SFJAZZ Unveils Public Access to Historical Archive

SFJAZZ has revealed public access to the SFJAZZ Historical Archive, an expansive collection of more than 2,000 recordings from 1983–2012, showcasing world premieres, unique commissions, panel discussions, pre-concert talks, TV & radio interviews, and more, all from the years before the opening of the standalone SFJAZZ Center in 2013. The earliest recordings capture the organization’s evolving artistic programming—from its humble beginnings as Jazz in the City and later the San Francisco Jazz Festival—held at iconic San Francisco venues including Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Bimbo’s 365 Club, Palace of Fine Arts, Grace Cathedral, The Masonic, and Pier 33. This marks the first time the SFJAZZ Historical Archive collection can be accessed by the public.
 
"The launch of the SFJAZZ Digital Archive is more than just preserving history—it’s about honoring the voices that have shaped and transformed the San Francisco jazz scene for decades,” said Blanchard. “This archive ensures that future generations can feel the heartbeat of jazz and understand its power to inspire, challenge, and connect."
 
Cataloging efforts began in 2016, prompting an urgent push for funding to preserve this invaluable physical archive of cassettes, DATs, VHS, and other analog audio-video tapes before they degraded. Supported by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and preservation assistance from California Revealed, the project’s digitization efforts began in 2021 and has garnered enthusiastic backing from supporters nationwide, including music scholars, musicians, and archival librarians, ensuring that these recordings are safeguarded for future generations.
 
The SFJAZZ Historical Archive consists of two main components: California Revealed and the Internet Archive. California Revealed, an initiative of California State Library, supports heritage organizations in digitizing collections and objects significant to California history. The Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library, hosts digitized recordings from both California Revealed and projects funded by the Council on Library and Information Resources.
 
"This digitization project has revealed a treasure trove for music lovers," said SFJAZZ Media Archivist Kaori Suzuki. "The archive represents a vast body of work, the recordings telling a story of the evolution of jazz and beyond in the San Francisco Bay Area. We invite jazz aficionados, teachers, scholars, and curious minds alike to discover the abundance of the collection."
 
Legendary bassist and composer Reggie Workman singled out one of many recordings in the archive, his Trio with Jason Moran and Sam Rivers, who performed as part of the 2004 SFJAZZ Spring Series: "All that happened during this performance is because of the level of professionalism and expertise, and the Universal Order. I traveled a similar path and worked toward a similar philosophy with Trio Three, with whom I share a 35-year collaboration," referring to his 2009 San Francisco Jazz Festival recording of Trio Three with Andrew Cyrille and Oliver Lake. "I thank everyone who listens to our music and hope our creation serves you well."
 
“After listening to the Pan Asian Arkestra’s outrageous performance, I felt ecstatic and overjoyed,” said composer and pianist Jon Jang after listening to a recording featuring himself and the Pan Asian Arkestra performing at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts in 1988. “We performed my multi-movement work, Reparations Now! Concerto for Large Ensemble and Taiko (Japanese drums). It was timely and significant historically because the NCRR (National Coalition for Redress and Reparations), led by San Francisco activist Sox Kitashima, helped push forward the win for reparations for 120,000 Japanese Americans who were incarcerated in US prison camps during WWII. President Ronald Reagan made it official after he signed the Civil Liberties Act in August 1988, which was two months before my ensemble performance.”
 
"The SFJAZZ Historical Archive is an incredible resource that gives access to experience some of the creators of jazz music and to hear the evolution of 'jazz in the city' of San Francisco," says drummer Brian Blade, who was a founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective in 2004. "My thanks to Randall Kline for his vision and invitations over the years to include me as part of some of these pivotal moments in my life. The blessing to hear McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter and Ornette Coleman and the privilege to share the stage with some of my heroes was an immeasurable gift."
 
The collection showcases performances and conversations with some of the most influential figures in jazz—both past and present—including Joe Henderson, Don Cherry, Wayne Shorter, Etta James, Anthony Braxton, Tony Williams, Eartha Kitt, Sonny Rollins, Pharoah Sanders, Orrin Keepnews, Herbie Hancock, Cassandra Wilson, Cecil Taylor, David Murray, Abbey Lincoln, Elvin Jones, Charlie Haden, Dorothy Donegan, John Santos, Charles Lloyd, Max Roach, Angela Davis, Shirley Horn, Wadada Leo Smith, and many more.
 
Archival recordings are publicly accessible through two avenues: the Internet Archive's SFJAZZ Historical Archive Collection, and the California Revealed Repository. The Internet Archive Collection hosts the most comprehensive collection which includes the recordings digitized through the CLIR Recordings At Risk grant (2022, 9th cohort).
 
To access the California Revealed (CA-R) archive, visit https://californiarevealed.org/partner/sfjazz.