Bettye Miller-Milt Abel Collection 1 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr
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University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION TABLE OF CONTENTS Biographical Sketch …………………………………………………………………… 2 Scope and Content …………………………………………………………………… 3 Series Notes …………………………………………………………………………… 4 Container List …………………………………………………………………… 7 Series I: Biographical …………………………………………………………… 7 Series II: Correspondence …………………………………………………… 7 Series III: Contracts …………………………………………………………… 7 Series IV: Programs …………………………………………………………… 7 Series V: Clippings …………………………………………………………… 7 Series VI: Miscellaneous …………………………………………………… 8 Series VII: Photographs …………………………………………………… 8 Series VIII: Music Scores/Publications …………………………………… 9 A. Manuscripts …………………………………………………… 9 B. Sheet Music …………………………………………………… 21 C. Miscellaneous …………………………………………………… 23 Series IX: Awards/Plaques …………………………………………………… 24 Addendum I – Container List …………………………………………………… 25 Addendum I – Series I: Biographical …………………………………… 25 Addendum I – Series II: Correspondence …………………………………… 25 Addendum I – Series III: Contracts …………………………………………… 26 A. American Federation of Musicians …………………………… 26 B. Independent Contractors …………………………………………… 30 Addendum I – Series IV: Promotional Material …………………………… 31 Addendum I – Series V: Reference Sources …………………………………… 31 Addendum I – Series VI: Bulletins/Magazines …………………………… 32 Addendum I – Series VII: Miscellaneous …………………………………… 32 Addendum I – Series VIII: Photographs/Graphics …………………………… 32 Addendum I – Series IX: Music Material …………………………… 32 MS67-Bettye Miller-Milt Abel Collection 1 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Bettye Miller was born Bettye Wilson September 12, 1927 in Clinton, Missouri, to Bernis and Maude Wilson. She attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts and master’s degree in music. After finishing school she taught music in Philadelphia for two years. Bettye married her first husband Joel Miller and they had one daughter together, Bettyejo. In the late 1940s Miller moved to Kansas City, where she started a trio with drummer Wallace Jones and bassist Milt Abel, her future husband. Milton Addison Abel was born July 5, 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of 16 children to Harry and Susie Abel. Abel served as a Corporal in the U.S. Army and was based at Fort Leonard Wood. During his time in the U.S. Army, Abel played trombone and baritone horn in the 315th Army Band. When it came time for his Army discharge, Abel moved to Kansas City, where he met pianist and vocalist Bettye Miller. Miller and Abel began their twenty-plus-year musical romance when they met in 1953. The duo played faithfully at local Kansas City venues such as the Horseshoe Lounge, the Plaza III Restaurant, Putsch’s 210 and the Strawberry Patch as well as national venues such as the Ember’s in New York, Mr. Kelly’s in Chicago and the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas. During their years together they also released several recordings. On February 28, 1977, Bettye Miller died of cancer at age 49. After the passing of his first wife, Abel continued his musical career as a bassist in Kansas City. He played with several groups in the city such as the Kansas City Jazz Quintet, the Frank Smith Trio, the Pete Eye Trio, as well as engagements with Bettye’s daughter, Bettyejo Miller. In 1986, Abel formed the Milt Abel Trio, performing at such Kansas City establishments as the Alameda Plaza Rooftop Lounge, Westin Crown Center Signboard Bar, and the Allis Plaza Hotel 12th Street Room. In 1980, Milt Abel married Linda Erwin. They had two children, son Milton II in 1983 and daughter Chloe-Grant in 1988. Abel and his son were playing gigs together by the time Milton II was six years old. Some of Abel’s greatest achievements include his induction both as an Elder Statesman of Kansas City Jazz and into the KC Jazz Commission’s KC Jazz Hall of Fame, both in 1989; a lifetime Gold Card Membership in Local 34-627 in 1993; and in 2005 was a recipient of the Coda Jazz Fund Lifetime Achievement Award. Milt Abel died on February 3, 2006, at age 77. Sources Funeral Program, Bettye Miller, March 4, 1977. Visitation and Jazz Wake Program, Milt Abel, February 9, 2006. “Bassist Milt Abel, a key player in KC jazz, dies at 77.” Kansas City Star, 6 February 2006. “Kansas City Loses Queen of Jazz.” The Call, 10 March 1977. MS67-Bettye Miller-Milt Abel Collection 2 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION SCOPE AND CONTENT The Bettye Miller-Milt Abel Collection was gifted to LaBudde Special Collections by Linda Abel, wife of the late Milt Abel, in April 2006. The collection focuses on the time that Bettye Miller and Milt Abel spent together as musicians and as husband and wife. The couple was locally and nationally known in the jazz community and performed together in cities all over the country. Included in the collection are correspondence, contracts and programs; photographs capturing Miller and Abel personally, socially, and performing; musicians’ union publications; newspaper clippings; honors and awards; and a binder of miscellaneous ephemera such as musicians’ union cards, business cards, ticket stubs, matchbooks, cocktail napkins with inscriptions and sketches, postcards, song request cards, and other items. In addition, there are documents and ephemera associated with Abel after the death of Miller in 1977, such as his time on the board of the Women’s Jazz Festival as well as other events and performances in which he was involved. The collection also includes approximately 200 pieces of published sheet music and dozens of manuscript music scores. In summer 2012, LaBudde Special Collections was gifted additional materials from the Abel family to augment the existing collection. Inclusive dates range from 1939-2006, while the bulk of the holdings highlight the years 1985-2000. Since Miller passed away in 1977, there are just a few remnants relating to her life, including several photographs, her high school commencement announcement, and several news clippings. The strength of the collection lies within the numerous performance contracts. Also contained in the collection are correspondence, datebooks and calendars, promotional material, various ephemera, photographs and music manuscripts. Some gems of the collection are in the sundry posters, mainly jazz related, including a Count Basie commemorative poster signed by Basie. MS67-Bettye Miller-Milt Abel Collection 3 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION SERIES NOTES Series I: Biographical This series is contained in folders 1 and 2 in box 1. Included are funeral programs for Miller and Abel as well as newspaper clippings of their obituaries and short articles about their deaths. Also included are several programs related to honors and awards they received. Series II: Correspondence / Invitations This series is contained in folders 3-13 in box 1. Folders 3-10 consist of correspondence between Miller and Abel and others, dating from November 7, 1951, to August 22, 1997. Folders 11-13 consist of invitations to events Miller and Abel were invited to and/or performed at either together or separately, dating from September 30, 1979, to January 15, 1998. This series is organized in chronological order. Series III: Contracts This series is contained in folders 14 and 15 in box 1. The majority of the contracts document performances where Miller and Abel appeared together. Most of the contracts state the venue and the amount they were paid for the performance. The contracts range in date from August 24, 1956, to June 7, 1979. This series is organized in chronological order. Series IV: Programs This series is contained in folders 16-18 in box 1, and folders 1-4 in box 2. Included are programs to events at which Miller and Abel attended or performed, dating from September 5, 1941, to May 21, 2005. Also included are funeral programs (except for those of Miller and Abel, which can be found in Series I). This series is organized in chronological order. Series V: Clippings This series is contained in folders 5-10 in box 2. The majority of the articles are about Miller, Abel or them together. A small portion of clippings are about “Mr. & Mrs. Bridge,” a film in which Abel appeared. All of the clippings have been photocopied and these are located in this series as well as the originals. Series VI: Miscellaneous This series is contained in folders 11-22 in box 2; box/binder 12a; and oversized box 10, folders 1-4. This series is organized into four sub-series. The first sub-series, folders 11-16, consists of several items from Miller’s life before she met Abel. Most material concerns her schooling at Lincoln College/University in Jefferson City, Missouri: papers and assignments, a personal music tablet; school-related correspondence, programs and schedules; and original notes and program from Negroid Evolution, a play Miller produced and directed in 1949. The second sub- series, folders 17-19, consists of musician’s union publications that belonged to Miller and Abel. Among them are wage scales, directories, and constitutions and by-laws, ranging in date from 1958 to 1968. Also included in this series is a small amount of material from the Women’s Jazz Festival, for which Abel served as a board member. The third sub-series, folders 20-22, consists of larger miscellaneous items such as inscribed/autographed material, radio scripts, handwritten notes, check stubs, receipts, schedules, flyers and posters, and various publications including an inscribed copy of Soul Calendar by Carroll Jenkins. The fourth sub-series includes a separate MS67-Bettye Miller-Milt Abel Collection 4 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION binder labeled “Miscellaneous Ephemera,” which consists of musicians’ union cards, business cards, ticket stubs, matchbooks, cocktail napkins with inscriptions and sketches, postcards, song request cards, and other small ephemera.