National Jazz Archive

National Jazz Archive

At a glance

Causes

  • Museums / heritage

Other details

Geographical remit: 
National - Britain

Objectives

The National Jazz Archive (NJA) is the UK’s research and information centre for the history of jazz, blues, and related music. It is freely available to all who wish to explore its collections for inspiration, learning, and enjoyment.

The National Jazz Archive 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 Archive was founded by Digby Fairweather in 1988, its vision has been to ensure that the rich cultural heritage of jazz is safeguarded for future generations of enthusiasts, professionals and researchers. The Archive’s mission is to document, preserve and make accessible the past, present and future of jazz and related music.

 

Objectives of the NJA:

  • Collect materials documenting our jazz heritage
  • Preserve our holdings to professional standards
  • Develop more representative and inclusive collections
  • Facilitate the study of jazz history, heritage and culture
  • Engage a wide range of communities through our collections and activities

Activities

Projects, events and activities

We continue to conserve and maintain our collection, enabling online access for all, and developing an expanding resource of oral history materials to document our jazz heritage. As well as accessioning and cataloguing new material, we run an active programme of:

  • Concerts by leading jazz musicians
  • Talks by expert writers, researchers and music specialists
  • Exhibitions, workshops and open days at Loughton and at jazz festivals around the country.

No current opportunities

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