Jazz, America’s own music, has always had a home in Boston. But the city gained its place of prominence on the national jazz map in the 1950s, and continues to hold that place today. The Museum of African American History celebrates Boston’s rich jazz history in its new exhibit, Jazz Scene in Boston: Telling the Local Story, opening in the Museum’s Abiel Smith School Galleries on September 19, 2019.

The sound of jazz poured from clubs like Storyville and the Jazz Workshop, played by musicians with deep Boston roots, including Jaki Byard, Roy Haynes, and Paul Gonsalves. Through photographs, handbills and posters set in a club-like setting, this colorful exhibit provides a broad view of the Boston scene from the 1940s to the 1980s. There’s also a closer look at the family of renowned drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, with their own 80-year history in the city.

The exhibition includes images by noted jazz photographers Lee Tanner and Jack Bradley, as well as, photos and memorabilia from numerous private collections. The Museum also tapped the archives of institutions including the Berklee College of Music, W.E.B. Dubois Library at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Salem State University.

Learn more about the exhibit