Blog topic: Sound recordings

The Chuck Black Endowment for Early Jazz and Blues promotes the study of early and traditional jazz, blues, and similar musical styles as they emerged and evolved from 1900-1950. In 2016-17 the Endowment acquired twenty-four rare blues recordings.

KZSU Stanford students at a house on Page Mill Road, 1949

The Chuck Black Collection for Early Jazz and Blues

March 6, 2018

The Archive of Recorded Sound is developing rich collections of early and traditional jazz. In 2014 the Chuck Black Collection of 224 jazz recordings was donated to the Archive along with funds for cataloging and digitizing all of the discs. In addition, the Black family established the Chuck Black Endowment for Early Jazz and Blues to promote the study of early and traditional jazz, blues, and similar musical styles as they emerged and evolved from 1900-1950.

Collection of piano, player piano, organ, and player organ patents now available

February 16, 2018

by Gurudarshan Khalsa

The Archive of Recorded Sound is happy to announce that the Strong Museum Collection (ARS-0190) of bound volumes of patents from the Aeolian Company, the Amphion Piano Player Company, and the Mason & Hamlin Piano Company is processed and is now open for research. The volumes cover piano, player piano, organ, and player organ patents filed with the United States Patent Office and the British Patent Office from 1825 to 1926. The volumes provide an extensive technical and historical overview of the inventions, innovations, and improvements in the musical instrument industry during this time period.

Detail, CD cover of Korean People's Army Band

North Korean music, peace, propaganda

January 23, 2018

by Ray Heigemeir

The approaching XXIII Olympic Winter Games shine a spotlight on the Korean Peninsula, and the very tentative steps toward cooperation between the two Koreas in the current highly-charged political climate. Music is playing a role in that arena.

The Archive of Recorded Sound welcomes Gurudarshan Khalsa

December 13, 2017

The Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound is pleased to announce the appointment of Gurudarshan Khalsa as Project Archivist for 2018. Gurudarshan will be processing the Strong Museum Collection, the Richard Howe Collection of Musical Instrument Literature, a portion of the Robert Baxter Collection, and also several small collections in the Archive of Recorded Sound. He will also create finding aids that will make these collections accessible to the public.

David R. Kessler Collection of Classical Music CDs

October 26, 2017

The Music Library is the recipient of a magnificent collection of classical music compact discs donated by Dr. David R. Kessler. The collection consists of 7,701 titles on 9,546 discs resulting from Dr. Kessler’s lifelong love and involvement with music. He began listening to classical music on the radio in New York in his early teens, where he listened to music several hours daily and took notes on what he heard. He also began seriously studying the piano.

Met Opera on Demand

October 10, 2017