James Moody Papers
name: label: Musician
content: Gillespie, Dizzy, 1917-1993
label: Donor
content: Moody, Linda
label: Musician
content: Moody, James, 1925-2010
topic: label: Occupation
content: African American musicians
label: Occupation
content: Flute players
label: Topic
content: African American music -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: African American artists
label: Topic
content: Business Advertising -- Calendars
label: Topic
content: Jazz -- 20th century -- United States
label: Topic
content: Jazz musicians -- United States
label: Topic
content: Music -- 20th century -- United States
label: Topic
content: Musicians -- United States
label: Topic
content: Portaits -- African American men
label: Topic
content: Saxophone
label: Topic
content: Saxophonists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Materials donated by James Moody's wife Linda Moody, 2016.
creator: label: Musician
content: Gillespie, Dizzy, 1917-1993
label: Donor
content: Moody, Linda
label: Musician
content: Moody, James, 1925-2010
setName: label: See more items in
content: James Moody Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: Music compositions, personal papers, photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, business records, magazine articles, and programs documenting the professional career and personal life of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Master, James Henry Moody.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Jazz saxophone and flute player James Henry Moody was born on March 26, 1925, in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia. He grew up with his mother, Ruby Hann Moody Watters, in Reading, Pennsylvania and Newark, New Jersey, where he learned to play the saxophone and the flute later in life. Moody served in the United States Air Force during World War II, where he belonged to a military band. During this time, he met the jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer (John Birks) Dizzy Gillespie who was giving a performance at his base. After being discharged from military service in 1946, Moody joined Gillespie's band for a couple of years, and the two developed a strong friendship and working collaboration that lasted until Gillespie died in 1993. In addition to his frequent recording and tours with Gillespie, Moody had a series of jazz acts with whom he recorded and toured; he performed as a back-up act in Las Vegas, and worked with many notables, including Dinah Washington, Benny Golson, Tito Puente, and Quincy Jones. His credits include over fifty albums, such as the highly acclaimed Henry Mancini tribute album "Moody Plays Mancini," and a small role in the 1997 film, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." His honors include Grammy nominations (1985 and 1990) and a posthumous Grammy award in 2010, induction into the International Jazz Hall of Fame, and his selection as a 1998 National Education Association (NEA) Jazz Master. Moody passed away at the age of eighty-five on December 9, 2010, in San Diego, California, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He is buried in Greenwood Memorial Park, San Diego, California.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 14 Cubic feet (40 boxes, 3 audio cassette tapes, 1 CD-ROM, 1 floppy disk )
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1949-2015, undated
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1405
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Admission tickets
label: Type
content: Advertisements
label: Type
content: Agreements
label: Type
content: Articles
label: Type
content: Artwork
label: Type
content: Awards
label: Type
content: Black-and-white photographs
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Clippings
label: Type
content: Color prints (photographs)
label: Type
content: Contracts
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Ephemera
label: Type
content: Greeting cards
label: Type
content: Itineraries
label: Type
content: Invitations
label: Type
content: Magazines (periodicals)
label: Type
content: Music
label: Type
content: Newspaper clippings
label: Type
content: Personal papers
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Posters
label: Type
content: Promotional literature
label: Type
content: Programs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Collection is arranged in six series.

Series 1: Music Manuscripts, 1988, undated

Series 2: Personal Papers, 1950-2011, undated

Subseries 2.1: Correspondence, Greeting Cards, and Postcards, 1981-2010, undated

Subseries 2.2: General, 1950-2011, undated

Subseries 2.3: Photographic Materials, 1953-2010, undated

Series 3: Business Records, 1955-2013, undated

Subseries 3.1: Legal Documents, 1965-2011

Subseries 3.2: Financial Records, 1968-1991

Subseries 3.3: Margenia Music, Division of Gopam Entertainment, Incorporated, 1965-1995, undated

Subseries 3.4: General Files, 1955-2013, undated

Subseries 3.5: Itineraries, 1989-2009, undated

Series 4: Performance Materials, 1949-2015, undated  

Subseries 4.1: Programs, 1949-2015, undated

Subseries 4.2: Advertising and Promotional Materials, 1952-2010, undated

Subseries 4.3: Ephemera, 1990-2009, undated

Series 5: Magazines, 1960-2011

Series 6: Audiovisual Materials, 1981-2002, undated
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Grace Boyle, intern, 2024; Franklin Robinson Jr., archivist, 2024; and Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist, 2024.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Admission tickets
label: Genre/Form
content: Advertisements -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Agreements
label: Genre/Form
content: Articles
label: Genre/Form
content: Artwork
label: Genre/Form
content: Awards
label: Genre/Form
content: Black-and-white photographs -- 1950-2000
label: Genre/Form
content: Business records
label: Genre/Form
content: Clippings
label: Genre/Form
content: Color prints (photographs) -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Contracts
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Ephemera -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Greeting cards -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Itineraries
label: Genre/Form
content: Invitations -- 1980-2010
label: Genre/Form
content: Magazines (periodicals) -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Music -- Manuscripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Newspaper clippings
label: Genre/Form
content: Personal papers -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Personal papers -- 21st century
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 1960-2000
label: Genre/Form
content: Posters
label: Genre/Form
content: Promotional literature
label: Genre/Form
content: Programs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Collection documents the personal life and professional career of jazz saxophone and flute player James Henry Moody.  Materials include Moody's compositions and arrangements, including parts for various instruments; correspondence, some personal, some business; business records such as contracts, copyright and royalty statements, and tour itineraries; photographs, some personal, and some documenting Moody's musical activities, some featuring other musicians, especially Dizzy Gillespie; programs from jazz shows in which Moody participated; awards; and numerous magazine articles and newspaper clippings. 

The collection is arranged in six series.  Series one contains music manuscripts.  Series two are the personal papers of James Moody.  Series three documents the business of being a musician. Series four are performance materials.  Series five contains magazines. Series 6 includes audiovisual materials.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution


Herman Leonard Photographic Collection, NMAH.AC.0445


Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, NMAH.AC.0491


Frank Schiffman Apollo Theatre Collection, NMAH.AC.0540


Ella Fitzgerald Papers, NMAH.AC.0584


Scurlock Studio Records, NMAH.AC.0618.S04.01


Benny Carter Collection, NMAH.AC.0757


W. Royal Stokes Collection of Jazz Musicians' Photographs, NMAH.AC.0766


Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program Collection, NMAH.AC.0808


Charismic Productions Records of Dizzy Gillespie, NMAH.AC.0979


John and Devra Hall Levy Collection, NMAH.AC.1221


Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection, NMAH.AC.1222


Duncan Schiedt Jazz Collection, NMAH.AC.1323

Smithsonian Institution Archives


Smithsonian Productions, Accession 06-181


Smithsonian Productions, Productions, SIA.FA04-062

Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution


Smithsonian Folklife Festival Records: 1970 Festival of American Folklife, CFCH.SFF.1970


Smithsonian Folklife Festival Records: 1976 Festival of American Folklife, CFCH.SFF.1976


Smithsonian Folklife Festival Records: 1981 Festival of American Folklife, CFCH.SFF.1981


Smithsonian Folklife Festival Records: 2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, CFCH.SFF.2007


Smithsonian Folklife Festival Records: 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, CFCH.SFF.2013


Ralph Rinzler Papers and Audio Recordings, CFCH.RINZ


Moses and Frances Asch Collection, CFCH.ASCH

Other Repositories

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie Collection, Special Collections Library and University Archives, Vanderbilt University 

http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/specialcollections/

specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: National Museum of American History, Division of Culture and the Arts

Artifacts acquired as part of the collection include:


Selmer Tenor Saxophone, 1986-1987, catalog number 2016.0340.01

Saxophone Case, 1986-1987, catalog number 2016.0340.01.01

Powell Flute, 2006, catalog number 2016.0340.02

Powell Flute Case, 2006, catalog number 2016.0340.02.01