Guide to the Bob Douglas Jazz Photograph Collection
Special Collections & Archives
University Library
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8326
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Bob Douglas Jazz Photograph Collection
Creator:
Douglas, Robert Roscoe (1921-2002)
Identifier/Call Number: TBC.BDP
Physical Description:
1.5 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1946-1999
Abstract: The Bob Douglas
Jazz Photograph Collection features black-and-white photography of jazz performances in Los
Angeles, California and Detroit, Michigan from the 1940s to the 1990s. Images capture
several prominent jazz musicians and singers, such as Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, and
Dexter Gordon. It also documents Douglas's professional and exhibit history as well as a
portrait of Bob Douglas. The small collection consists largely of prints as well as contact
sheets, slides, one negative, exhibit ephemera, multiple drafts of image indexes, Bob
Douglas's resume, and a poster.
Language of Material:
English.
Biographical / Historical
Robert "Bob" Roscoe Douglas was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1921 to Roscoe A. Douglas, a
bank supervisor who died early in life, and Edith Ross. Douglas attended the Henry Ford
Trade School for four years and worked at the Ford Motor Company for another four years.
Faced with limited career options due to racial discrimination, he taught himself
photography and began specializing in nightclub photography, starting in Detroit and then
continuing in Los Angeles. His first opportunity as a photojournalist came in 1943 with the
Pittsburgh Courier and then later with the
Michigan Chronicle to cover social events, sports, fraternity
dances, and a large variety of local events.
Douglas relocated to Los Angeles in 1948. In Los Angeles, he attended the Fred Archer
School of Photography, where he was heavily influenced by Archer's fine art photography. His
combined journalistic and aesthetic training helped distinguish his work from others. Often
photographing at the clubs on Central Ave, his use of black-and-white versus color helped
capture the mood of jazz, and his rapport with musicians along with his deep interest in
jazz music also set him apart from other white jazz photographers of his day. As a
photojournalist, the Los Angeles-based newspapers he worked for include the
California Eagle and
Los Angeles
Sentinel,
and the magazine
Sepia. In 1950, he
joined
Ebony as a staff photographer (and as writer later),
where he received higher pay but on the condition that he submit negatives and proof sheets
for payment, of which most were never returned. In the late 1950s, he redirected his focus
on to portraiture. At Austin Studios, he was the first Black photographer on staff to visit
homes and take family portraits. Following that, he worked at another studio that
specialized in baby portraits. In the 1960s, he returned to
Ebony and
Sepia, and also joined
Jet.
After encouragement from such photographers and friends as Don Cropper and Roland Charles,
Douglas began exhibiting his work in 1987. Examples of his exhibitions include the
following: "The Soul of Jazz" (1992) and "Jazz on the Walls" at the Black Gallery; "A Jazz
Legend's Black and White Photography" (1994) at UCLA Kerckhoff Gallery; and the "Shades of
L.A." project at the Los Angeles Public Library. Douglas had not previously identified as a
jazz photographer for most of his career and instead had associated himself with other Black
photographers who made their living shooting for Black publications and newspapers. He was a
founding member of the Jazz Photographers Association of Southern California and a board
member of the Jazz Heritage Foundation. Douglas lived in Compton. He died in 2002.
Scope and Contents
The Bob Douglas Jazz Photograph Collection features black-and-white photography of jazz
performances in Los Angeles, California and Detroit, Michigan from the 1940s to the 1990s.
It contains Douglas's professional and exhibit history as well as his portrait. The small
collection consists largely of photographic materials as well as exhibit ephemera, multiple
drafts of image indexes, Bob Douglas's resume, and a poster. Photographic formats include
prints, slides, contact sheets, and a negative. Slides are mostly duplications of prints on
exhibit.
Significant musicians, singers, and entertainers depicted include Sarah Vaughan, Billie
Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Kenny Burrell, Thelonious Monk, Tadd Dameron,
Helen Humes, Illinois Jacquet, Rudy Rutherford, Wardell Gray, Dexter Gordon, Jimmy
Witherspoon, Lionel Hampton, Tiny Davis, Pee Wee Crayton, Dinah Washington, Nat King Cole,
Milt Jackson, Jonah Jones, Earl Hines, Symphony Sid, and Betty Grable. Events depicted
include the 1983 Kai Winding Benefit. Los Angeles venues where performances occurred include
Shelly's Manne-hole, Whistlings Hawaiian Club, Club Oasis, Wrigley Field, Tiffany Club, and
Shrine Auditorium, and Detroit venues include Forest Club and Mirror Ballroom. The portrait
of Bob Douglas was taken by Roland Charles.
Several images are marked with a numerical unique identifier created by Douglas that
correspond to his index. Slide preservation sheets and some prints are also marked with an
alphanumerical unique identifier created by the Tom and Ethel Bradley Center for internal
reference.
Collection folders are arranged alphabetically by title.
Related Materials
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright status for materials in this collection is unknown. Transmission or reproduction
of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair
use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain
cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility
for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Preferred Citation
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival
Materials
guide.
Processing Information
Elizabeth Peattie, 2024
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photographs
Ephemera
Box 1, Folder 1
Contact Sheets,
1950-1990
Box 1, Folder 3
Indexes and Resume,
ca. 1990-1999
Box 1, Folder 4
Prints and Negative,
1950-1998
Box 1, Folder 5
Slides, [98.BD.SL.B1.01],
ca. 1990-1999
