University of Idaho (Moscow, ID)

Lionel Hampton, here performing at the 1992 NEA Jazz Masters ceremony, donated his master and source tapes for Glad-Hamp Records to the University of Idaho, which is currently preserving the recordings. Photo courtesy of the NEA.

The University of Idaho is the state's land grant university, which was established in 1889 and provides a variety of programs from an array of disciplines. Its relationship with jazz began in 1968, when it inaugurated an annual jazz festival, now known as the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, which runs for four days in February. The School of Music was named after Hampton in 1987, and in 2000 the Lionel Hampton Center was created. The Center gathers the School of Music, jazz festival, International Jazz Collections, and the future construction of a performance and education center under one initiative.

In FY 2004, the University of Idaho received an NEA Heritage & Preservation grant of $20,000 to support the preservation of the Lionel Hampton Collections, part of the International Jazz Collections housed at the Lionel Hampton Center. Established in 1992 with Hampton's donation of historical materials, the International Jazz Collections has grown to be one of the premier jazz archives in the world.

The recordings to be preserved are the master and source tapes of Glad-Hamp Records, a company Hampton and his wife Gladys created in the 1960s. The company recorded not just Hampton, but other jazz greats such as Cat Anderson, Benny Powell, and Kai Winding. Many of these recordings are no longer available commercially. Once the materials are preserved, the collection will be archived and made available to scholars and students of jazz. Some of the material for which the university has the rights will be made available on the Internet as well.

(From the 2004 NEA Annual Report)

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