Music Reference Resources - Black Music
General | Classical Vocal/Opera | Classical Instrumental | Women in Music | Music Business | Ethnomusicology/World | Popular | Jazz | Music Theater | Miscellaneous
International Dictionary of Black Composers, Center for Black Music Research, edited by Floyd (1999).
Ref. ML105 .I5 1999, vs1-2
This source provides information for “a cross-section of composers of African heritage who resides in locations around the world.” Includes biographies, works lists, discographies, critical essays and bibliographies.
Bibliography of Black Music, by De Lerma (1981).
Ref. ML128 .B45 D44, vs. 1-4 Tutt Library
A source for black music of all genres published in the United States and abroad: concert, opera, folk, jazz, blues, pop, ragtime, spirituals, etc. In four volumes: 1. Reference Materials, 2. Afro-American Idioms, 3. Geographical Studies, 4. Theory, Education, and Related Studies.
Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musician, by Eileen Southern (1982).
Ref. ML 105 .S67 1982 Tutt Library
This volume aims "to correlate materials related to musical figures from a historical perspective." Includes indexes by chronological period, place of birth, and musical occupations.
Keyboard Music of Black Composers-A Bibliography, compiled by Aaron Horne (1992).
Ref. ML128 .B45 H68 1992 Tutt Library
Includes “biographical information and bibliographies of composers of African ancestry from four continents and their keyboard music.” Provides a keyboard music index (by type and number of instruments), a discography, and a bibliography of sources.
Electronic
Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College Chicago.
http://www.cbmr.org/
A research unit of Columbia College Chicago, CBMR is devoted to research, preservation, and dissemination of information about the history of black music on a global scale. Includes links to publications, library and archives, performance information and much more.
Grove Music Online , Oxford University Press (2004).
Based on The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Grove Music Online is enhanced by the electronic capability of sound files, 3D illustrations, links to external internet sources, and frequent updating of material. Other articles, from specialist dictionaries such as The New Grove Dictionary of Opera and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, second edition, are now available via a link from Grove Music Online’s primary article.
Archives of African-American Music and Culture
http://www.indiana.edu/~aaamc/
Housed at Indiana University, the Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC) is a repository of materials covering various musical idioms and cultural expressions from the post-World War II era. Includes access to access to oral histories, photographs, musical and print manuscripts, audio and video recordings, and educational broadcast programs, among other holdings.
Afrocentric Voices in ‘Classical’ Music
http://www.afrovoices.com
Afrocentric Voices focuses on African American performers and composers and on the vocal music forms they influenced, especially opera, art songs and Negro spirituals composed for concert performance.
Black Refer.com
http://www.blackrefer.com/music4.html
Tons of links to black websites! This opens to the Jazz page, provides links to many sites.
The Louis Armstrong House and Museum
http://www.satchmo.net/
This popular National Historic Landmark houses Armstrong’s archives as well as other individual collections.
International Assoc of African-American Music
http://www.iaaam.com/
The premiere marketing vehicle for Black music in the industry. Promotes education with the music business; provides links to symposiums and workshops addressing a variety of musical issues.
The Motown Historical Museum
http://www.recordingeq.com/motown/motown.htm
A brief guided tour of Motown’s original recording studio in Detroit.
Motown Past and Present
http://www.motown.com/
The contemporary, glitzy site