The Tommy Irvine Jazz Collection, an eclectic assortment of rare jazz albums, featuring some of the genre’s greatest artists and recordings, has been placed on loan in the Donald R. and Beverly J. Gerth Archives and Special Collections at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH).
The collection was provided to CSUDH by the Irvine family in December 2018. It features 444 records in 76 albums, including such legendary jazz musicians as George Shearing, Nat King Cole, Erroll Garner, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Lester Young.
Irvine, who passed away in March 2018, began amassing his extensive jazz collection at the age of 14.
KJLH DJ Roy Loggins once said, “Tommy’s collection was the best and largest this side of the Mississippi River.”
“There are original pieces dating back to late 1930s and early 1940s,” says Tommy’s son Kyle. “Who would not want to hear an original Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Glen Miller, and so many others. Just to see some of the artwork on the album covers is worth a visit to the archive.”
In weighing in on the Tommy Irvine collection, President Thomas A. Parham commented that “CSUDH is proud, and quite frankly honored, that the Irvine family is impressed enough with our library archive and personnel that they are willing to trust the university with this rare family collection. The contents of the archived materials will be an accessible source of authentic information and inspiration for generations of students, faculty, and community groups to come.”
To view the contents of the Tommy Irvine Jazz Collection, visit CSUDH archives online. To examine the albums in person, contact the Gerth Archives and Special Collections at archives@csudh.edu or (310) 243-3895.
