ABSTRACT

Melbourne was recognised as the major Australian inspirational and actual centre for the post-World War II revival of jazz. For many years, the Australian jazz fraternity was very concerned about the fate of its combined collections of recordings, publications, photos, instruments, banners, posters and other memorabilia. The final impetus for the creation of the Victorian Jazz Archive Inc (VJA) came with the strongly voiced desire to preserve Victoria's jazz heritage within Victoria, and for it to be readily accessible to musicians, collectors, donors and others, both here and interstate. They now trade as the Australian Jazz Museum (AJM), while still retaining the legal entity of the Victorian Jazz Archive Inc. Through its primary and secondary collections, the AJM provides a unique insight into the development and influence of jazz in Australia from its earliest introduction and inception in the 1920s, through the dance band era of the 1930s and 1940s.