National Jazz Archive Information

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 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. Whether you’re a writer, student, jazz enthusiast or musician, our collections are available for all to explore online, but visiting the Archive itself will enable you to make full use of our resources: more than 4000 books; around 700 magazines and journals, including Melody Maker, Down Beat, Blues Unlimited and many rare periodicals and newsletters; photos, drawings and paintings; Posters and programmes; letters and personal papers donated by musicians and writers, including Ian Carr, John Chilton, Ken Colyer, Charles Fox, Jim Godbolt, Johnny Simmen, and Mike Westbrook; and oral histories and interviews. 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, together with accessioning and cataloguing new material. The National Jazz Archive is a charity (no. 327894), and the board of trustees is legally responsible for all the activities that the organisation undertakes. The trustees are all unpaid volunteers who are responsible for ensuring that the Archive abides by its charitable aims and delivers its vision effectively. The National Jazz Archive requires your support, financially and in kind. There are many ways you can help and contribute.