The Jazz Music Library is now available from the VCU Libraries-- an online treasury of jazz recordings from the beginning of the art form to contemporary performances. Listeners can choose individual songs, or hear entire albums, as well as watch video clips of performances. Biographical essays, in full text, provide background information for understanding jazz artists in their own time.
With new albums and artists added monthly, Jazz Music Library will become the largest and most comprehensive collection of jazz available online. Thousands of recordings are represented, ranging from past greats to musicians performing today, including: Billy Strayhorn, Bix Beiderbecke, Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Dizzie Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, Lester Young, Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, Sarah Vaughn, Stan Getz, Thelonius Monk, Wes Montgomery, and a long list of influential artists. Liner notes to all the albums represented are also included (in PDF format).
Jazz Music Library also enables users to create their own playlists -- recordings of personal favorites, or for class assignments. Playlists can be annotated, edited, copied, and shared by any user of the database.
Exciting new materials will be highlighted on the home page, and each month a large number of albums will be added. Entries include detailed instrumentation and performer information, and search options include date or place of recording, genre of jazz, instrument, record label, album or song title, and performer.