How To Find Jazz Materials in the UNC-Chapel Hill Music Library

The UNC-Chapel Hill Music Library has a significant collection of jazz materials including sound recordings, videos, books, scores, and journals. Keep in mind that some material may not yet be in the online catalog, so if you don't find what you want there, be sure to check the appropriate card catalog as well. This guide lists only some of the many resources available in the Music Library and on the UNC campus. Also see the finding aid titled How to Find a Song.

New Grove Dictionary of Jazz.
Ed. by Barry Kernfeld. 2 vols. London: Macmillan, 1988.
Ref.ML102.J3 N48 1988 (located on Dictionary/Index table in Reference Room)
Single most important reference work on jazz. Broadest coverage to appear in one work; gives detailed attention to all periods and styles of jazz from many countries. Includes signed articles on musical terms, instruments, styles, and genres as well as biographical and geographical articles. Comprehensive bibliography of books and periodicals in Appendix I is expanded from bibliographies at the end of individual articles. Use these bibliographies to find further information on your topic.  Contents are now incorporated into New Grove 2 Online.

Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz, 1900-1950.
Ed. by Roger D. Kinkle. 4 vols. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1974.
Ref. ML102.P66 K55
Important reference tool for the period it covers. Includes musicians whose careers began before 1950 and therefore may include works actually written up to the early 1970s. Vol. 1: Contains lists of significant works organized by year of appearance. Vol. 2-3: Biographies of artists with works and recordings lists, but no bibliographies. Vol. 4: Contains lists of winners of polls and prizes, indexes.

The Encyclopedia of Popular Music.
Edited by Colin Larkin. 8 vols. 3rd ed. New York: Muze, 1998.
Ref. ML102.P66 G84 1998
Substantial biographical dictionary; includes many jazz musicians. No topical coverage. Entries by name only; selected discographies. Bibliographies listed separately in vol. 8 (p. 6009 ff.) under artist's name. Special emphasis on artists not covered in most reference materials, especially reggae, Latin, and African pop musicians. Name index in vol. 8.

Jazz Reference and Research Materials: A Selected Annotated Bibliography.
Edited by Eddie S. Meadows. 2nd ed. NY: Garland, l995.
Ref.MLl28.J3 M33 1995
A comprehensive annotated listing of books, dissertations, journals, transcriptions, videos, collections of recordings, and other material relating to jazz research, performance and teaching from the 1920s to early 1995. Excludes journal articles. Section on libraries which contain significant jazz collections. Author and subject indexes.

UNC-Chapel Hill Music Library Biography Index.
Located in seven drawers with yellow labels in the Song Index catalog.
A card file providing access to biographical information on musicians found in sources other than dictionaries and encyclopedias; consists largely of collections of essays, interviews or "portraits" not indexed elsewhere. Approximately 130 collection titles indexed. Take advantage of it of this unique tool!

Other encyclopedias on jazz and related genres are found in the Reference Room under the call number ML102.

Discographies of record labels and individual artists are found in the Reference Room under these call numbers: ML156.2 - ML156.7. Search the catalog under the artist's name (as Subject) for specific title and call number.

All Music Guide to Jazz: the Definitive Guide to Jazz Music.
Edited by Vladimir Bogdanov, et al.  San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2002.
Ref. ML156.4.J3 A45 2002
Contains biographies of almost 1700 jazz artists and groups as well as ratings and reviews of over 20,000 recordings. Also contains essays on jazz styles and terminology, and "music maps" that trace the development of specific instruments and players.

Blackwell Guide to Recorded Jazz.
Edited by Barry Kernfeld. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1995.
Ref. ML156.4.J3 B66 1995
Contains 230 entries that cover recordings in specific areas of jazz such as early jazz, big band and jazz singers. Chapters begin with a brief history of the era followed by entries for significant performers and a discography of CDs for each performer.

Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD.
Edited by Richard Cook and Brian Morton. 5th ed. London: Penguin Books, 2000.
Ref. ML156.4.J3 C67 2000
Thorough discographical descriptions of a wide range of jazz recordings. Includes a detailed rating system and a comparative review of the recordings of each artist.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Fire Music: A Bibliography of the New Jazz, 1959-1990.
Compiled by John Gray. NY: Greenwood Press, 1991.
Ref. ML128.J3 G7 1991
Comprehensive bibliography of information in many languages in books, dissertations, articles, films, videos, and audio tapes on free jazz or avant-garde jazz.  Coverage includes chronology of related events; African American cultural history and the arts; general studies of the New Jazz; and biographical and critical studies. With several indexes.

Jazz Performers: An Annotated Bibliography of Biographical Materials.
Compiled by Gary Carner. NY: Greenwood Press, 1990.
Ref. ML128.B3 C37 1990
An annotated bibliography of jazz books, theses, dissertations, and scholarly journal articles in many languages from 1921 to 1989. Includes indexes by format, author and subject.

for searching the online or card catalogs for books, scores, or recordings on jazz

in the Music Library containing articles on jazz and related subjects:

Black Perspective in Music Cadence Down Beat Jazz Educators Journal Jazz Forum Jazz Journal International Jazz Times Jazziz

Articles on jazz can be found in these and other journals and magazines (like Billboard, Rolling Stone, and Village Voice) by searching Music Index (1979 - present) under Music Journal Indexes on the Music Library home page. The print version of Music Index (1947-present) is located in the Reference Room. Once you find a citation, search the online catalog for the journal title to find out where it is located and which issues UNC owns.

Articles can also be found in non-music journals, magazines, and newspapers by searching Academic Search Elite or Expanded Academic ASAP from the main library's Article Databases & More web page.

CDs and many LPs can be searched in the online catalog, but not all LPs are online. If you don't find what you want in the online catalog, check the Sound Recordings card catalog across from the Circ. Desk. Remember, you must listen to CDs and LPs in the library.

When searching online for sound recordings or scores, use KEYWORD mode and limit by material type to "Sound Recording".

For example:

The Library also owns many "play-along" CDs and accompanying scores by Jamey Aebersold and others. Ask at the Circulation Desk for assistance in searching for these items.