New UK Libraries Collections Chronicle the Sounds of Kentucky

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 15, 2016) — Two new collections being donated to the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center will capture the story and quite literally some of the sounds of Kentucky for generations to come. Later this month, the center will become home to collections of both the Reel World String Band, a celebrated old time and traditional music mainstay in the Commonwealth, and Men of Note, one of the most iconic jazz bands of the Bluegrass.

To mark the dedications of two major collections of musical history in Kentucky, UK Libraries will celebrate the donations with programs filled with music of course.  

Reel World String Band performs "Who Owns Appalachia."

First, the festivities surrounding the donation of the Reel World String Band Archives will not only christen the archival work, but also celebrate the Kentucky Foundation for Women’s 30th anniversary. The band, Kentucky Poet Laureate George Ella Lyon, novelist Silas House and other guests will be on hand to sing some of the group's songs and provide tributes to highlight the band's history. In addition, an exhibit of items including band posters and photographs from the collection will also be on display. This program will begin 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, in the Great Hall of the Margaret I. King Library. A reception of dessert and coffee will immediately follow.

The following week, the big band sounds of Men of Note will take center stage at a concert of music from the band's book of arrangements featuring the UK Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Miles Osland, professor of saxophone and director of UK Jazz Studies; the UK Repertory Jazz Band, under the direction of Brad Kerns, assistant professor of trombone; and guest performances by members of the popular band itself. This concert, which includes a program featuring reproductions from the collection, will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at the Singletary Center for the Arts Recital Hall. A reception of cookies and drinks will immediately follow the concert.

Both dedication ceremonies for Reel World String Band and Men of Note are free and open to the public.

The Reel World String Band's music career spans 39 years and its history represents a body of cultural and feminist activism that has influenced and supported dozens of social movements in Kentucky and the Appalachian region. Since 1977, the band has toured all through the United States, Canada and Italy, played on picket lines, at women’s festivals and square dances, as well as thousands of other venues including many memorable events at UK's own Singletary Center.

Influenced by traditional and old time music with a touch of country, swing, blues and jazz, Reel World String Band's soulful songwriting and instrumental virtuosity make for American roots music with a rare fire and authenticity. The band includes Sue Massek on banjo, Bev Futrell on guitar and harmonica, Karen Jones on fiddle, Elise Melrood on piano, and Sharon Ruble on bass.

The Reel World String Band Collection at UK Special Collections Research Center will chronicle the band's entire career and includes photographs, posters, set lists and correspondence. 

"The Reel World String Band is part of the history of Kentucky's music culture, women's rights, and social justice movements. Their collection represents this and will be valuable to students and researchers for generations to come," said Deirdre Scaggs, associate dean for Special Collections.

Made up of music professors, doctors, lawyers and other career types, who also had a passion for music, Men of Note began as a group of friends who enjoyed playing together for fun. Over the years, the ensemble's popularity grew and the band played historic locations and events like the prestigious Greenbrier Inn in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and the inaugurations of Govs. Martha Layne Collins and Wallace Wilkinson, as well as local gigs around central Kentucky.

"What they furnished to Lexington is high-quality popular and jazz-inflected music produced locally by folks who were involved with music as a vocation or avocation," said Dick Domek, professor emeritus of UK School of Music and member of Men of Note. "The band offered music for listening, dancing, relaxing and celebrating at events like weddings, outdoor concerts, dances, company and private parties, governor’s inaugurations, street fairs, and so on. Their music was enjoyed by a cross section of people of all ages. An organization like that should be — and was — a great source of civic pride for Lexington." 

The Men of Note Collections document the long-running Lexington big band's history from 1967 to 2009. Among the materials collected are recordings, performance memorabilia, and the band's book of arrangements, which is actually an historic, passed-down collection of more than 300 charts dating back to the early 1940s arrangements belonging to five earlier bands.

The collection also includes oral histories. In 2014, Domek teamed up with Gail Kennedy, arts and outreach librarian at UK, to conduct interviews with former members of the band. To date, seven interviews have been completed, which focus on the band's recollections of their own history and thoughts on jazz in general. 

A third component of the archival collections is the personal memorabilia of Byron Romanowitz, noted Lexington architect and jazz musician, who anchored the Men of Note beginning in the 1980s until the band's dissolution in 2009. 

Romanowitz, who began playing jazz at 11 years of age, hopes the public will enjoy the wealth of the Men of Note resources for years to come.

"We donated our music library to UK because it contains some of the best musical arrangements from popular local big bands dating from the 1950s to 2009," Romanowitz said. "We thought that this music had historical significance to central Kentucky, and that it would continue to hold an appeal for future generations."

UK Special Collections Research Center is home to UK Libraries' collection of rare books, Kentuckiana, the Archives, the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, the King Library Press, the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center and the Bert T. Combs Appalachian collection. The mission of the Special Collections Research Center is to locate and preserve materials documenting the social, cultural, economic and political history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

For more information on the Reel World String Band Collection or the events surrounding its dedication, contact Deirdre A. Scaggs, associate dean of UK Libraries Special Collections, at deirdre@uky.edu or 859-257-3653.

For more information on the Men of Note Collections or the events surrounding its dedication, contact Gail Kennedy, arts and outreach librarian, at gail.kennedy@uky.edu  or 859-257-4631.

UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu