Finding aid for the Joe Diorio papers 1020
Bo Doub
USC Libraries Music Library
2024 January
Doheny Memorial Library, G-24
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-1822
music@usc.edu
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Music Library
Title: Joe Diorio papers
Creator:
Diorio, Joe (Joseph Louis), 1936-2022
Identifier/Call Number: 1020
Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/8/resources/3451
Physical Description:
31.48 Linear Feet
29 boxes and 1 oversize tube
Date (inclusive): 1965-2021
Language of Material:
English
.
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.
Scope and Contents
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.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection stored off-site. Advance notice required for access.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the Diorio family via the USC Thornton School of Music, December 18, 2023.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder no. or item name], Joe Diorio papers, Collection no. 1020, Music Library, USC Libraries, University of Southern
California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Composition (Music) -- Archival resources
Guitar teachers -- United States -- Archival resources
Guitarists -- United States -- Archival resources
Jazz -- United States -- Archival resources
Jazz musicians -- United States -- Archival resources
Musicians -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Audiotapes
Charcoal drawings
Compact discs
Correspondence
Drawings (visual works)
Fliers (printed matter)
Musical compositions
Notebooks
Phonograph records
Photographs
Posters
Press releases
Programs (documents)
Sound recordings
Video recordings (physical artifacts)
Watercolors (paintings)
Diorio, Joe (Joseph Louis), 1936-2022 -- Archives
USC Thornton School of Music -- Archives
Box 1, Box 2, Box 3, Box 4, Box 5, Box 6, Box 7, Box 8
Music composition notebooks /repositories/8/archival_objects/678765
circa 1970-2021
1980s
Scope and Contents
The material described under this series mostly comprises music composition notebooks and folders of notes with Diorio's handwritten
compositions. Many of the notebooks are undated. Most of the compositions are titled. Most of the notebooks contain five-line
staffs with Diorio's handwritten musical notations. However, some of the notebooks are designed for textual notes (e.g., legal
pads) and include Diorio's handwritten notes--including notes unrelated to music--alongside his music notes.
Some of the boxes described under this series also include Diorio's instructional material, with musical compositions and
textual descriptions, created by or for Diorio's students.
Arrangement
The accessioning archivist was not able to discern a meaningful arrangement (chronological or otherwise) of the notebooks
described under this series.
Box 9
Press releases, press clippings, correspondence, biographies, CVs, personal narratives, publications, awards, and other material /repositories/8/archival_objects/679051
circa 1978-2017
Box 10
Notebooks (mostly textual), planners, address books, event programs, fliers, and drawings for event fliers /repositories/8/archival_objects/679052
circa 1983-2017
Box 11
Drawings and other graphic materials measuring smaller than 10 x 12" /repositories/8/archival_objects/679053
undated
Scope and Contents
Visual material created by Diorio. Includes loose drawings, sketch pads, drawings on wood blocks, and watercolors.
Box 12
Music contracts, drawings, guitar seminar fliers, book chapter drafts with music compositions, and a mounted photograph /repositories/8/archival_objects/679054
circa 1980-2014
Box 13, Box 14
Photographs /repositories/8/archival_objects/679055
circa 1988-2009
Audiovisual material /repositories/8/archival_objects/679401
Box 15
Video recordings of live shows and other content on VHS tapes /repositories/8/archival_objects/679062
1988-1994, undated
Box 16, Box 17, Box 18, Box 19, Box 20
Audio recordings of live shows and other content on cassette tapes /repositories/8/archival_objects/679063
Box 21
Compact discs (CDs) with audio and video recordings /repositories/8/archival_objects/679064
Scope and Contents
Includes both commercially produced CDs and unpublished recordings.
Box 22, Box 23
Reel-to-reel master audio recordings /repositories/8/archival_objects/679065
Box 24
Vinyl LPs /repositories/8/archival_objects/679392
1974-1981
Scope and Contents
Seven commercially produced LPs and one unidentified recording.
Separated Materials
Duplicate copies of
Soloduo and
Rapport were separated from the archival collection for item-level cataloging. The separated LPs are accessible via the catalog search
on the USC Libraries' home page.
Box 24
Rapport - Wally Cirillo, Joe Diorio
/repositories/8/archival_objects/679393
1974
Box 24
Unidentified vinyl recording with inscription to Myrna on sleeve /repositories/8/archival_objects/679394
1974
Box 24
Solo Guitar - Joe Diorio
/repositories/8/archival_objects/679395
1975
Box 24
Soloduo - Wally Cirillo, Joe Diorio
/repositories/8/archival_objects/679396
1976
Box 24
Peaceful Journey - Joe Diorio [with inscription]
/repositories/8/archival_objects/679397
1977
Box 24
Feedles - Gijs Hendriks, Joe Diorio, Bert Van Erk, Michael Baird
/repositories/8/archival_objects/679398
1980
Box 24
Bonita - Joe Diorio
/repositories/8/archival_objects/679399
1980
Box 24
20th Century Impressions - Joe Diorio, Jeff Berlin, Vin Colaiuta
/repositories/8/archival_objects/679400
1981
Box 25, Box 26, Box 27, Box 28, Box 29, Oversize-tube 1
Watercolors, charcoal drawings, paintings, sketchbooks, and event posters /repositories/8/archival_objects/679391
