The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Jazz Scene

Welcome to the online repository of the jazz scene in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as seen through the lens of the pivotal years between the 1950s and 1980s.

Rooted in the complexity, dynamism, and conflicts of America, jazz grew as an art and an entertainment whose leading artists were Black during a period of segregation and racial supremacy. It spread listener by listener both through the era's new mass media and through a social cool perhaps unique to jazz.

Our project looks at the special conditions of jazz in a college town. We take a look at several different aspects of the scene, from the University of Michigan’s student organizations and initiatives, to the community-led Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival, and the narratives found interwoven between them. This is a story of institutional influence, racial tensions, and so much more. Please join us as we take a glimpse back in time, and learn how the jazz scene gained momentum, its impact on all the people and places it touched, and how it ultimately lost its power and ability to enthrall towards the end of the century.

To heighten your experience and immerse yourself in the intrigue of this genre, we recommend listening to a specially curated playlist from some notable jazz muscians who found themselves performing in Ann Arbor during at one point or another. You can find this playlist on Spotify, linked below. To navigate to this playlist on a separate tab to play alongside your browsing, click the "⋅⋅⋅" button on the righthand side of the player and select "Play On Spotify."

Curious about the geographical spread of the jazz scene? We've got you covered there too - use the map below to explore all the locations mentioned on this site. While some of these buildings and businesses are no longer around, it's important to see where they were located, and their impact across the city.