InfoGuides: Jazz Studies Guide: Find Reference Sources

Reference Articles Through the Library Search

When beginning your research, use encyclopedias and dictionaries to get background information on your topic. The library offers these resources both physically and online.

In the search on the library homepage, type in a jazz genre, musician, or composer. When you get your results, use the sidebar to filter to Availability: Online and Resource Type: Reference Entries.

Search Examples:

Latin Jazz

Melba Liston

Bebop

Browse: Most jazz reference books are located in ML102J section of the music stacks.

Databases

Here are a few online databases you can search to find reference articles on jazz topics:

Oxford Music Online
Includes Grove Music Online, The Oxford Dictionary of Music, and The Oxford Companion to Music, as well as the Encyclopedia of Popular Music and other genre-specific resources. Features full-text searching of over 60,000 articles on all aspects of music. View a tutorial on this database here.
Music Online: Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online
A comprehensive resource devoted to music research of all the world's peoples. Each volume contains an overview of the region, a survey of its musical heritage, traditions and themes; and a description of specific musical genres, practices, and performances. Included are detailed photographs that show musicians, musical instrument, and the cultural context of dances, rituals, and ceremonies. Other images include drawings, maps, and musical examples for further study. View a tutorial on this database here.
Music Online: African American Music Reference
Collection brings together text reference, biographies, chronologies, sheet music, images, lyrics, liner notes, and discographies which chronicle the history and culture of the African American experience through music. Includes coverage of blues, jazz, spirituals, civil rights songs, slave songs, minstrelsy, rhythm and blues, gospel, and other forms of black American musical expression.
View a tutorial on this database here.
Oxford Bibliographies Online
Offers exclusive, authoritative research guides developed by scholars and librarians worldwide to address a variety of subjects, including African Studies, Anthropology, Atlantic History, Cinema and Media Studies, Classics, Criminology, Education, International Law, International Relations, Latin American Studies, Management, Music, Political Science, and Sociology. View a tutorial on this database here.

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Here are a few encyclopedias and dictionaries you can use to find information on jazz:

Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century by Lee Stacy; Lol Henderson
Publication Date: 2005
The Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century is an encyclopedia of all aspects of music in various parts of the world during the 20th century. It covers the major musical styles--concert music, jazz, pop, rock, etc.
An Encyclopedia of South Carolina Jazz and Blues Musicians by Benjamin Franklin
Publication Date: 2016
An Encyclopedia of South Carolina Jazz and Blues Musicians documents the careers of South Carolina jazz and blues musicians from the 19th century to the present. The musicians range from the renowned (James Brown, Dizzy Gillespie), to the notable (Freddie Green, Josh White), to the largely forgotten (Fud Livingston, Josie Miles).
Historical Dictionary of Jazz by John S. Davis
Publication Date: 2012
The Historical Dictionary of Jazz covers the history of Jazz through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1,500 cross-referenced entries on significant jazz performers, band leaders, bands, venues, record labels, recordings, and the different styles of jazz.
Jazz Encyclopedia by Richard Cook
Publication Date: 2005
Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia is not merely an A-Z guide to the artists and bands who have shaped jazz, but it also tracks the history of jazz and its changing styles.