The Los Angeles Jazz Institute houses and
maintains
one of the largest jazz archives in the world.
All styles and eras are represented with a
special
emphasis on the preservation and documentation of
jazz in Southern California. The overall mission
of the
Jazz Institute is to preserve, promote and
perpetuate
the heritage of this important American art form.
Maintain a comprehensive program of cataloging
and data-base entry to continue to improve access
to the collections.
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FACILITY
The Los Angeles Jazz Institute is housed on
the campus of California State University, Long Beach
in the Department of Music, in collaboration with the
California Institute for the Preservation of Jazz.
The Institute is used by teachers, scholars,
students,
musicians, independent researchers, the media and
the
industry. Research requests come from a variety
of sources
including musicians, scholars, members of the
press,
teachers, students and members of the general
public.
The books, recordings and archival collections
are
non-circulating. All research must be conducted
on-site during the Institute's hours of
operation.
The Los Angeles Jazz Institute is open
Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm
To make an appointment to visit the Institute
call
(562) 985-7065.
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DIRECTOR
The Founder and Director of the Los Angeles Jazz
Institute is Ken Poston.
Poston began his career as the Executive Director
of
The Kansas City Jazz Commission with the mission
to
preserve the city's jazz heritage and promote its
future. In this role he started a local jazz
magazine
(JAM), initiated a KC jazz oral history project,
began
teaching jazz history at local universities,
hosted a
weekly jazz radio program on KCUR-FM, and
produced
a number of jazz concerts and festivals.
In 1987 he relocated to Los Angeles and joined
nationally recognized KLON (now KKJZ) as the
Director
of Concert Productions. During his eleven years
at
KLON, he produced well over 100 concerts and
festivals. In addition to his concert production
activities, Ken was also an on-air personality
hosting
the popular 'Portraits in Jazz' program which
became
a Saturday morning mainstay on the Los Angeles
radio
dial. In addition to 'Portraits in Jazz', he
also
hosted a program for EuroJazz radio which was
broadcast throughout Europe. He has also written
and produced many programs for national broadcast
in the United States.
Recognized as one of the foremost concert
producers
presenting jazz today, he has also served as the
Director of the Sarasota Jazz Festival and has
produced numerous events throughout the Los
Angeles
area. Ken has also produced a number of jazz
events
throughout the United States and in Europe, most
notably a Jazz West Coast celebration at London's
famed Royal Albert Hall. Poston is also
recognized
as a jazz historian and an authority on the
history
of jazz on the west coast. He has taught and
lectured
widely and is currently an instructor at Long
Beach
State University and UCLA .
Over the years Poston has amassed a huge
collection of
Jazz recordings and related memorabilia that make
up
the bulk of the Institute's holdings.
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