02/26/2026
Highlighting collections housed at Indiana University’s Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC), Faces of Jazz is an exhibit presenting jazz as a spectrum of expression, consciousness and collective movement, spanning the early 20th century to the present.
The exhibit consists of three installments, two of which focus on Reggie Workman, one of the most prolific bassists in modern jazz recording history, and Joe Chambers, acclaimed multi-instrumentalist widely known for his seminal recordings as sideman on Blue Note Records during the label’s post-bop era in the 1960s. Taken together, Workman and Chambers exemplify distinct lived experiences and significant contributions as definitive instrumentalists, bandleaders, composers, educators and community organizers who contributed to the artistic character, critical voice and action associated with a dynamic African American performance community. The third installment focuses on Indiana jazz, from the early production and distribution of the genre by Gennett Records in Richmond during the 1920s, to Indiana Avenue, the historic entertainment district in Indianapolis from the 1920s to the 1970s, which served as a focal point for Black commerce and entertainment. Highlighted in the third exhibit are notable Indiana-born artists, educators and entrepreneurs such as Noble Sissle, Wes Montgomery, J.J. Johnson, David Baker, Freddie Hubbard and Denver Ferguson.
Faces of Jazz encompasses a wide range of archival materials expressing a spectrum of organized sound, identity, function, meaning, negotiation and movement towards aesthetic gratification and liberty. In essence, jazz is not simply “music for music’s sake.” Rather, the genre embodies a complex of spirited exploration, mediation, contestation and affirmation crystalizing Black life and expressivity intersecting the broader human experience.
Faces of Jazz: Dynamic Art and Agency will open at AAAMC on Friday, February 27, 2026, and remain until June 30. Admission is FREE and open to the general public Monday through Friday from 10am-4pm.
