As part of the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival this week, the University of Idaho Library has a display on the second floor celebrating musical instruments, particularly the handmade items in Special Collections and Archives.

The Jazz Festival is a well-known tradition on our campus, enjoyed by a broad audience year after year. Far fewer people know about the International Jazz Collection, however, which is preserved here in the University Library.

For decades, the festival leaders collected papers, photographs, audio and visual materials, and artifacts from jazz legends. Quietly but steadily, the collection grew into the leading jazz archive in the Pacific Northwest.

Some of the most interesting and engaging items in the International Jazz Collection are instruments played by or gifted to prominent artists like Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Carter.

These archival objects help illustrate stories about the cultural influences, the creativity, and the resourcefulness of remarkable musicians.

The display will remain up after Jazz Festival through the semester. Please stop by and see these amazing artifacts.

Resources

MG 23 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival Office records and Collection on Jazz, 1940-2023

IJC MG 001: Lionel Hampton papers

There are also a variety of jazz related digital collections available to peruse.