Teo Macero papers

The Teo Macero papers comprise the materials Macero deposited with the Institute of Jazz Studies between 1995 and 2008. The plurality of the materials are written music and audio reels. The Macero papers also contain a small set of personal and professional papers, and awards related to Macero’s life and career. Most materials are associated with Macero’s years as a music industry professional from the mid-1950s onwards, but materials collected by Macero, especially written music created for Charlie Parker, begin in the late 1940s.
The written music series contains materials related to his production work for Columbia/CBS and others, as well as his own compositions and arrangements, and works-for-hire, and materials he collected. His production work is represented by production lead sheets and vocal parts for multiple Tony Bennett albums; Iola and Dave Brubeck’s lead sheets for Louis Armstrong’s The Real Ambassadors and other compositions; materials from Miles Davis’s collaborations with Gil Evans, including a near-complete run of annotated production charts from Porgy and Bess, as well as charts from The Man with the Horn and other albums; Oliver Nelson’s scores for Thelonious Monk’s final album for Columbia Records, Monk’s Blues; scores for Art Farmer’s album, Baroque Sketches, and Wallace Roney’s album, Mistérios, and many other individual titles. Macero’s work as a composer and arranger is represented by materials related to the 1959 Manhattan Jazz All-Stars album, Swinging Guys and Dolls; the 1978 TV movie Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force; scores and parts for a 1979 tribute concert to his early collaborator Charles Mingus following Mingus’s death. There are multiple parts and scores for saxophone and rhythm section groups that lean heavily on compositions by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, There are also a number of individual compositions and charts not immediately associated with any identified project or artists. Macero also retained a collection of published music from Bix Beiderbecke, Charlie Chaplin, Scott Joplin, Fats Waller, and others, and “fake books” and related items from publishers and record labels.
The written music series also includes a collection of parts and scores from projects related to Charlie Parker, including manuscript arrangements from Gil Evans and Jimmy Mundy, and manuscript parts and scores associated with Charlie Parker with Strings. The Charlie Parker with Strings materials include complete runs of manuscript parts and scores from the Jimmy Carroll-led 1949 November session, the Joe Lipman-led 1950 July session, and an additional studio session in 1952 January that resulted in a pair of Mercury Records singles, parts and some scores from the live recording from Carnegie Hall in 1950 September, as well as parts and scores that have seen no known release. Known arrangers include John Barter, Johnny Carisi, Carroll, Mercer Ellington, Neal Hefti, Ed Herzog, Bill Holman, John Lewis, Lipman, and Gerry Mulligan. Materials associated with Mulligan often have sketches and parts for other works on the verso, including titles that would appear on Miles Davis’s “Birth of the Cool” releases. Some alto saxophone parts in the Charlie Parker with Strings and related subseries have amendments or notes. All materials appear to be associated those used during or collected for the recording events themselves.
Macero’s audio recordings include production work from Macero’s and other’s music; television and film work; materials Macero personally collected; and unidentified recordings. There are multiple audio reels that are larger than one-quarter inch wide. Such reels are commonly used in the industry for master or multitrack recordings. These larger reels materials related include Lionel Hampton, Live at Carnegie Hall, Thelonious Monk’s Monk’s Dream, Joe Morello’s It’s About Time, Olatuji’s Soul Makossa, “18 Cousins,” 2 unidentified half-inch reels, and sound effects for Charles Mingus’s “Don't Be Afraid, the Clown's Afraid Too” from Let My Children Hear Music . There are also recordings of Macero’s performances and recordings for television and film and additional recordings by other artists, many of which were produced by Macero, including George Benson, Erroll Garner, Benny Goodman, Hampton, Ryo Kawasaki, Monk, and Bobby Scott.
The Macero papers also contain a small set of personal materials related to Macero’s student work at Juilliard, writings, and other items; as well as material related to Macero’s professional work. Highlights include correspondence with Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter, including a holograph lead sheet to Shorter’s “Sanctuary.” His professional career is also represented by several plaques commemorating sales achievements for his work with Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck and awards for other projects, including The Body Human.