Stephen Kelly - Winter 2009

In this guide:

• Finding Recordings
• Finding information about recordings
• Finding information about musicians

Getting Help:

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Finding Recordings

• Bridge (or WorldCat)
  Limit your search to "All Sound Recordings" to search the recordings held at the Gould Library, the Music Resource Center, and St. Olaf. If you want to specify location further, use the Advanced Search page and select locations and material types that fit your needs. Remember that you can do an Author search for your composer and then use the little search box (normally filled with numbers) at the bottom of the result list to jump to specific Uniform Titles (definition).

  Note: To listen to St. Olaf recordings, you will have to physically go to St. Olaf's music library.

• DRAM
  Access to streaming music and liner notes. The DRAM collection is focused on hard-to-find yet culturally and academically important music.
• Naxos Music Library
  You can search Naxos easily using the main search box on the first page. I tend to enter the composer's name followed by as much unique identifying information as possible. (Remember to log out when you're done using Naxos. Only 10 people at a time can be listening to music.)

Finding Information about recordings

• Jazz Discography
  The Jazz Discography is the most up-to-date general discography of all categories of recorded jazz, from 1896 to 2003. It provides a detailed listing of recording sessions, each with specific information: Leader name (or Group name), Published album title, Group name, Musicians with instrument(s) played, Location and date of recording session, Tune names, including matrix and release numbers (78 & 45 rpm, LPs & CDs). It's not very intuitive to use, so check out this short guide on getting started.
• All Music Guide to Jazz
  Ref ML156.4 .J3 A45
  Look here for lists and reviews of current recordings of important or popular classical pieces (listed alphabetically by composer last name). Note that this reference work includes "recommended" recordings that have appeared on CD. The editors have chosen recordings that are "considered reliable introductions to the music at hand and samplings, as diverse as possible, of the excellent performances available" on CD.
  
• Penguin Guide to Jazz
  Ref ML156.4 J3 C67
  This is very much like the All Music Guide. It's often a good idea to check more than one review source to get multiple perspectives on your recording.
  
• JazzStandards.com
  This website is dedicated to the preservation of information for the musical compositions known as Jazz Standards. It allows you to search for songs, instrumentalists, and composers.
  
• Reader's Guide Retrospective
  This allows you to search the titles and descriptions of popular magazines as far back as 1890. Keep your keywords pretty general (as this was not designed specifically for music research) and include the keyword "review." Then use the Find It button to gain access to the articles themselves.
• Music Index
  To find reviews of recordings, select "Non-Printed Material Review" from the "Publication Type" box below the main search area.
• WorldCat
  Search for the name of the album as a "sound recording" and check the notes to see if they have included performer and date information.

Finding Information about Musicians

• New Grove Dictionary of Jazz
  Ref ML102 .J3 N48
  Key reference work for students of Jazz. Each entry is signed by its author (so you can look up more books and articles written by that author), and nearly all entries include bibliographies for further reading.
  
• Oxford Music Online
  The single most complete reference work for music, musicians, composers, instruments, genres, and terms. Entries are signed, and most contain bibliographies for further reading, lists of works, and the like.
  
• Bridge (or WorldCat)
  Search for your composer (last name first) and the word "biography" or "autobiography." This works best in the Advance Search form, so that you can put your composer's name in as an Author search, and "biography" or "autobiography" in the next box as a Subject search.
• JazzStandards.com
  This website is dedicated to the preservation of information for the musical compositions known as Jazz Standards. It allows you to search for songs, instrumentalists, and composers.