Jazz is more than a genre — it's a living expression of culture, resilience, and creativity. Its story begins in one city, at a crossroads of African, Caribbean, French, and Spanish traditions, with the rhythms of Congo Square underneath it all.

Instruments, 78s, photographs, autographs, and folk art. Every object in the archive carries a story, and each category preserves a different piece of New Orleans musical history.

Behind every jazz performance is an instrument with its own story — and a trail of posters, programs, and correspondence that recordings never captured. Paper gets thrown out and shellac breaks, which is why documenting it matters.