Web Resources

  • Center for Black Music Research This page links to collection guides and primary material collections such as oral histories about Chicago House Music, Jamesie: King of Scratch, and the Caribs/Garifuna peoples.
  • The Black Music History Library Curated by Jenzia Burgos, a a Puerto Rican-Dominican writer and music journalist from the South Bronx, New York  
  • Music by Black Composers: An Introductory ResourceCreated by studio faculty chairs and others in the Music Division of the Juilliard School, this resource provides highly personal recommendations of works to hear and perform with annoted sgugestions about the availability of music.
  • African Diaspora Music ProjectA repository for the concert works (those intended for the concert stage; aka classical works) of composers of the African Diaspora and it will provide access to scores, recordings, and programmatic information about these composers and the extant works.
  • Sounding Spirit A project involving the meeting of printed music of the past with digital innovation, Sounding Spirit publishes and digitizes historic sacred songbooks for online access dating from 1850 to 1925. 
  •  Roots of African American Music Created by the Smithsonian Museum, this page explores the origins and influences of this music
  • National Museum of African American Music A museum designed to encourage the central role African Americans have played in shaping and creating all genres of American music.
  • The Musical Geography ProjectInteractive maps created by St. Olaf College undergraduate students mapping place and movement through music history through map-centered investigations of music and musicians.
  • Black Opera Research NetworkCharting a terrain in interdisciplinary opera studies, the site offers a forum, research resources, and events offered by BORN. Resources include online sites and suggestions for literature, dissertations, and audiovisual sources focused on Black opera.
  • Jazz History Database Created by Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachussetts, the database holds biographies, interviews, and other materials related to all things jazz. 
  • Association for Cultural Equity Founded by ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, the Association explores and sustains the world's expressive traditions with humanistic commitment and scientific engagement.
  • Song of AmericaA project of the Hampsong Foundation, the goal is to curate a comprehensive archive of American song through the exploration of connections between poetry and musc through the work of American poets and composers.  
  • Black PastA reference center providing information on the history of African Americans and the people of African ancestry around the world.
  • Black Central Europe A website celebrating the history of the Black diaspora in the region, home to more than one million Black people, through  historial documents, images, multimedia, maps, activist organizations and videos. 
  • Larry Katz InterviewsNortheastern University Archives & Special Collections digitized more than 1000 audiocassettes with interviews from popular music artists from 1980 through 2005.
  • TED Playlist: Music Around the World A collection of contemporary musicians' videos  featuring world music and instruments.
  • The Great 78 ProjectIt is is a community project for the preservation, research and discovery of 78rpm records from about 1898 to the 1950s, with an estimated 3 million sides (~3 minute recordings) made on 78rpm discs.
  • Introduction to Music LibGuideProduced by the Columbia College Chicago Library, the guide links to internet resources, books, and databases available to the college community. 
  • African American Studies LibGuideProduced by the Columbia College Chicago Library, the guide links to internet resources, books, and databases available to the college community. 

Database Resources

  • Black Music Research Journal Available through subscription to JStor, this Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College Chicago publication covers topics related to Black music.
  • Lenox Avenue: A Journal of Interarts InquiryAvailable through subscription to JStor, this journal was produced by the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College Chicago Library
  • Qwest TV Available thorugh subscription this database, curated by record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer Quincy Jones, offers global music, featuring concerts, documentaries, interviews, archive films, and dance performances.