National Jazz Museum in Harlem facts for kids
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| Established | 1995 |
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| Location | 58 West 129th Street Manhattan, NY 10027 |
| Public transit access | Subway:   at 125th StreetBus: Bx15, M1, M7, M60, M100, M101, M102 |
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem is a special place that helps keep alive and celebrate the amazing history of jazz music in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. The idea for this museum started in 1995. It was officially founded in 1997.
Two important people helped create it: Leonard Garment, who advised two U.S. presidents and was a great jazz saxophonist, and Abraham David Sofaer, a former U.S. judge. Mr. Sofaer gave the first big gift to honor his brother-in-law, Richard J. Scheuer, Jr. Other funds came from a group called the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation. For over 15 years, the museum was located in East Harlem.
On February 1, 2016, the museum moved to a new, larger space. It is now on the ground floor of 58 West 129th Street in Central Harlem. This new spot has about 1900 square feet for cool exhibits.
Fun Programs and Exhibits
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem has a Visitors Center with interesting exhibits. One exhibit was called The Ghosts of Harlem. It featured photos by Hank O'Neal, an American music producer and photographer. His show included pictures of famous Harlem jazz legends. O'Neal had interviewed and photographed them for his book.
The Visitors Center also has books, music recordings, and documentaries for you to enjoy. You can also see photos of today's jazz musicians.
The museum offers weekly programs. These include the Harlem Speaks lecture series. There are also Jazz for Curious Listeners sessions. In these, both new and experienced jazz fans can listen to and learn about rare jazz recordings. The museum also holds events at other places, like the Rubin Museum of Art. One example is the Harlem in the Himalayas concert series.
Jonathan Batiste has worked with the museum since 2008. He helped create a program called Jazz Is: Now!. In this program, his band, Stay Human, plays music. Jonathan also explains jazz theory and history. He often brings in special guests to help. Batiste became an artistic director for the museum in 2012.
Discovering the Savory Collection
In August 2010, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem got a huge treasure! They received almost 1,000 discs of old radio broadcasts. An audio engineer named William Savory recorded these during the swing era in the 1930s.
This collection includes performances by famous jazz artists. You can hear Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Benny Goodman. Savory used special, larger records that played longer. This allowed him to record extended live shows and jam sessions. Many people thought these recordings were lost forever.
These recordings are now being carefully turned into digital files. Doug Pomeroy, an expert in audio restoration, is doing this work. He cleans the sound, fixes the pitch, and removes extra noise. The Savory Collection is now available to buy. Some parts of it can even be downloaded online. As of May 2017, three volumes were available on iTunes. A company called Mosaic Records also released a special 6-CD set from this collection.
See also
- List of music museums
