Collection Full View
Nancy Miller Elliott Collection of Photographs and Ephemera (1958 - 1997)
Size20 boxes
Collection Description
Nancy Miller Elliott was born in Manhattan in 1940. A school dropout at sixteen, she became a regular at New York City jazz clubs and eventually became a production assistant on Art Ford's pioneering television show, "Jazz Party." Ford was a popular radio personality, and he brought together some of the greatest names in jazz for his tv series, which broadcast from an upstairs studio at Newark's Mosque Theatre. Local artists occasionally joined the casually assembled line-ups. The show was carried by WNTA-TV (Channel 13); the first Ford program was aired on May 8, 1958, the second day of the new station's operation. Star-Ledger journalist Guy Sterling wrote about the show, in his 2008 article "A 'Jazz Party' to Remember,": "[It] showcased jazz in an open, free-spirited atmosphere, much the way a nightclub would. Aired without benefit of rehearsals or set lists, 'Jazz Party' established a standard that experts say has rarely, if ever, been matched."
The teen-aged Elliott assisted in booking artists, arranging transportation, and other chores, but she also began documenting the historic sessions with her camera. In this period, too, she met trumpeter Buck Clayton, who became her close companion until his death in 1991. The "Jazz Party" was off the air by the end of 1958 - possibly because of Ford's policy of presenting integrated line-ups, but Elliott's long career as a jazz photographer was launched. She went on to photograph many of the jazz luminaries of her time - on-stage and back-stage, on tour, at home, and relaxing at parties and other social gatherings. Her work was collected in several published volumes.
Nancy Miller Elliott died of cancer on January 9, 1998.
The teen-aged Elliott assisted in booking artists, arranging transportation, and other chores, but she also began documenting the historic sessions with her camera. In this period, too, she met trumpeter Buck Clayton, who became her close companion until his death in 1991. The "Jazz Party" was off the air by the end of 1958 - possibly because of Ford's policy of presenting integrated line-ups, but Elliott's long career as a jazz photographer was launched. She went on to photograph many of the jazz luminaries of her time - on-stage and back-stage, on tour, at home, and relaxing at parties and other social gatherings. Her work was collected in several published volumes.
Nancy Miller Elliott died of cancer on January 9, 1998.
Collection Contents
The collection consists of ca. 1,200 envelopes of prints, negatives and contact sheets, mostly of jazz-related subjects but also including New York City street scenes and informal personal shots. Also included are some files of Elliott's art work, correspondence, business records, publicity material, biographical material on Buck Clayton, and memorabilia.
Newark-related items in the collection are as follows:
Box 1, Folder 1: Contact sheets and negatives of musicians performing on Art Ford's television show, "Jazz Party" (1958). Included are images of Buster Bailey, Mae Barnes, Buck Clayton, Sonny Greer, Coleman Hawkins, Mary Osborne, Pee Wee Russell, Charlie Shavers, Stuff Smith, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Maxine Sullivan, and Josh White, among others.
Box 1, Folder 2: Includes images of Billie Holiday performing with guitarist Mary Osborne at Symphony Hall, Newark (1958).
Box 6, Folder 16: Includes images of Buck Clayton outside radio station WBGO, Newark
Newark-related items in the collection are as follows:
Box 1, Folder 1: Contact sheets and negatives of musicians performing on Art Ford's television show, "Jazz Party" (1958). Included are images of Buster Bailey, Mae Barnes, Buck Clayton, Sonny Greer, Coleman Hawkins, Mary Osborne, Pee Wee Russell, Charlie Shavers, Stuff Smith, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Maxine Sullivan, and Josh White, among others.
Box 1, Folder 2: Includes images of Billie Holiday performing with guitarist Mary Osborne at Symphony Hall, Newark (1958).
Box 6, Folder 16: Includes images of Buck Clayton outside radio station WBGO, Newark
FormatsGraphics; Photographic materials; Textual materials
SubjectsAfrican-American History / Civil Rights; Music; Women's History
Time Period20th Century
LanguageEnglish
Access policyOpen for research
ProcessedYes
Finding AidYes