William Russell Jazz Collection
HNOC’s largest collection related to New Orleans jazz was the life’s work of this prolific collector, producer, historian, and photographer.
William “Bill” Russell, born Russell William Wagner (1905–1992), was a jazz historian and collector who focused on traditional New Orleans–style jazz. The William Russell Jazz Collection documents his lifelong study of New Orleans jazz and related musical forms such as brass bands, ragtime, and gospel music.
Russell started out as a percussionist pursuing modernist composition, but he soon shifted his interests to jazz history. Based in Pittsburgh but a frequent visitor to New Orleans, he amassed an extensive collection of jazz memorabilia, including musical instruments, records, piano rolls, sheet music, photographs, books, and periodicals. His collection traces the development of jazz in New Orleans and follows the movement of musicians to New York, Chicago, California, and beyond. It encompasses notes from Russell’s research, audiotapes, programs, posters, correspondence, films, business cards, notes, clippings, and scrapbooks.
Russell conducted extensive research into jazz and the cultural milieu from which it arose; his collection includes his notes, drafts of articles, discographies, oral history tapes and transcripts, recordings of jazz musicians giving lessons, photographs of musicians and the places associated with them, and other documents resulting from his research. Russell was a friend of many of the musicians he researched, including Louis Armstrong, George Lewis, Mahalia Jackson, and Baby Dodds. He kept letters from them as well as other mementos of his friendships. Also represented in Russell’s correspondence are his fellow jazz enthusiasts such as Eugene Williams, Roy J. Carew, and John Steiner.
“Dear Friend, Brother Russell, No doubt you‘ve wondered, ‘What on Earth has happened to Ol‘ Satchmo?’” begins this letter from Louis Armstrong to Russell, dated October 3, 1939.
Large portions of the collection focus on the lives of three individuals: Manuel “Fess” Manetta, Bunk Johnson, and Jelly Roll Morton. Russell interviewed Manetta at length about his life as a musician and the early days of jazz. Russell spent many years working on a book about Jelly Roll Morton; his Morton collections include manuscript music and letters written by the composer.
Russell was instrumental in reviving Bunk Johnson’s career in 1939. There are three series in the collection focusing on different aspects of their friendship. Russell founded American Music Records to record musicians including Bunk Johnson, Wooden Joe Nicholas, and Kid Shots Madison. The collection includes business records, photographs and notes documenting recording sessions, and liner notes.
Under the auspices of his American Music label, Russell recorded first- and second-generation jazz musicians, some for the first time. This image shows a session of the Wooden Joe Orchestra on July 17, 1949, featuring (left–right) Albert Burbank, Nicholas, unknown, Austin Young, and Albert Jiles.
Russell’s other research interests, such as voodoo, African American history, and New Orleans history (in particular, the Storyville, Bucktown, and Milneburg sections of the city) are represented. A member of the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, Russell studied brass bands and ragtime extensively, with an emphasis on Scott Joplin. In addition, Russell had a collection of postcards of New Orleans and the Gulf South that was unrelated to jazz. Russell was a prolific documentary photographer, capturing images of street parades, jazz venues, and other sites of jazz history.
For researchers
The William Russell Jazz Collection (MSS 500) is divided into many parts, each with its own in-depth finding aid. An overview of the collection can be downloaded below, as well as an annotated bibliography with a brief biography of Russell, a timeline of his life, and a list of articles and books related to his work. For more specific information on each subsection within the Russell Collection, visit the catalog records for MSS 501–MSS 541, or email reference@hnoc.org.
Frequently Accessed Parts of the Russell Collection
- William Russell Photographic Collection (MSS 520)
- Jelly Roll Morton Book Photographic Collection (MSS 508)
- Bunk Johnson Papers (MSS 510) and Bunk Johnson Promotional Material (MSS 511). Both these collections include photographs of performers other than Johnson as well as of New Orleans historical sites.
- Jazz Files (MSS 536). Of particular interest are the Louis Armstrong files.
- Oral History Tapes (MSS 530)
- General Correspondence and Working Files, (MSS 519)
- Jazz Files (MSS 536). This section includes a number of “catch-all” files, most notably Obituaries and Boogie-Woogie.
- Personal Papers (MSS 533). This section has some biographical information about specific performers.
- Researchers interested in Russell’s own music should consult the Baby Dodds Collection (MSS 514).
- For information on Russell’s percussion compositions, see Personal Papers (MSS 533).
- See Ragtime, Orchestrations, and Brass Bands (MSS 528) for material related to his ragtime performing.
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