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Samuel and Ann Charters Archives of Blues and Vernacular African American Musical Culture
Jazz Search Tips
Topics Covered
- Getting Started
- Looking for jazz CDs in general?
- Looking for a particular artist, performer, or song?
- Want to browse the collection as it appears on the shelf (Adderly to Young)?
- Want to find the Aebersold play-along books/CDs? [NEW]
- Want to find a jazz fake book?
- Want to find jazz theory books?
- Want to find jazz information or research materials?
Getting Started
Search HOMER (UConn's library catalog) to find jazz recordings, books, and scores. Most of the recordings are located in the Music & Dramatic Arts Library and may be borrowed (here are loan periods).
Looking for jazz CDs in general?
For type of search, click Keyword.
Under search terms, type the key words you know.
mcd stands for Music Compact Disc. LP stands for...LP.Examples of Keyword searches:
jazz mcd Finds music CDs with "jazz" in the title, contents, or subject.
jazz lp Finds jazz albums (the old "long-playing" records).
jazz mcd trumpet Finds jazz CDs with trumpet.Here's a more sophisticated Keyword Boolean search using AND and OR (here are PDF Keyword Boolean search instructions):
jazz and (mcd or lp) Finds jazz CDs or jazz LPs.
Tip: after you search, "sort" your results by title or author for easier reading.
Looking for a particular artist, performer, or song?
For type of search, click Keyword.
Under search terms, type the key words you know.Examples:
art blakey Finds Blakey, Art OR Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
stella starlight mcd Finds CDs with song "Stella by Starlight."
henderson shade jade Finds anything with Joe Henderson and "A Shade of Jade."
Want to browse the collection as it appears on the shelf (Adderly to Young)?
(Audio recordings are shelved behind the circulation desk.)For type of search, click Call Number.
Under search terms, type MCD JZ (in that word order) to browse the jazz CDs. (You can add the first letter of the main artist's name, e.g., MCD JZ D for Miles Davis CDs.)
To browse LPs, type LP JZ (in that word order).Tip: also try the Keyword searches above you if seek particular artists/composers.
Want to find the Aebersold play-along books/CDs?
The Aebersolds are shelved at the Music Library circulation desk. You can check them out for 3 days. The call number is MT 68 A43. There are 118 volumes. To identify the specific volume, do one of the HOMER library catalog searches below.
To browse all of the volumes:
For type of search, click Keyword.
Under search terms, type aebersold.
Use the "Sort By" menu to sort your search results.To find a specific artist or style:
For type of search, click Keyword.
Under search terms, type aebersold [person's last name or another keyword]Example: aebersold brubeck Finds the Aebersold "Brubeck" play-along set.
Example: aebersold bossa Finds the Aebersold "bossa nova" play-along set.To browse items in order by volume:
For type of search, click Call Number .
Under search terms, type MT 68 A43 (not case sensitive).
And if you insist...
The Author search that finds the entire set is Aebersold, Jamey.
The Title search that finds the entire set is Jamie Aebersold Jazz.
Use those exact word orders.
Want to find a jazz fake book?
For type of search, click Keyword.
Under search terms, type jazz fake book.
Also try music fake book Finds fake books with popular, Christmas, and wedding music.
Want to find jazz theory books?
For type of search, click Keyword-Boolean. (This is a more advanced search.)
Under search terms, type jazz and (theory or harmon?)
harmon? finds harmony, harmonic, harmonious, etc.
Want to find jazz information or research materials?
Idea 1: Consult Grove Music Online.
Idea 2: To find books, click Keyword search in HOMER.
Under search terms, type the key words you know.
Examples:
jazz dictionar?
blues dictionar?
jazz encyclopedia?
jazz Use the Limit To menu to find only books.
miles davis Also use the Limit To menu to find only books.Examples Using the more advanced Keyword Boolean search:
(jazz or blues) and (dictionar? or encyclop?) Combines three of the previous searches to find jazz or blues dictionaries and encyclopedias.
Idea 3: For type of search, click Subject Heading.
Under search terms, type jazz. The resulting list includes books about jazz.
You could also type your artist or topic (e.g., Davis, Miles).Idea 4: Find journal articles about jazz.
Need Help?
Consult the music librarian or other staff if you need help finding anything.
The library has much more information than can be explained in this brief guide!Thanks to Tamara Hardesty for assembling a preliminary version of this guide.
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