Institute Archives launches preview website for Herb Pomeroy Jazz Collection

Learn about this influential jazz figure

Herb Pomeroy and Lionel Hampton

Pomeroy playing with Lionel Hampton in a 1954 photo from the collection. Photographer unknown. All rights reserved.

Herb Pomeroy, director of MIT jazz bands from 1963 to 1985 and founder of the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble, put jazz on the map at MIT. In addition to his role as an educator both here and at the Berklee College of Music, Pomeroy played trumpet with such jazz greats as Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, Lionel Hampton, and Charlie Parker. He was also a composer, arranger, and world renowned bandleader.

The Pomeroy family generously donated his collection of music scores, recordings, and personal papers to MIT. A newly launched website highlights a small sample of the rich content that lies within the Herb Pomeroy Jazz Collection.

The full collection will be open for use in the Institute Archives in early 2017. For more information, please contact pomeroycollection@mit.edu.