This bust of American jazz trumpeter, musician, bandleader, and composer Miles Dewey Davis III (1926 - 1991) was made by Ed Dwight in Denver, Colorado in 1990. Made of cast bronze, the sculpture depicts Davis’ torso, playing a trumpet, wearing a jacket and sunglasses, on a wood base.

Ed Dwight began his career as a graduate engineer, was a former United States Air Force test pilot who became the first African American to be trained as an astronaut in 1962. Following a career in real estate, computer systems engineering, and consulting, Dwight pursued art and received a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Denver in 1977. Dwight’s works include fine art sculpture, large-scale memorials and public art projects.

Currently not on view

Currently not on view

Currently not on view

This sheet music is for the song “Mother of Mine I Still Have You,” by Al Jolson, Louis Silver and Grant Clarke. It was published by Irving Berlin, Inc. in New York, New York in 1927.Currently not on view

Smithsonian curator Paul Beckwith acquired this cuatro in 1898-99 in Ponce, Puerto Rico, shortly after the Spanish-American War. This instrument is an example of the “old style” (“antiguo”) cuatro with four strings and a keyhole shape. This type of cuatro was popular until the early 20th century when it was gradually replaced by the violin-shaped 10-string cuatro still common today. This example appears to have originally been fitted with eight strings (four courses of double strings), a common style in the south of the island. Three tiples at the National Museum of Natural History (E201482B, E201482C, E201482D) were collected at the same time.El curador del Smithsonian Paul Beckwith adquirió este cuatro entre el 1898 y 1899 en Ponce, Puerto Rico, poco después de la guerra hispano-cubana-estadounidense. Este instrumento es un ejemplo del cuatro antiguo de cuatro cuerdas y con forma de ojo de cerradura. Este estilo de cuatro fue popular hasta inicios del siglo XX, pero fue reemplazado gradualmente por el cuatro aviolinado de cinco órdenes de cuerdas dobles (10 cuerdas) que continúa siendo el más común hoy. Este ejemplar parece haber tenido ocho cuerdas originalmente (cuatro órdenes de cuerdas dobles), un estilo común en la región sur de la isla. Tres tiples en el Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (E201482B, E201482C, E201482D) fueron recolectados en la misma expedición.Currently not on view

This electric guitar was made by Fender Musical Instrument Corp. in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1995. It is a reissue of the 1957 design with a two-tone sunburst finish. The Stratocaster is arguably the most successful and influential electric guitar ever produced. It is easily identified by its double cutaways, contoured body, and three pickups. It also features Fender's vibrato or tremolo system that allows players to raise or lower the pitch of the strings. In the hands of Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, and many other musicians, the "Strat" has become an American icon.Currently not on view

This electric piano was made by the Fender Rhodes Company in Fullerton, California around 1971-1973. It is a Mark I stage piano, which was produced from 1969-1975. This piano is serial number 24761, and has a compass of 6ix octaves, Rhodes action, with hammers facing the keyboard, metal bars with resonator bars and coils to turn vibrations into electrical charges, rubber pads on plastic shank hammers, 2 hand stops: tone regulator and volume regulator, wood frame, an imitation leather-covered wood case, and a folding metal base.

This piano features the following patents:

U. S. Patent #2972922, dated February 28, 1961 by Harold B. Rhodes for an electrical musical instrument in the nature of a piano.

U. S. Patent #3270608, dated September 6, 1966 by Harold B. Rhodes for a piano action.

U. S. Design Patent #200439, dated February 23, 1965 by Harold B. Rhodes for an electric piano.

U.S. Design Patent #200440, dated February 23, 1965 by Harold B. Rhodes for an electric piano.

Currently not on view

Few aspects of the harm done to New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 are more poignant than the losses suffered by the musical community. The New Orleans jazz scene was especially vulnerable, since many jazz performers lived in areas inundated by the flood waters. One such performer was Dr. Michael White.White's house on Pratt Drive filled with eight feet of water when the London Avenue Canal levee failed behind his neighborhood. That water sat for several weeks before pumps could drain the area, destroying White's furniture, his rooms, his priceless collection of jazz sheet music, his recordings, and a lifetime's collection of jazz clarinets. Over sixty rare wood and metal clarinets, some from the 19th century, were lost. One of them, this 1930s marching band clarinet from Elkhart, Indiana, found its way from White's devastated house to the Smithsonian to acknowledge the hit taken by the New Orleans musical community but also the resilience of this community in the face of setbacks and hardship. Katrina has given new meaning to the blues. The struggle to overcome this loss adds a powerful chapter to this city's storied record of musical achievement.Currently not on view

This bust of American composer and musician Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899 - 1974) was made by Ed Dwight in Denver, Colorado in 1988. Made of cast bronze, the sculpture depicts Ellington in a suit and bowtie, arms in a conducting pose, atop a stylized keyboard.

Ed Dwight began his career as a graduate engineer, was a former United States Air Force test pilot who became the first African American to be trained as an astronaut in 1962. Following a career in real estate, computer systems engineering, and consulting, Dwight pursued art and received a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Denver in 1977. Dwight’s works include fine art sculpture, large-scale memorials and public art projects.

Currently not on view