MEDIA RELEASE
WEDNESDAY 5 December 2018
NATIONAL JAZZ ARCHIVE SATELLITE ARRIVES AT BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY
Birmingham City University now hosts a satellite archive of the National Jazz Archive (NJA).
The British Institute of Jazz Studies collection has recently arrived at Birmingham City University as a satellite of the National Jazz Archive. This collection includes an extensive number of foreign language magazines and books. This will be complemented in the following years by additional UK focused materials and jazz ephemera.
“The partnership between Birmingham City University and the National Jazz Archive is an important new initiative that seeks to stimulate debate about the history and significance of jazz in the UK and beyond. Through exhibitions, performances, talks and workshops, our aim is to create a vibrant, living archive known for innovative research and outreach programmes that are uniquely anchored in the wider community."
Professor Nick Gebhardt, Director of the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research (BCMCR)
“Birmingham with its strong jazz scene and the keen interest in jazz research seems to be a natural home for the National Jazz Archive. I really welcome its arrival.”
Tony Dudley-Evans, Programme Advisor, Jazzline Programme at Town Hall Symphony Hall
The Birmingham City University satellite collection is housed in the Arts, Design & Media archives at Parkside Building. This collection is available to all through appointment with the Keeper of the Archives, Dr Pedro Cravinho.
This year represents a significant milestone for the National Jazz Archive as it celebrates thirty years of activity. The NJA holds the UK’s finest collection of written, printed and visual material on jazz, blues and related music, from the 1920s to the present day. Since the NJA was established in 1988, its vision has been to ensure that the rich cultural heritage of jazz is safeguarded for the future generations.
This year also represents the beginning of a partnership between Birmingham City University and the NJA towards the establishment of an NJA’s satellite-based at the University’s Arts, Design and Media Archives located in its Parkside Building, where the first archival materials have already arrived.
Both achievements provide us with a great opportunity to recognise, appreciate and celebrate these milestones through an exhibition, displaying examples of a significant and exciting jazz magazine collection, published in a multiplicity of different countries and representing a distinct and vibrant jazz diaspora culture during the twentieth century.
The archive includes a diversity of foreign-language jazz and blues-related magazines from across the world, to include:
Jazz Podium (Germany), Musica Jazz (Italy), Jazz Bladet (Norway), Jazz Forum (Poland), Jazz ‘n’ More (Switzerland), Jazznytt (Sweden), Quartica Jazz (Spain), Hot Jazz Club (Argentina), Jazz Live (Austria), Jazz (Belgium), Jazz Bulletin (Czech Republic), Jazz Revy (Denmark), Rytmi (Finland), Jazz Nu (Netherlands), Melody Maker (UK), Australian Jazz Quarterly (Australia), Coda (Canada).
These materials are available to all through appointment with the Keeper of the Archives, Dr. Pedro Cravinho at ADM-Archives-Request@bcu.
“This archive is an invaluable resource, providing researchers with material evidence of how jazz has been historically represented in the media.”
Trish Clowes, London-based saxophonist & composer, BASCA British Composer Award winner & former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist
“The National Jazz Archive at Birmingham City University holds much of interest for the typographically curious. This wide collection of printed ephemera forms a microcosm of changing graphic styles from across the eras and around the world. It presents an exciting opportunity to examine the typographic language of Jazz and how this particular genre has developed a visual dialect as vibrant and innovative as the music itself.”
Professor Caroline Archer- Parre, Director of the Centre for Printing History and Culture, Birmingham City University
“There are plenty of visual treats to inspire and intrigue within this collection. Anyone who has seen the album designs that Reid Miles did for Blue Note will appreciate the powerful relationship between type, image and music that is a hallmark of jazz. To see this strong link expressed with such diversity in these publications from around the world, is of significant interest to researchers and practitioners alike.”
Nathan Tromans, Head of School Visual Communications, Birmingham City University
A curated snapshot of the recently arrived archive was on display at Birmingham City University’s Parkside Building for students, members of staff and the general public during November. This represents the beginning of a series of associated events, which will be advertised through the Jazz Research BCU social media channels.
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