96 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 10: Audiovisual Materials / 10.1: Audiocassettes
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 8: Jazz Organizations and Publications 70 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 8: Jazz Organizations and Publications
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 4: Writings 68 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 4: Writings
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 6: Subject Files 59 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 6: Subject Files
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 2: Correspondence 55 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 2: Correspondence
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 7: General Materials / 7.4: Jazz Festival and Performance Programs and Posters 55 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 7: General Materials / 7.4: Jazz Festival and Performance Programs and Posters
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 7: General Materials / 7.5: Record Producers and Distributors 42 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 7: General Materials / 7.5: Record Producers and Distributors
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 3: Research Materials 41 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 3: Research Materials
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 5: Artists Files / 5.3: Interviews 39 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 5: Artists Files / 5.3: Interviews
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 7: General Materials / 7.2: Ephemera 39 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 7: General Materials / 7.2: Ephemera
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 1: Personal Papers 18 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 1: Personal Papers
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 7: General Materials / 7.3: Fake Book 14 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 7: General Materials / 7.3: Fake Book
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 10: Audiovisual Materials / 10.3: Sound Tape Reels 12 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 10: Audiovisual Materials / 10.3: Sound Tape Reels
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 10: Audiovisual Materials / 10.2: Compact Discs 5 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 10: Audiovisual Materials / 10.2: Compact Discs
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 7: General Materials 5 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 7: General Materials
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 10: Audiovisual Materials 3 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 10: Audiovisual Materials
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 5: Artists Files 3 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 5: Artists Files
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 5: Artists Files / 5.2: Obituaries 3 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 5: Artists Files / 5.2: Obituaries
- filtro Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 7: General Materials / 7.1: Business Cards 1 Excluir Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection / Series 7: General Materials / 7.1: Business Cards
- Metadata Usage
- online_visual_material
- type