Jazz History Database - A Digital Museum of Jazz History

A living, online, multimedia museum.

MUSICIANS

Ron Ernst

Vibraphonist and bassist Ron Ernst has been a part of the New England jazz scene for decades.

Gene Carrescia

When you need a trumpeter to blow the bats out of your belfry, Carrescia is the man. Even now, in his late '70s, he can still hit the high notes. For years he held the lead trumpet chair in the stage band at Caesar's Monticello in Framingham, a showcase for such traveling stars as Marlene Dietrich. Still active, he appears locally with the Worcester Jazz Orchestra and the Blackstone Valley Big Band.

Mike Crowley

Michael Crowley was born in 1949 and grew up in Milford, Massachusetts. He began playing clarinet at the age of ten, and proceeded to study Tenor Saxophone under Jazz Musician, Boots Mussulli, and his high school band leader Lou Lombardi.

Leo Curran

Former Jazz Historian for the New England Jazz Alliance, and known by virtually everyone in the jazz world, Leo Curran was intimately connected to the international jazz scene.

Bill Fanning

Trumpeter, composer and teacher Bill Fanning performs concerts and conducts clinics both in the U.S. and internationally as a member of the Jeff Coffin Mu’tet. He also leads his own quintet and performs his original compositions.

Norm Grant

Norm Grant is a videographer in the CCRI Marketing and Communications Department at The Community College of Rhode Island. He oversees video production across all campuses. His duties include digital video production for marketing purposes, training and instruction.

David Jost

DAVID N. JOST has recently retired after 14 years as the Coordinator of Fine Arts for the Westborough Public Schools. He has been a professional music educator for the past 36 years. During this time, he taught at the elementary, high school, and collegiate level in a wide variety of areas...

Mitchell A. Kaplan

Mitch's performances include: The Newport Jazz Festival (1981), the Kool Jazz Festival (1982), Rhine Born Blues Festival (1999), Rick Mendes and Blues Wagon, Shoshana Feinstein (recorded with), The Frank Sinatra (ghost) band, and presently in bands such as the Mark Cipriano and the Good News Rhythm and Blues band and the Megan Guilbert Band...

Tony Lada

Tony Lada was a Professor of Performance Studies and Trombone at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts for 40 years until his retirement in 2013.

Mark Marquis

Marquis has been a full-time professional musician since the mid-1970's, playing thousands of concerts and club gigs all throughout the New England area...

Harry Platcow

Harry Platcow has contributed greatly to the Jazz Scene in the North East U.S. as a performing musician, radio host, TV producer and prolific photographer...

Jim Russo

Jim graduated Berklee College of Music in 1976 with a BA in music education, where he studied with Andy McGhee and Bill Pierce. After Berklee and a tour with soul icon Chuck Jackson, Mr. Russo began a 35 year teaching career with the Northbridge Public Schools in Massachusetts...

Tom Shaker

Tom Shaker grew up in Poughkeepsie NY and attended Emerson College in Boston as an undergraduate student. He received a master's degree in instructional design and technology...

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EVENTS

Lennie Tristano Symposium

The first symposium ever held on the life and impact of legendary pianist Lennie Tristano was hosted at WPI. This video collection includes full panel presentations by Connie Crothers, Bud Tristano, Jimmy Halperin, Harvey Diamond and author Eunmi Shim.

WCUW Jazz Festivals

Community radio station WCUW, Worcester, MA, sponsored an annual festival that included performances by internationally acclaimed avant-garde jazz artists. This collection offers recordings of concerts from 1978 to 1990. Some of the many highlighted here include Max Roach, Archie Shepp, and Anthony Braxton.

Talkin' History Symposium

This video taped symposium was held on the campus of WPI on Sunday, February 25, 2001. Ten panelists explored the historical context in which jazz music developed, and sometimes flourished, in the city of Worcester, MA. The scope reached from the early 1920's until the turn of the millennium.

Brown Bag Concert Series

The Brown Bag Concerts is a series held at Mechanics Hall. Studio 3 TV recorded the concerts between 1993 and 2000. Jazz has been a mainstay of the series and included Dave McKenna and Scott Hamilton, Tess Souter, Robin McKelle, James Williams and Karolina Strassmayer.

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MEDIA

Telegram and Gazette

This collection presents articles, reviews and previews amassed from Worcester's daily newspaper. A host of writers tackled the subject of jazz through the years, including such scribes as James Gourgouras, Eve Skehan, James Lee, Bob Bliss, Walter Crockett and Scott McLennan.

WICN Radio 90.5 FM

Presenting jazz music seven days per week, WICN remains an active and integral participant in the community. As producer of the Brown Bag and Jazz at Sunset series, WICN is an indisputable vital force on the Central New England jazz scene. This collection presents an overview of the station's remarkable history, interviews, and recorded live performances.

Worcester Magazine

Whether by staff writers such Charles Pierce and Chet Williamson, or editors Walter Crockett and Paul Della Valle, or even publisher Allen Fletcher (who snatched one of last interviews with pianist Don Asher), "Worcester's weekly" has often chronicled the local jazz scene through the years. Here is a sample of the paper's output.

WCUW Radio 91.3 FM

WCUW Radio is a non-commercial, community access radio station that seeks to "inform, entertain and enlighten." Over its years, the station has served as a breeding ground for national talent. Consider: Ross Reynolds, Program Director at KUOW, NY; Amy Salit, a producer for "Fresh Air with Terry Gross;" and Tom Reney, host of Jazz a la Mode at WFCR, Amherst, MA.

John Voci

John Voci has worked in all areas of public media including radio, TV and digital, since 1977. He began his career in community radio at WCUW in Worcester, MA where he worked as a producer, on-air host, Development Director, Program Director and concert producer.

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COLLECTIONS

Jeremy Esposito

Jeremy Octavius Esposito was born October 8th, 1972 and raised in Oxford Connecticut. By the age of two, Jeremy already showed great interest in music. His father's record and reel-to-reel collectin exposed him to "classic rock". Jeremy's first record was 'The Yes Album'.

Ed Bride

Edward Bride is president and founder of Berkshires Jazz, Inc., whose mission is to present jazz performances and encourage jazz education in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

In Their Own Hand

In Their Own Hand is a collection of original manuscripts and compositions written by musicians of the Central New England area. Here you will find handwritten pieces by such esteemed artists as Jaki Byard, Barbara Carroll, Tony Zano, Steve Davis, Gary Valente, and Boots Mussulli.

In Their Own Voice

These audio interviews were made for radio rebroadcasts and print distribution. Largely culled from interviews conducted by Joe Zupan and Chet Williamson, the collection includes conversations with such historic figures as Sonny Rollins, Eartha Kitt, and Charles Lloyd.

Scrapbook

This section features classic memorabilia, ephemera, and vintage photographs of Worcester's storied jazz past. Collected from local musicians, history museums, libraries and newspaper clippings, the page is highlighted by classic shots of early Worcester bands from Mammie Moffit's 5 Jazz Hounds to the Zaleski Brothers.

Visual Arts: Jazz

Included here are original works by Linda Dagnello, Peter DeVeber, George Fayard, AJ Juarez, among others. It is a stunning collection of sketches, paintings, photography, and other forms of visual art that have been created by jazz musicians.

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FEATURED

Research at WPI

Prof. Falco talks about the Jazz History Database and the importance of preservation

FEATURED

The Holy Trinity of Milford, MA

Lecture by Steve Minichiello regarding Boots Mussulli, Ziggy Minichiello (Kelly), & Bob Varney

FEATURED

"Worcester's Jazz History Database"

Jazz Music Blog, by Tom Reney

FEATURED

"How Can You Research Jazz and Its History?"

A lecture delivered at WPI on Sunday April 15, 2012 by Dr. Lewis Porter

FEATURED

Visual Arts: Jazz

Photography and paintings, by and about jazz musicians

FEATURED

Research Methods For Local/Regional Musicians

A lecture delivered at WPI by Chet Williamson

ABOUT US

The Jazz History Database is an active and growing library of materials focused on the preservation and education of the History of Jazz in New England. We invite jazz historians, musicians, family members, educators and students to contribute materials!

The Jazz History Database is a service of the Massachusetts Association for Jazz Education. All materials have been processed and edited by faculty and students of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA. All items are used with the permission of contributors and are edited to remove copyrighted content for which permission is not explicitly provided.

The content in this site is provided for non-profit personal or scholarly use. No content may be resold, republished, or otherwise used for profit without the express permission of its respective copyright owner.