Our ally Ryan Jonik has been working diligently over the last year to accession, inventory, and digitize over a hundred tapes recorded by the Graystone International Jazz Museum during the 1980s and 1990s. Many of these tapes were recorded by former President of the Graystone Museum James Ruffner who died in 2013. (His partner in recording and sponsoring Detroit jazz performances, Trenna Ruffner, continues to support our efforts.) These tapes feature big band, small group, and solo performances by Detroit jazz musicians who performed for the Museum during that period. This collection is a critical sonic piece to understanding the legacy of Detroit jazz.
You can hear the first set of tapes he has digitized via our Soundcloud site:
We asked Ryan to tell us why he came to our aid:
I wanted to volunteer with Detroit Sound Conservancy because I think it’s important to archive and preserve the sounds that have been coming out of Detroit. Detroit is a important cornerstone in catalyzing different genres of music and fantastic artists not to mention influencing a lot of the musicians that you hear today. I wanted to help with my expertise in archiving audio and video since I have been doing it since I was 13 years old. A lot of the tapes I’ve worked on haven’t been played in years and I am always amazed when I get to hear something like that. That’s what I enjoy most about volunteering at the DSC.
More tapes and updates to come later in 2017… #workinonit
Ryan Jonik is a graduate from Wayne State University in biochemistry and is the founder and creator of the Nine Inch Nails Live Archive. He enjoys Red Wings hockey, Formula 1, and electronic music. He can be contacted at ryanj@reflectinginthechrome.com