Music & Musical Instruments

The Museum's music collections contain more than 5,000 instruments of American and European heritage. These include a quartet of 18th-century Stradivari stringed instruments, Tito Puente's autographed timbales, and the Yellow Cloud guitar that belonged to Prince, to name only a few. Music collections also include jukeboxes and synthesizers, square-dancing outfits and sheet music, archival materials, oral histories, and recordings of performances at the museum. The vast Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated Sheet Music is a remarkable window into the American past in words, music, and visual imagery. The Duke Ellington and Ruth Ellington Boatwright collections contain handwritten music compositions, sound recordings, business records, and other materials documenting the career of this renowned musician. In various ways, our collections find expression in performances of the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and in other public programs.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1992
ID Number
2018.0078.15.05
accession number
2018.0078
catalog number
2018.0078.15.05
This Patron badge is from the Los Angeles Classic Jazz Festival, in 1994. The button is a made of speckled gold paper with black lettering covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. There is a black ribbon attached to the back of the button.
Description

This Patron badge is from the Los Angeles Classic Jazz Festival, in 1994. The button is a made of speckled gold paper with black lettering covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. There is a black ribbon attached to the back of the button. The button is printed:

LOS ANGELES
CLASSIC
JAZZ
FLOYD
LEVIN
FESTIVAL
1994

(the ribbon is printed):

PATRON

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1994
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.130
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.0386.130
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1991
ID Number
2016.0032.079
accession number
2016.0032
catalog number
2016.0032.079
This button is from the San Diego Jazz Party, in 1992. The button is a made of white paper with black and red ink covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button serves as an attendee identifier to the SDJP.
Description

This button is from the San Diego Jazz Party, in 1992. The button is a made of white paper with black and red ink covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button serves as an attendee identifier to the SDJP. The button is printed:

SAN DIEGO JAZZ PARTY
No 0370
1992

The San Diego Jazz Party (SDJP) is an annual weekend-long event featuring public live performances of traditional jazz music. It is a non-profit organization that also provides scholarships for young jazz musicians at the high school or college level. The SDJP was originally presented in Downtown San Diego by Bill and Beverly Muchnic, in 1988.

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1992
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.099
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.099
This bow was made by Henryk Kaston in New York, New York, in 1990. It is a viola bow, with a Pernambuco stick, tortoise shell frog and gold fittings, mother-of-pearl and gold inlay.
Description

This bow was made by Henryk Kaston in New York, New York, in 1990. It is a viola bow, with a Pernambuco stick, tortoise shell frog and gold fittings, mother-of-pearl and gold inlay. The bow is stamped:

HENRYK KASTON

(and a gold monogram):

HK

Taken from an interview with Henryk Kaston on May 30,1991:

Henryk Kaston was born in 1915 in Piotrowk, Trb., Poland, a small town near Warsaw. The son of a violinist, he left Poland to advance his violin studies at the Paris Conservatoire in the mid-1930s. While in Paris, he became interested in sculpting, jewelry, and bow making, learning these crafts by working in various shops.

He arrived in the United States in 1941 and began his performance career in the Cleveland Orchestra. Within two years he had moved to New York City, playing in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and working as the bow man for the Rembert Wurlitzer firm. Henryk also worked out of his home, producing bows and jewelry for clients on request. In later years he executed jewelry designed by the artist Salvador Dali, and also became involved in the design and marketing of violin mutes.

Henryk Kaston did not keep records of his work, but he estimates a total output of 300 to 400 bows. The majority of his work was violin bows, which he did not always mark with his identifying brand stamp, sometimes utilizing precious metals and stones on the frog that capitalize on his jeweler’s experience.

This viola bow is from a matched quartet of bows was made in 1990 at the request of Dr. Herbert Axelrod for donation to the Smithsonian collections. Each bow has a tortoise shell frog and gold fittings. The mother-of-pearl and gold inlaid design is taken from the Stradivari “coat of arms” created in the 19th century which is sometimes used to decorate tailpieces of instruments labelled Stradivarius.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1990
maker
Kaston, Henryk
ID Number
1990.0696.03
catalog number
1990.0696.03
accession number
1990.0696
This bow was made by Henryk Kaston in New York, New York, in 1990. It is a violin bow, with a Pernambuco stick, tortoise shell frog and gold fittings, mother-of-pearl and gold inlay.
Description

This bow was made by Henryk Kaston in New York, New York, in 1990. It is a violin bow, with a Pernambuco stick, tortoise shell frog and gold fittings, mother-of-pearl and gold inlay. The bow is stamped:

HENRYK KASTON

(and a gold monogram):

HK

Taken from an interview with Henryk Kaston on May 30,1991:

Henryk Kaston was born in 1915 in Piotrowk, Trb., Poland, a small town near Warsaw. The son of a violinist, he left Poland to advance his violin studies at the Paris Conservatoire in the mid-1930s. While in Paris, he became interested in sculpting, jewelry, and bow making, learning these crafts by working in various shops.

He arrived in the United States in 1941 and began his performance career in the Cleveland Orchestra. Within two years he had moved to New York City, playing in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and working as the bow man for the Rembert Wurlitzer firm. Henryk also worked out of his home, producing bows and jewelry for clients on request. In later years he executed jewelry designed by the artist Salvador Dali, and also became involved in the design and marketing of violin mutes.

Henryk Kaston did not keep records of his work, but he estimates a total output of 300 to 400 bows. The majority of his work was violin bows, which he did not always mark with his identifying brand stamp, sometimes utilizing precious metals and stones on the frog that capitalize on his jeweler’s experience.

This violin bow is from a matched quartet of bows was made in 1990 at the request of Dr. Herbert Axelrod for donation to the Smithsonian collections. Each bow has a tortoise shell frog and gold fittings. The mother-of-pearl and gold inlaid design is taken from the Stradivari “coat of arms” created in the 19th century which is sometimes used to decorate tailpieces of instruments labelled Stradivarius.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1990
maker
Kaston, Henryk
ID Number
1990.0696.01
catalog number
1990.0696.01
accession number
1990.0696
This bow was made by Henryk Kaston in New York, New York, in 1990. It is a violin bow, with a Pernambuco stick, tortoise shell frog and gold fittings, mother-of-pearl and gold inlay.
Description

This bow was made by Henryk Kaston in New York, New York, in 1990. It is a violin bow, with a Pernambuco stick, tortoise shell frog and gold fittings, mother-of-pearl and gold inlay. The bow is stamped:

HENRYK KASTON

(and a gold monogram):

HK

Taken from an interview with Henryk Kaston on May 30,1991:

Henryk Kaston was born in 1915 in Piotrowk, Trb., Poland, a small town near Warsaw. The son of a violinist, he left Poland to advance his violin studies at the Paris Conservatoire in the mid-1930s. While in Paris, he became interested in sculpting, jewelry, and bow making, learning these crafts by working in various shops.

He arrived in the United States in 1941 and began his performance career in the Cleveland Orchestra. Within two years he had moved to New York City, playing in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and working as the bow man for the Rembert Wurlitzer firm. Henryk also worked out of his home, producing bows and jewelry for clients on request. In later years he executed jewelry designed by the artist Salvador Dali, and also became involved in the design and marketing of violin mutes.

Henryk Kaston did not keep records of his work, but he estimates a total output of 300 to 400 bows. The majority of his work was violin bows, which he did not always mark with his identifying brand stamp, sometimes utilizing precious metals and stones on the frog that capitalize on his jeweler’s experience.

This violin bow is from a matched quartet of bows was made in 1990 at the request of Dr. Herbert Axelrod for donation to the Smithsonian collections. Each bow has a tortoise shell frog and gold fittings. The mother-of-pearl and gold inlaid design is taken from the Stradivari “coat of arms” created in the 19th century which is sometimes used to decorate tailpieces of instruments labelled Stradivarius.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1990
maker
Kaston, Henryk
ID Number
1990.0696.02
catalog number
1990.0696.02
accession number
1990.0696
This bow was made by Henryk Kaston in New York, New York, in 1990. It is a violoncello bow, with a Pernambuco stick, tortoise shell frog and gold fittings, mother-of-pearl and gold inlay.
Description

This bow was made by Henryk Kaston in New York, New York, in 1990. It is a violoncello bow, with a Pernambuco stick, tortoise shell frog and gold fittings, mother-of-pearl and gold inlay. The bow is stamped:

HENRYK KASTON

(and a gold monogram):

HK

Taken from an interview with Henryk Kaston on May 30,1991:

Henryk Kaston was born in 1915 in Piotrowk, Trb., Poland, a small town near Warsaw. The son of a violinist, he left Poland to advance his violin studies at the Paris Conservatoire in the mid-1930s. While in Paris, he became interested in sculpting, jewelry, and bow making, learning these crafts by working in various shops.

He arrived in the United States in 1941 and began his performance career in the Cleveland Orchestra. Within two years he had moved to New York City, playing in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and working as the bow man for the Rembert Wurlitzer firm. Henryk also worked out of his home, producing bows and jewelry for clients on request. In later years he executed jewelry designed by the artist Salvador Dali, and also became involved in the design and marketing of violin mutes.

Henryk Kaston did not keep records of his work, but he estimates a total output of 300 to 400 bows. The majority of his work was violin bows, which he did not always mark with his identifying brand stamp, sometimes utilizing precious metals and stones on the frog that capitalize on his jeweler’s experience.

This violoncello bow is from a matched quartet of bows was made in 1990 at the request of Dr. Herbert Axelrod for donation to the Smithsonian collections. Each bow has a tortoise shell frog and gold fittings. The mother-of-pearl and gold inlaid design is taken from the Stradivari “coat of arms” created in the 19th century which is sometimes used to decorate tailpieces of instruments labelled Stradivarius.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1990
maker
Kaston, Henryk
ID Number
1990.0696.04
catalog number
1990.0696.04
accession number
1990.0696
This button is from The Jazz Club of Sarasota festival in Sarasota, Florida, in 1995. This button is made of pink paper with black printing covered with a clear film, on a heart-shaped metal button with a pin back.
Description

This button is from The Jazz Club of Sarasota festival in Sarasota, Florida, in 1995. This button is made of pink paper with black printing covered with a clear film, on a heart-shaped metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:

1995 Patron
the jazz club
of Sarasota
15th Anniversary
"A Sentimental Journey"

The Jazz Club of Sarasota was founded by retired advertising executive Hal Davis. The club started as a casual get-together of jazz enthusiasts listening to music in the home of Hal and Evelyn Davis. By 1980, the club held its first concert featuring American jazz guitarist John Paul “Bucky” Pizzarelli (1926-2020) and his son John. The Jazz Club continued to expand its scope and reach to include a yearly program of concerts and lectures as well as school residency and scholarship programs.

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1995
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.083
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.083
This timbale set was made by Latin Percussion Inc. in Garfield, New Jersey, in 1999.
Description (Brief)

This timbale set was made by Latin Percussion Inc. in Garfield, New Jersey, in 1999. They are “Tito Puente Thunder Tims,” with two brass drums (15” and 16” diameters), a metal stand for drums, and metal bracket with two metal cow bells and one blue “Jam Block,” and a brass cymbal with a stand.

As indicated in an LP brochure from the period, “When LP Music Group was founded in the 1960's, timbales were only heard in Latin music. Today, more than three decades later, all genres of music have embraced this versatile percussion instrument. LP's experience in building timbales has resulted in a distinctive, modern shell, that uses a ribbed design with both top and bottom edges turned in, to create a livelier, more cutting "cascara" (the sound produced when striking the side of the shell). LP's timbale construction has been tested on world tours from Japan to South America to ensure it withstands the rigors of the road. All LP Tito Puente Timbales, Thunder Timbs, and Timbalitos are sold complete with a chrome plated, heavy duty, steel Timbale Stand. The stand has a die cast, geared tilter that locks in tight for either straight or tilted playing. The height adjustment mechanism ensures absolute, non-slip, positive positioning, with only hand tightening needed, and also has an anti-rattle sleeve. It comes complete with an adjustable cowbell holder made from welded steel and features LP's superior eye-bolt assembly. LP Timbale Shells are available in either genuine stainless steel or solid brass; each possessing its own distinct sound. The genuine stainless-steel shells produce very bright and crisp loud sounds, while the solid brass shells produce warmer, sounds. LP offers three different styles. They are standard Timbales, deeper Thunder Timbs, and small diameter Timbalitos.”

Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1999
maker
Latin Percussion
ID Number
2000.3039.03
catalog number
2000.3039.03
nonaccession number
2000.3039
This trumpet case was made by Yamaha Corporation, 1990s. It is made of wood, covered with black vinyl and black vinyl trim, metal fittings, and black plush interior.
Description

This trumpet case was made by Yamaha Corporation, 1990s. It is made of wood, covered with black vinyl and black vinyl trim, metal fittings, and black plush interior. Accessioned with Severinsen-Akright trumpet (2002.0218.01).

Adolphus Anthony “Doc” Cheatham (1905-1997), first learned to play saxophone as well as trumpet. Early in his career, Cheatham performed with the African American Vaudeville theater in Nashville. Around 1924, Cheatham moved to Chicago where he heard trumpeters King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, both would have a lifelong influence on Cheatham’s playing.

Cheatham performed with several jazz musicians including Benny Carter, Fletcher Henderson, and Benny Goodman throughout the 1930s to the 1960s. In the 1970s, Cheatham worked to improve his playing by recording and listening to himself. After the age of 70, Cheatham’s self-assessment work would result in him receiving his best acclamations and critical reviews.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1990s
maker
Yamaha Corporation
ID Number
2002.0218.01.01
catalog number
2002.0218.01.01
accession number
2002.0218
This button is from the Dixieland Jazz Festival in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, in 1991. This round button has a light green background and black printing covered with a clear film, on a two-piece metal button with a pin back.
Description

This button is from the Dixieland Jazz Festival in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, in 1991. This round button has a light green background and black printing covered with a clear film, on a two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:

RAMADA LONDON BRIDGE RESORT
4th
Annual
DIXIELAND
JAZZ FESTIVAL
1991
LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ

The Dixieland Jazz Festival is an annual event held in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, home of the reconstructed “New” London Bridge built in the 1830s. The bridge was purchased by Missouri entrepreneur Robert P. McCullough from the City of London in 1968, and installed in Lake Havasu City, a city he founded.

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1991
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.092
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.092
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1967
date printed
1998
maker
Law, Lisa
ID Number
1998.0139.054
catalog number
1998.0139.054
accession number
1998.0139
This harmonica was made by Lee Oskar Harmonicas in Japan, about 1990. It is a Natural Minor harmonica in the key of B-flat minor, with 10 holes and 20 reeds. It has a black plastic comb with metal cover plates attached with screws and nuts.
Description

This harmonica was made by Lee Oskar Harmonicas in Japan, about 1990. It is a Natural Minor harmonica in the key of B-flat minor, with 10 holes and 20 reeds. It has a black plastic comb with metal cover plates attached with screws and nuts. Accessioned with original plastic case. The harmonica is embossed:

HARMONICA BY TOMBO Lee Oskar TM

(and printed on the case):

HARMONICA BY TOMBO Lee Oskar TM

Lee Oskar Harmonicas was founded in 1983 by harmonica virtuoso Lee Oskar, in collaboration with Tombo Manufacturing of Japan.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1990
ID Number
1991.0366.01
accession number
1991.0366
catalog number
1991.0366.01
This drum was made by Latin Percussion Inc. in Garfield, New Jersey, in 1999. It is a Batá Drum, Oconcolo (Small) with 5” and 6-3/4” head sizes, made of oak, with chrome fittings, and with a webbing sling.
Description

This drum was made by Latin Percussion Inc. in Garfield, New Jersey, in 1999. It is a Batá Drum, Oconcolo (Small) with 5” and 6-3/4” head sizes, made of oak, with chrome fittings, and with a webbing sling. This drum is from a matched set of three bata drums, Oconcolo (2000.3030.14.01), Omele / Itolele (2000.3030.14.02), and Iyá

(2000.3030.14.03).

As indicated in an LP brochure from the period, “LP Founder and Chairman, Martin Cohen, first came across bata drums more than thirty years ago at a religious ceremony in the Bronx, New York. Traditionally Batas are ceremonial drums that are played in groups. At least three people sit, each with a different size drum, and act out "call and answer" patterns which are played on the drums.”

Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1999
maker
Latin Percussion
ID Number
2000.3039.14.01
catalog number
2000.3039.14.01
nonaccession number
2000.3039
This drum was made by Toca Percussion in the United States, about 1999, and distributed by KMC Music (Kamen Music Corporation). It is a Rumba Timba Bata Drum, made of red-lacquered oak, with chrome-plated tensioning hardware.
Description (Brief)

This drum was made by Toca Percussion in the United States, about 1999, and distributed by KMC Music (Kamen Music Corporation). It is a Rumba Timba Bata Drum, made of red-lacquered oak, with chrome-plated tensioning hardware. The drum is marked:

TOCA
LATIN INSTRUMENTS
KAMAN
PERCUSSION PRODUCTS

Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1999
maker
Latin Percussion
ID Number
2000.3039.10
nonaccession number
2000.3039
catalog number
2000.3039.10
This mute was made by Humes & Berg Manufacturing Co., Inc. in East Chicago, Indiana, around 1970-1990. It is a Pixie straight mute, made of a conical shaped aluminum tube painted white with ared strip at top and red rounded base.
Description

This mute was made by Humes & Berg Manufacturing Co., Inc. in East Chicago, Indiana, around 1970-1990. It is a Pixie straight mute, made of a conical shaped aluminum tube painted white with ared strip at top and red rounded base. There are three 1-1/2" cork strips at the middle of mute. There is a printed black and silver label near the base of the mute:

NEW STONE LINED PATENTED
[PI]XIE STRAIGHT MUTE
"FOR PLUNGER WORK"
HUMES & BERG MFG. CO., INC. EAST CHICAGO, INDIANA

This mute was previously owned and used by William Russo (1928-2003), American composer, arranger, musician, teacher, and founder of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. Russo composed more than 200 pieces for jazz orchestra. Throughout his career, Russo work included collaborations with Duke Ellington, Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Stan Kenton, Cannonball Adderley, Yehudi Menuhin, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, Cleo Laine, and Billie Holiday.

Location
Currently not on view
manufacturing date
1970-1990
user
Russo, William
manufacturer
Humes & Berg Manufacturing Co., Inc.
ID Number
2003.0162.07
accession number
2003.0162
catalog number
2003.0162.07
This button is from the San Diego Jazz Party, in 1995. The button is a made of white paper with black and red ink covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button serves as an attendee identifier to the SDJP.
Description

This button is from the San Diego Jazz Party, in 1995. The button is a made of white paper with black and red ink covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button serves as an attendee identifier to the SDJP. The button is printed and handwritten:

SAN DIEGO
JAZZ PARTY
Myllie
Crabb
511
1995

The San Diego Jazz Party (SDJP) is an annual weekend-long event featuring public live performances of traditional jazz music. It is a non-profit organization that also provides scholarships for young jazz musicians at the high school or college level. The SDJP was originally presented in Downtown San Diego by Bill and Beverly Muchnic, in 1988.

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1995
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.113
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.113
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1992
ID Number
2016.3009.287
nonaccession number
2016.3009
catalog number
2016.3009.287
This electronic tuner was made by Inventronics, Inc. in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, in 1999.
Description (Brief)

This electronic tuner was made by Inventronics, Inc. in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, in 1999. It is a Sanderson Accutuner III, serial #5006, with a medium blue plastic shell with two digital displays, power and miscellaneous selection buttons, and 8 red lights indicating pitch on front of tuner. MIDI and other audio connections are on the back of the tuner. The tuner is marked:

Sanderson Accu-Tuner III

The Accu-Tuner III can be used in three modes: Tune mode, FAC (stretch) mode, and Memory mode. The Tune mode functions like most conventional tuning instruments. The FAC mode uses three measurements known as stretch numbers to derive a tuning based upon computer calculations and stretch tables from the measurement of three stretch numbers on notes (F3, A4, and C6) on the piano being tuned. The Memory mode enables a tuner to store and retrieve complete 88-note tunings. The Accu-Tuner III comes with 198 pages of memory.

Location
Currently not on view
production date
1999
manufacturer
Inventronics
ID Number
1999.0266.01
serial number
5006
accession number
1999.0266
catalog number
1999.0266.01
This drum was made by Latin Percussion Inc. in Garfield, New Jersey, in 1999. It is a Patato Model drum, 12” diameter Tumbadora Conga, made of fiberglass, with chrome fittings.
Description (Brief)

This drum was made by Latin Percussion Inc. in Garfield, New Jersey, in 1999. It is a Patato Model drum, 12” diameter Tumbadora Conga, made of fiberglass, with chrome fittings. This drum is from a matched set of three congas Quinto (2000.3030.13.01), Conga (2000.3030.13.02), and Tumbadora (2000.3030.13.03).

As indicated in an LP brochure from the period, “Played by professional congueros the world over, these fiberglass drums were developed in 1978 after a recording session with the legendary "Patato" at the studio in Martin Cohen's home. Patato's own design required tall drums with a wide belly and small bottom. Standing 30" tall, these drums project deep basstones and great volume without sacrificing crisp, high sounds.”

Carlos Valdés Galán (1926–2007), better known as “Patato,” was a Cuban conga player. In 1954, he emigrated to New York City where he continued his career as a musician for several jazz and Latin music ensembles, and sometimes as a bandleader.

Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1999
maker
Latin Percussion
ID Number
2000.3039.13.03
nonaccession number
2000.3039
catalog number
2000.3039.13.03
This Patron badge is from the San Diego Swinging Jazz Festival in San Diego, in 1999. It is made of white paper with blue and black ink, encapsulated in plastic.
Description

This Patron badge is from the San Diego Swinging Jazz Festival in San Diego, in 1999. It is made of white paper with blue and black ink, encapsulated in plastic. The badge is printed:

San
Diego
Swinging
Jazz
Patron
1999

The non-profit organization, America’s Finest City Dixieland Jazz Society (AFCDJS) in San Diego, California, held its first Great American Dixieland Jazz Festival, in 1979. The festival now known as The San Diego Jazz Fest & Swing Extravaganza is held every Thanksgiving weekend. The organization supports the San Diego traditional jazz community with monthly concerts, education programs, publication of a newsletter, an adult traditional Jazz camp, and a lending library of small band music.

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1999
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.059
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.059
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1996
ID Number
2016.3009.292
nonaccession number
2016.3009
catalog number
2016.3009.292
This Patron badge is from the Los Angeles Classic Sweet & Hot Music Festival, in 1999. It made of green paper with black and yellow ink, encapsulated in plastic.
Description

This Patron badge is from the Los Angeles Classic Sweet & Hot Music Festival, in 1999. It made of green paper with black and yellow ink, encapsulated in plastic. The badge is printed:

[foundation logo]
THE LOS ANGELES
SWEET & HOT
MUSIC FESTIVAL
Patron
1999.

Founded in 1996, The Sweet & Hot Music Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the music of the 1920s through 50s. The foundation produces an annual event in Los Angeles which support jazz education programs for Los Angeles area high school students.

The foundation also honors legends in classic jazz by placing permanent bronze plaques with their names, in the ground surrounding the pool and garden area at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel. Known as the “Sweet & Hot Music Walk of Fame,” it features jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and Benny Goodman, Cole Porter, Lionel Hampton and Billie Holiday.

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1999
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.065
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.065

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.