Philadelphia Jazz Oral History Project
- Jay I. Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts with Philadelphia Jazz Project, Ars Nova Workshop, PhillyCAM, Philadelphia Jazz Musicians
- Penn Libraries
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Community Partnerships Grant
The Philadelphia Jazz Oral History Project will document and share the stories of Philadelphia jazz musicians and their protégés to discover how these relationships influenced the evolution of jazz and mainstream popular music in the 1970s -2022 through a series of oral history recordings and performative videos. Philadelphia has a rich tradition of jazz, soul, and hip hop that influenced the contemporary music scene. Within this tradition, professional jazz musicians living and working in the city taught music and mentored youth in the music business. This oral history project will map Philadelphia jazz musicians career history and mentoring relationships to discover how these interactions continued the evolution of the Philadelphia Sound. The goal of the project is to collect 15 to 20 one-hour oral histories in audio and video formats that will be accessible through the Kislak Center at Penn Libraries for Jazz community partners, researchers and enthusiasts. Those one-hour recordings will be the foundation for a one-hour television special on PhillyCAM TV and limited jazz radio series on WPPM FM radio, which will air on cable television and streaming networks.
Jazz Lives in Philadelphia with Lovett Hines Jr. Permission of Philadelphia Jazz Project.