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Calvin Jackson Papers, 1932-1986

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Jackson, Calvin
Title
Calvin Jackson Papers
Dates
1932-1986 (inclusive)
Quantity
22.77 cubic ft. (31 boxes)
Collection Number
10256
Summary
Calvin Jackson was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader. These papers consist of sheet music from songs Jackson composed or arranged, as well as a small amount of correspondence, clippings and memorabilia related to Jackson's personal life and career.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Calvin Jackson was born in Philadelphia in 1919 and studied piano for 17 years, four of those years at Julliard School of Music and New York University. He was a classical and jazz pianist, composer, conductor, and arranger. He began his popular career playing with Frankie Fairfax' band in the early 1940s and did arrangements for the Harry James Band. He then joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as assistant musical director under George Stoll. There he scored 14 musical pictures, including "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" for which he received an Academy Award nomination. While in Los Angeles, he gave concerts and wrote scores for television. He toured with his own 21-piece orchestra, jazz trio, and jazz quartet and spent 5 years in Toronto where he was a soloist for the Toronto Symphony and performed for the CBC. While in Toronto, he wrote two ballets, "Marie Chapdelaine" and "The Loon's Necklace". He returned to New York City, where he recorded for Columbia Records. One of his famous recordings was of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue". In the mid-1970s he moved to San Diego to compose and died there in 1985.

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Content Description

The Calvin Jackson collection includes original, hand-written musical scores, artifacts such as his tennis trophies (1982,1984), biographical information, newspaper clippings, notes for radio programs, scripts, and ephemera. Reel to reel tapes of radio programs and recordings from 1970-1972 which include "Jazz with Jackson", a video tape entitled "Portrait in Jazz", one 16 mm film, and 13 LPs of his recorded performances of a wide variety of jazz and classical music are included, for example "Tonal Expressions" and album of piano music played by Jackson for Discovery Records. A cassette contains a rerecording of "Hollywood Melodies" made at MGM in 1946, with Jackson playing with the MGM orchestra conducted by George Stoll

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Administrative Information

Related Materials

Related Materials

There is another archival collection related to Calvin Jackson, called the Calvin Jackson papers, at the University of California, San Diego.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information

This material was received from Hanusha Jackson in 1986 and 1990.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Shaun Hayes in February 2014.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Big band music.
  • Composers -- United States.
  • Jazz musicians.
  • Music -- Classical.
  • Music -- Jazz.
  • Radio programs, Musical.

Processed by Shaun Hayes
2014

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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