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 James Furman Collection
Columbia College Chicago
The James Furman Collection contains materials relating to several genres of music, writings, including his unpublished book on gospel music, personal papers, and original and copies of musical compositions; most was collected while he taught at Western Connecticut State University in Connecticut.
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Guide to the Jean Stor Collection
Columbia College Chicago
Jean Stor was the pseudonym of William Astor Morgan, a composer, choral conductor, and playwright, who worked mainly in New York City. The collection contains manuscripts and scores for a number of symphonies, tone poems, concertos and other classical works, along with choral works, spiritual arrangements, art songs, popular songs, and theatrical numbers as well as several play scripts, short stories, and photographs.
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Guide to the Kenneth M. Bilby Oral History Collection on Foundations of Jamaican Popular Music
Columbia College Chicago
Sound recordings and accompanying logs of oral history interviews conducted by Dr. Kenneth M. Bilby with studio musicians and arrangers active in the creation of Jamaican popular music during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The collection is open for on-site research use only and cannot be copied or distributed without the permission of Kenneth M. Bilby.
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Guide to the Lee V. Cloud Collection
Columbia College Chicago
Lee V. Cloud was a composer, educator and choral clinician who taught at several institutions, before serving as coordinator of Education for the Center for Black Music Research. His collection contains his scores and sketches as well as personal papers and programs.
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Guide to the Martin Williams Collection
Columbia College Chicago
Martin Williams was a music critic specializing in jazz and American popular culture and the collection includes published articles, unpublished manuscripts, files and correspondence, and music scores of jazz compositions. He wrote for major jazz periodicals, especially Down Beat, co-founded The Jazz Review and was the author of numerous books on jazz.