Welcome! These transcriptions of oral histories of NEA Jazz
Masters are part of the Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program. Established
by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in 1992, the
Program seized the opportunity to document more than one hundred senior jazz
musicians, performers, relatives, and business associates. Each interview was
conducted by a jazz authority and was recorded on digital audiotape by a professional
audio engineer. The interviews average six hours in length and cover a wide
range of topics including early years, initial involvement in music, generally,
and jazz specifically, as well as experiences in the jazz music world, including
relationships to musicians.
 The National Endowment for the Arts supported transcribing these interviews
and posting them to this website. For more information on NEA Jazz Masters,
click here.
For more information on the Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program collection, click here. For information
on the museum’s Archives Center, where the collection is housed,
visit http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/home.htm.
Oral histories on this page include: Toshiko Akiyoshi, David Baker, Danny Barker, Louie Bellson, Dave Brubeck, Buddy DeFranco, Frank Foster, Benny Golson, Chico Hamilton, Slide Hampton, Roy Haynes, Nat Hentoff, Quincy Jones, J.J. Johnson, John Levy, James Moody, Dan Morgenstern, Marian McPartland, Gunther Schuller, Jimmy Scott, Artie Shaw, Dr. Billy Taylor, Clark Terry
Toshiko Akiyoshi |
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 Transcript coming soon
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Photo by Tom Pich, courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts
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David Baker Recorded June 19-21, 2000 |
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Complete Transcript (152 pages) View
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Photo by Tom Pich, courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts
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Listen:
Clip 1:
David Baker on Lincoln University
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 2:
David Baker on Freddie Freeloader
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 3:
David Baker on playing at the Five Spot and looking like Thelonious Monk (Part I)
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 4:
David Baker on playing at the Five Spot and looking like Thelonious Monk (Part II)
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 5:
David Baker on coming to Indiana University
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 6:
David Baker on imitation-assimilation-innovation
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 7:
David Baker on street musicians recognizing Jamey Aebersold
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 8:
"It's why I worked very hard...to get us in a situation where we're not perceived of as special"
MP3 | Windows Media
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Danny Barker Recorded July 21-23, 1992 |
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Complete Transcript (106 pages) View
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Listen:
Clip 1:
Danny Barker on encountering Sidney Bechet.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 2:
Danny Barker tells how he bought his first Ukulele.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 3:
Danny Barker discusses the circumstances of moving to New York City for the first time.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 4:
Danny Barker talks about his first experiences in New York City.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 5:
Danny Barker on his relationship with Jelly Roll Morton.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 6:
Danny Barker on working with Jelly Roll Morton for the first time.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 7:
Danny Barker on David Jones influencing Coleman Hawkins.
MP3 | Windows Media
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Louie Bellson October 20-21, 2005 |
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Complete Transcript (108 pages) View
PDF |
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Listen:
Clip 1:
Louie Bellson on joining Benny Goodman’s band.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 2:
Louie Bellson on joining Duke Ellington’s band.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 3:
Louie Bellson on learning Ellington music with no drum charts.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 4:
Louie Bellson on giving his first arrangement to Duke Ellington..
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 5:
Louie Bellson on meeting his wife Pearl Bailey.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 6:
Louie Bellson on playing Benny Carter’s difficult arrangement of Errol Gardner’s performance of For Once In My Life.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 7:
Louie Bellson on performing with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 8:
Louie Bellson tells how Louis Armstrong joked with him and Pearl Bailey.
MP3 | Windows Media
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Dave Brubeck August 6-7, 2007 |
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Complete Transcript (84 pages) View
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Photo by Tom Pich, courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts
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Listen:
Clip 1:
Dave Brubeck discusses meeting Stan Kenton for the first time.
MP3
Clip 2:
Dave Brubeck talks about playing at the Band Box club.
MP3
Clip 3:
Dave Brubeck describes the difficulty of getting a phone after WWII.
MP3
Clip 4:
Dave Brubeck discusses his move from Fantasy to Columbia Records.
MP3
Clip 5:
Dave Brubeck describes how Joe Morello joined his quartet.
MP3
Clip 6:
Dave Brubeck talks about the inspiration for Blue Rondo a la Turk.
MP3
Clip 7:
Dave Brubeck talks about when he told his parents of his ambitions to be a musician.
MP3
Clip 8:
Dave Brubeck describes when he performed for Mikhail Gorbachev.
MP3
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Buddy DeFranco |
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Transcript coming soon |
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Photo by Tom Pich, courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts
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Frank Foster Recorded September 24-25, and November 22, 1998 |
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Complete Transcript (166 pages) View
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Listen:
Clip 1:
Frank Foster on his musical inspiration.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 2:
Frank Foster on the names of his songs for the album Manhattan Fever.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 3:
Frank Foster describes playing at Indianapolis’s Sunset Terrace with the Wilberforce Collegians and Sarah Vaughan sitting in.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 4:
Frank Foster gives his definition of Hard-Bop.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 5:
Frank Foster on joining Count Basie’s band.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 6:
Frank Foster on being awe-struck by Count Basie.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 7:
Frank Foster discusses playing for segregated audiences.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 8:
Frank Foster on how Basie would fine members of the bands.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 9:
Frank Foster talks through his composition Four, Five, Six.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 10:
Frank Foster describes the different kinds of ‘shakes’.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 11:
Frank Fosters talks about pranks from members of the Basie band.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 12:
Frank Foster tells a funny story about Joe Williams.
MP3 | Windows Media |
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Benny Golson January 8-9, 2009 |
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Complete Transcript (111 pages) View
PDF |
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Listen:
Clip 1:
When Benny Golson saw Lionel Hampton play at the Earle Theater in Philadelphia PA, it became the inspiration he needed to master the saxophone.
MP3
Clip 2:
Benny Golson broke all the rules when it came to music theory
MP3
Clip 3:
Benny Golson talks about the night Dizzy Gillespie asked him to record "I Remember Clifford"
MP3
Clip 4:
Benny Golson helps out John Coltrane and Miles Davis
MP3
Clip 5:
Benny Golson is his own man and his own style
MP3
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Chico Hamilton January 9-10, 2006 |
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Complete Transcript (153 pages) View
PDF |
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Photo by Tom Pich, courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts
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Listen:
Clip 1:
Chico Hamilton describes the challenge of time keeping.
MP3
Clip 2:
Chico Hamilton discusses meeting Dexter Gordon.
MP3
Clip 3:
Chico Hamilton discusses drummer Jo Jones and the Count Basie Orchestra.
MP3
Clip 4:
Chico Hamilton talks about drummer Art Blakely with the Billy Eckstein Orchestra.
MP3
Clip 5:
Chico Hamilton discusses his encounter with Illinois Jacquet.
MP3
Clip 6:
Chico Hamilton discusses meeting Larry Coryell.
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Slide Hampton April 20-21, 2006 |
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Complete Transcript (109 pages) View
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Audio coming soon
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Roy Haynes May 15, 1994 |
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Complete Transcript (72 pages) View
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Listen:
Clip 1:
Roy Haynes describes how he avoided being drafted to the Army.
MP3
Clip 2:
Roy Haynes discusses the culture of Harlem and New York City.
MP3
Clip 3:
Roy Haynes talks about playing at the Apollo Theater.
MP3
Clip 4:
Roy Haynes tells what Lester Young calls a job.
MP3
Clip 5:
Roy Haynes wants Sonny Rollins to call him back.
MP3
Clip 6:
Roy Haynes describes being misunderstood as a drummer.
MP3
Clip 7:
Roy Haynes talks about John Coltrane.
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Nat Hentoff February 17-18, 2007 |
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Complete Transcript (73 pages) View
PDF |
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click
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Listen.
Clip 1:
Nat Hentoff discusses George Frazier.
MP3
Clip 2:
Nat Hentoff discusses interviewing Malcolm X.
MP3
Clip 3:
Nat Hentoff talks about interviewing Bob Dylan.
MP3
Clip 4:
Nat Hentoff on expressing individuality.
MP3
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J.J. Johnson Recorded
February 26-27, 1994 |
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Complete Transcript (116 pages) View
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Listen:
Clip 1:
J.J. Johnson on being articulate
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 2:
"I am not at all preoccupied with speed"
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 3:
J.J. Johnson on opening for Coleman Hawkins at the Three Deuces
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 4:
J.J. Johnson on Dizzy Gillespie
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 5:
J.J. Johnson on Miles Davis' caring nature
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 6:
J.J. Johnson on why he bought his first car and the reason behind it, a great JJ and Kai Winding story
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 7:
J.J. Johnson on the red Ferrari and Miles Davis
MP3 | Windows Media |
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Quincy Jones Recorded September 7, 2008 |
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Complete Transcript (41 pages) View
PDF |
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Listen:
Clip 1:
Michael Caine teaches Quincy Jones Cockney Slang
MP3
Clip 2:
Michael Caine teaches Quincy Jones Cockney Slang
MP3
Clip 3:
Quincy Jones talks about the birth of African rhythm and Blues
MP3
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John Levy Recorded
December 10-11, 2006 |
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Complete Transcript (77 pages) View
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Listen:
Clip 1:
John Levy on friendships and segregation
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 2:
John Levy on how he learned bass
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 3:
John Levy on entering the world of music
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 4:
"The president of the black musician's union called..."
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 5:
John Levy on Duke Ellington
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 6:
John Levy on the publishing business
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 7:
John Levy on Wilson Pickett
MP3 | Windows Media
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James Moody August 19-20, 1993 |
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Complete Transcript (123 pages) View
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click
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Listen
Clip 1:
James Moody talks about when he became interested in music.
MP3
Clip 2:
James Moody discusses being drafted into the Air Force and learning that white German prisoners of war had more rights than Negro American soldiers.
MP3
Clip 3:
Moody pretends to be Milt Shaw's valet in order to get a bath.
MP3
Clip 4:
The circumstances under which Moody recorded Moody's Mood for
Love and found out he had a hit
MP3
Clip 5:
Jazz at the Philharmonic with Moody, Clark Terry, and T-Bone
Walker: "Woman, you must be crazy."
MP3
Clip 6:
James Moody tells a few stories about his relationship with Dizzy Gillespie.
MP3
Clip 7:
James Moody talks about his favorite musicians.
MP3
Clip 8:
James Moody describes how he would like to be remembered.
MP3
Clip 9:
James Moody talks about his first recorded solo.
MP3
Clip 10:
James Moody discusses what he could do if he could do anything.
MP3
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Dan Morgenstern March 28-29, 2007 |
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Complete Transcript (73 pages) View
PDF |
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click
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Audio Clips Coming Soon.
Clip 1:
Dan Morgenstern describes how his family newspaper was taken away by the Nazis.
MP3
Clip 2:
Dan Morgenstern describes escaping from Austria to Denmark.
MP3
Clip 3:
Dan Morgenstern remembers his first encounter with jazz.
MP3
Clip 4:
Dan Morgenstern describes jazz in Denmark.
MP3
Clip 5:
Dan Morgenstern describes escaping to Sweden Part I.
MP3
Clip 6:
Escaping to Sweden Part II.
MP3
Clip 7:
Dan Morgenstern talks about becoming interested in jazz after the war.
MP3
Clip 8:
Dan Morgenstern discusses how he began collecting jazz books.
MP3
Clip 9:
Dan Morgenstern talks about meeting and becoming friends with Tad Dameron.
MP3
Clip 10:
Dan Morgenstern describes booking Art Tatum for his first solo piano concert.
MP3
Clip 11:
Dan Morgenstern describes discovering a record of Coleman Hawkins singing.
MP3
Clip 12:
Dan Morgenstern describes his interview with Ornette Coleman.
MP3
Clip 10:
Dan Morgenstern discusses his role as the editor of Downbeat.
MP3
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Marian McPartland Recorded
January 3-4, 1997
and May 26, 1998 |
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Complete Transcript (159 pages) View
PDF |
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Listen:
Clip 1:
Marian McPartland on audiences talking while she plays
Real
Audio | Windows Media
Clip 2:
Marian McPartland on perforaming with Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge
Real
Audio | Windows Media
Clip 3:
Marian McPartland on talking to an audience
Real
Audio | Windows Media
Clip 4:
Marian McPartland on Thelonious Monk
Real
Audio | Windows Media
Clip 5:
Marian McPartland on original vs. familiar tunes
Real
Audio | Windows Media
Clip 6:
Marian McPartland on Ray Charles
Real
Audio | Windows Media |
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Gunther Schuller |
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Transcript coming soon |
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Photo by Tom Pich, courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts
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Audio coming soon
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Jimmy Scott Recorded September 23-24, 2008 |
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Complete Transcript (62 pages) View
PDF |
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Photo by Tom Pich, courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts
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Listen:
Clip 1:
Jimmy Scott talks about how Lester Young launched him into performing.
MP3
Clip 2:
Jimmy Scott is truly his own man.
MP3
Clip 3:
Jimmy Scott plays with Charlie Parker at the famous Birdland club
MP3
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Artie Shaw Recorded October
7-8, 1992 |
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Complete Transcript (91 pages) View
PDF |
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Listen:
Clip 1:
Artie Shaw on Begin the Beguine
Real
Audio | Windows Media
Clip 2:
Artie Shaw on a recording trick
Real
Audio | Windows Media
Clip 3:
Artie Shaw on hiring Billie Holiday
Real
Audio | Windows Media
Clip 4:
Artie Shaw on hiring Billy Butterfield
Real
Audio | Windows Media |
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Dr. Billy Taylor November 19, 1993 |
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Complete Transcript (111 pages) View
PDF |
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Listen
Clip 1:
Dr. Billy Taylor describes his first paying gig as a jazz musician.
MP3
Clip 2:
Dr. Billy Taylor discusses his motivation to play the piano as a kid.
MP3
Clip 3:
Dr. Billy Taylor discusses Jelly Roll Morton in Washington, DC.
MP3
Clip 4:
Dr. Billy Taylor talks about first learning of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
MP3
Clip 5:
Dr. Billy Taylor remembers picking his major in college.
MP3
Clip 6:
Dr. Billy Taylors recalls how his father secretly supported his college education.
MP3
Clip 7:
Dr. Billy Taylor remembers moving to New York for the first time.
MP3
Clip 8:
Dr. Billy Taylor talks about moving to New York and going straight to Minton’s and playing with Ben Webster.
MP3
Clip 9:
Dr. Billy Taylor describes auditioning for Ben Webster and meeting Art Tatum at the same time.
MP3
Clip 10:
Dr. Billy Taylor describes his relationship with Charlie Parker Part I.
MP3
Clip 11:
Dr. Billy Taylor discusses his relationship with Charlie Parker Part II.
MP3
Clip 12:
Dr. Billy Taylor describes how he came to name one of Dizzy Gillespie’s tunes.
MP3
Clip 13:
Dr. Billy Taylor discusses the impact of Charlie Parker’s death on the jazz community.
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Clark Terry Recorded June 15 and 22, 1999 |
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Complete Transcript (140 pages) View
PDF |
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Listen:
Clip 1:
Clark Terry on being late to Ellington engagement.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 2:
Clark Terry talking about opening with the George Hudson band for Illinois Jacquet.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 3:
Clark Terry tells how he accidentally insulted Duke Ellington.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 4:
Clark Terry talks about playing high notes.
MP3 | Windows Media
Clip 5:
Clark Terry describes how Jimmie and Ernie Wilkins joined Count Basie’s band.
MP3 | Windows Media
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