All That Jazz

Phil Schaap Jazz Collection; Special Collections Library; Vanderbilt University - credit: NYT

History we've observed is what is stored in the basement that's thrown out after you die. Saving the tapes happens far too seldom, but Phil Schaap and Vanderbilt University got it done just in time. His in-depth exploration of the people who made America's music, jazz greats recorded in their own words, is what was preserved. Radio played a role, of course, but Schaap's tenacity in this face of his own mortality saved the collection for posterity HERE.