Diorio (Joe) papers, 1965-2021

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Summary

Title:
Joe Diorio papers
Dates:
1965-2021
Creators:
Diorio, Joe (Joseph Louis), 1936-2022
Extent:
31.48 Linear Feet 29 boxes and 1 oversize tube
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Joe Diorio papers, Collection no. 1020, Music Library, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Background

Scope and content:

The Joe Diorio papers comprise material created and collected by Joseph Louis Diorio (August 6, 1936 - February 2, 2022), American jazz guitarist and former USC Thornton Studio Guitar program faculty member. The largest part of the collection consists of music composition notebooks with Diorio's handwritten compositions. Some of the compositions in the collection were created by or for Diorio's students as part of Diorio's teaching activities. The Joe Diorio papers also include photographs; event programs; fliers; correspondence; concert posters; video and sound recordings of Diorio's live shows and studio recordings -- including commercially produced albums on CDs and vinyl phonograph records; music contracts; teaching materials; unpublished writing drafts of chapters for a publication; and visual artworks created by Diorio, including paintings, charcoal drawings, and sketchbooks.

Biographical / historical:

The following text was copied from a news post on the USC Thornton School of Music's website titled "USC Thornton remembers jazz guitarist and former studio guitar faculty member Joe Diorio" (published February 9, 2022, accessed February 28, 2024).

Jazz guitarist and former USC Thornton Studio Guitar program faculty member Joe Diorio passed away at the age of 85 on Feb. 2. During his career, Diorio established himself as a fixture of the American jazz scene, playing with Sonny Stitt, Hal Crook, Anita O'Day, Jaco Pastorius and Freddie Hubbard, among others.

Diorio was inspired by his uncle to start playing guitar when he was 15, and he began formal studies of the instrument in his native Connecticut in the 1950s. After playing in a few local bands, he moved to Chicago and immersed himself in the city's jazz scene, where he played with artists like Eddie Harris and Bennie Green. The late 1960s saw Diorio move to Miami to join Ira Sullivan's quartet. In the late 1970s, Diorio moved to Los Angeles and became one of the first instructors at the Guitar Institute of Technology. He began teaching at the USC Thornton School of Music in 1984 and continued to work with students until 2007.

Over the course of his career, Diorio recorded 19 albums and wrote 14 instructional books including Intervallic Designs for Jazz Guitar: Ultramodern Sounds for Improvising and Giant Steps.

Acquisition information:
Gift of the Diorio family via the USC Thornton School of Music, December 18, 2023.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Bo Doub
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-03-18 14:09:12 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection stored off-site. Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Music Library at music@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Music Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Joe Diorio papers, Collection no. 1020, Music Library, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Location of this collection:
Doheny Memorial Library, Room G-24
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1822, US
Contact:
(213) 740-0183
ajustice@usc.edu
Website