Institute of Jazz StudiesPartner
Who We Are
Pioneering Jazz scholar and avid collector, Dr. Marshall Stearns, Esq. founded the Institute of Jazz Studies (IJS) in 1952—an era when Jazz was not widely accepted amongst academics.
Stearn’s sizable collection was moved from his New York City apartment to the Rutgers University-Newark campus in 1957—a move that was put in motion by then Rutgers University president, Mason Gross, through the strong urging of faculty who supported the art form.
To date, IJS is widely recognized as a global leader in Jazz archives. On January 23, 2017, to coincide with the opening of Express Newark, IJS curated a signature show of instruments, artifacts, sound recordings, and material culture many of which were displayed for the first time in its history. The exhibition, Records at Play: The Institute of Jazz Studies @50, debuted in Express Newark to celebrate 50 years of archiving jazz collectibles.