The renowned jazz DJ and historian Phil Schaap’s extensive collection of jazz memorabilia has found a new home at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. This collection, which had been housed in his childhood home in Queens, includes an unparalleled archive of recorded interviews, radio shows, and nearly 20,000 records. After Schaap’s death in 2021, efforts to preserve this collection culminated in its transfer to Vanderbilt, where it will be meticulously cataloged over the next five years.
Schaap, known for his encyclopedic knowledge of jazz, spent decades curating this archive, which includes over 1,600 interviews with jazz legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz. The move to Vanderbilt’s Anne Potter Wilson Music Library ensures that Schaap’s lifetime of work will continue to be accessible to future generations. The university plans to digitize much of the collection, making it available online, and has already begun integrating it into their jazz studies curriculum.
Schaap’s legacy, built through years of dedication to preserving jazz history, will now be furthered by students and researchers at Vanderbilt, who will have unprecedented access to this treasure trove of American music history. The collection’s relocation marks a significant cultural shift, from the Queens neighborhood where Schaap grew up surrounded by jazz greats, to Nashville, a city with its own rich musical heritage.
This transition highlights the importance of preserving and making accessible the cultural artifacts that define America’s musical history, ensuring that Schaap’s work will continue to influence jazz scholarship for years to come.
