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Institute of Jazz Studies

Finding Discographical Information Online

Rutgers University Libraries subscribes to Tom Lord's The Jazz Discography, an online database searchable by performer, title, date, record label, and any combination of these.  The database is one of the most comprehensive discgrophies available on the web.  The database is accessible to Rutgers community members with an RU ID and to the public at any campus computer work station.

Jazz Discography is a state-of-the-art online discographical database, largely the work of Michael Fitzgerald; other examples of his research projects are available at his home page.

The Jazz Discography Project offers discographies of more than sixty musicians.

George Scala provides many artist discographies at his site, Free Jazz Research.

The 78 RPM Home Page provides an excellent list of discographies available online and in print.

Marcel Safier's Jazz Home Page offers discographies of: 

Jason Guthartz's Re-Structures Creative Music Forum offers discographies of:

At Rick Lopez's site, The Whole Shebang, he offers sessionographies of:

Other artist-specific online discographies:

The huge All-Music Guide (AMG) can be a valuable first stop for a quick discographical overview of an artist’s work. It contains out-of-print material as well as new releases, although more contemporary performers and releases are better documented. AMG offers searching by artist, album title, song title, and classical work. Artist entries feature a biography, a list of albums and releases in other formats, songs, chart positions, awards, and credits. AMG's most significant drawback is its limited scope.  Few entries, if any, are comprehensive.

Internet vendors’ sites contain a wealth of discographical data that is frequently updated.  However, albums and releases not currently available for sale (e.g., very rare issues) are under-represented or absent.  Also, the sites are commercial, so the authoritativeness of the information can be questionable.  Titles, label names, and even artists' names are not always listed consistently. Some sites do not provide label names and/or catalog numbers, relying instead on an idiosyncratic system for numbering items. Despite these limitations, commercial sites are potentially helpful, especially when documenting a performer in the early part of his/her career and performers who have not been covered in book format yet.

The commercial sites listed here offer search features that typically provide access by artist and album title. Some provide a listing by label, audio samples of the music, basic biographical information on an artist, and/or selected reviews. 

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