The Center for Black Music Research Collection contains materials that reflect many areas of Black music including collections from composers, ethnomusicologists, music researchers, music journalists, and also scores, published music, and audiovisual collections across all genres. These collection guides, or finding aids, provide access to materials held in archival special collections. The guide describes the organization and offers content information so researchers can discover relevant information.
Many musical works listed in these guides are handwritten; those listed with a publisher's name are printed. Please check the guides for more information.
Additional guides will be added as they are completed..
Please contact archives@colum.edu with questions.
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Guide to the Gwendoline Y. Fortune Collection
Columbia College Chicago
The Gwendoline Y. Fortune Collection contains a set of 13 compact discs of classical music recordings curated by Fortune in 1997; each disc has a unique theme. The music was collected and produced for broadcast on local radio stations.
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Guide to the Hale Smith and Melba Liston Recordings
Columbia College Chicago
This set of five recordings were taped in Hale Smith’s Black Studies class at University of Connecticut- Storrs and include class lectures by Melba Liston as well as tapes from a WKCR radio program, and a studio track of “The Marijuana Affair” by Melba Liston, conducted by Hale Smith. These recordings were received from Randy Weston, who worked closely with Melba Liston, and Juanita Smith, wife of Hale Smith.
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Guide to the Helen Walker Hill Collection
Columbia College Chicago
The Helen Walker-Hill Collection is composed of musical compositions by black women composers throughout the United States and England. This collection was compiled by pianist and musicologist, Dr. Helen Walker-Hill. Duplicates and/or originals also held at University of Colorado at Boulder American Music Research Center.
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Guide to the Herbert Zane Knauss Collection
Columbia College Chicago
Herbert Zane Knauss served as the University of South Carolina's Director of Information Services and was a jazz enthusiast who combined his musical passion with local history by creating a documentary about South Carolina native Dizzy Gillespie titled Cheraw for Dizzy. The collection holds radio broadcasts Zane Knauss produced about jazz artists and the original soundtrack for his documentary film about Dizzy Gillespie.
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Guide to the Irene Britton Smith Collection
Columbia College Chicago
Irene Britton Smith taught in the Chicago Public Schools and during summer vacations, studied music, earning a MM from DePaul University. The collection contain her compositions for orchestra, solo violin, and piano and choral works and spiritual arrangements as well as books and works by other composers.