The Center for Black Music Research Collection contains materials reflecting many areas of black music including composers, ethnomusicologists, music researchers, music journalists, scores, published music, and audiovisual collections across all genres. These collection guides, or finding aids, provide access to information about held archival special collections. Each guide describes the organization and scope of a collection and offers content information, allowing researchers to discover relevant information.
Many musical works listed in these collection guides are handwritten; those listed with a publisher's name are printed. Please check the guides for more information
Additional collection guides will be added as they are completed.
To make inquiries or ask questions, please contact archives@colum.edu
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Guide to the Reginald L. Davenport House Music Collection
Columbia College Chicago
Reginald L Davenport came of age to the sound of hot mixing Chicago radio DJs during the 1980s and he carried his love of house music to the United Kingdom when he left home to serve in the armed forces abroad, DJ’ing around England when he wasn’t on base. The collection contains flyers primarily from the United Kingdom of house music venues in which he DJ’ed, tapes of his mixes, and documents related to his work.
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Guide to the Richard E. Stamz Collection
Columbia College Chicago
Richard E. Stamz was a broadcast pioneer and active member of Chicago’s Englewood community. His 1950s radio show on WGES, “Open the Door, Richard,” helped promote and popularize urban black musical genres such as soul, blues, and gospel, and was an outlet for advertisers to reach African American audiences. The collection includes material from his broadcasting career, his involvement in the Englewood community, and his personal life.
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Guide to the R. Nathaniel Dett Club Records
Columbia College Chicago
The R. Nathaniel Dett Club Records contain the administrative records of this Chicago branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) including bylaws, constitutions, minutes and agendas and also, programs from concerts and other events.
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Guide to the Robert A. Harris Collection
Columbia College Chicago
Robert Allen Harris is a composer, conductor of choral music, and choir clinician. The collection reflects his work as a choir director and professor as well as his published and unpublished compositions, primarily of choral music, recordings, and works from other composers are also present.
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Guide to the Robert Leigh Morris Collection
Columbia College Chicago
Robert Leigh Morris (b. 1941) is an American composer and music instructor. The Robert Leigh Morris Collection contains his personal music scores, from published works to drafts, and programs from his performances, as well as scores by other composers. Professional correspondences, documents, and some of Morris’s writings are also included.