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 …………………………………………………………………… 4 Series Notes …………………………………………………………………………… 4 Series I: Radio Station Material …………………………………………………… 7 Series II: Music Scores …………………………………………………………… 7 Series III: Jay McShann Material …………………………………………………… 7 Series IV: Miscellaneous Material …………………………………………………… 9 Series V: Photographs …………………………………………………………… 9 Series VI: Memorabilia …………………………………………………………… 9 Addendum I …………………………………………………………………………… 10 Addendum I – Series I: Personal …………………………………………… 10 Addendum I – Series II: Radio …………………………………………… 10 Addendum I – Series III: Jay McShann …………………………………… 10 A. Confessin’ the Blues Drafts …………………………………… 10 B. Interviews for Confessin’ the Blues …………………………… 11 C. Research Materials …………………………………………… 11 D. Correspondences …………………………………………………… 12 E. Publication …………………………………………………………… 12 F. Miscellaneous …………………………………………………… 12 Addendum I – Series IV: Duke Ellington …………………………………… 12 A. Condell’s Writings …………………………………………………… 12 B. Research Articles …………………………………………………… 13 C. Conferences/Events …………………………………………… 14 D. Miscellaneous …………………………………………………… 15 Addendum I – Series V: Periodicals …………………………………………… 15 A. Guitar Review …………………………………………………… 15 B. Soundboard …………………………………………………… 15 C. Miscellaneous Magazines/Journals …………………………… 16 D. Newspaper and Article Clippings …………………………………… 16 Addendum I – Series VI: Music …………………………………………… 16 A. Guitar …………………………………………………………… 16 B. Jazz Arrangements …………………………………………………… 26 C. Piano/Vocal Sheet Music …………………………………………… 30 D. Condell Compositions and Arrangements …………………………… 31 E. Other Instruments …………………………………………………… 31 Addendum I – Series VII: Guitar Technique and Teaching …………………… 32 Addendum I – Series VIII: Music Theory …………………………………… 35 A. Western Classical Music Theory …………………………………… 35 B. Jazz Theory …………………………………………………… 36 Addendum I – Series IX: Published Books …………………………………… 36 MS48-James F. Condell Collection 1 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH James Franklin Condell, the second son of Dr. Charles Homer Condell and Mrs. Mary Jane Fielding Condell, was born October 10, 1921, in Louisville, Kentucky, where he grew up. At an early age, he developed a keen interest in music, especially music played by the big bands of the era. As a young child, he listened for hours to the radio broadcasts featuring bands that played in the famous hotels around the country. At age 14 he played his first job with a local band in Louisville. He played piano and was in great demand because he knew dozens of tunes, and he was reliable, always arriving early to set up to play for the evening. Upon graduation from high school, he was awarded a music scholarship to study at Kentucky State College in Frankfort, Kentucky. Because there was another piano player on scholarship in the band, James took up guitar and played for four years with the "Kentucky State Collegians," the official college band. Upon graduation in 1942, he enrolled in a Signal Corps Course and, upon completion of the course, was drafted into the United States Army Air Corp and served from 1943-1946. As a sociology major in college, James debated whether he wanted to pursue an academic course or to pursue a career in music. After his discharge from the Army in 1946, he spent a year in Nashville, Tennessee, playing in a house band of a nightclub. After a year as a professional musician, James decided to prepare for an academic career, with music as his avocation. He earned a Master's Degree from Columbia University in 1948 and began an academic career at Maryland State College, serving as Dean of Men and Director of the Men's Glee Club. He returned to New York in 1949 to pursue doctoral studies. While studying at New York University, he was offered a position at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. He was a member of the faculty for six years. After earning a doctorate at the University of Nebraska, he served as a clinical psychologist for seven years at mental health institutions in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. He missed the classroom and the company of young, inquiring minds, so he decided to return to the academic world by accepting a position as Professor of Psychology at Minnesota State University in Moorhead. He served for 27 years, ten years as Chair of the Psychology Department. Always deeply involved in music, he studied classical guitar for two years at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid, Spain. While living in Madrid, he connected with jazz musicians and played with some of the leading jazz musicians, both Spanish and American musicians living in Spain, as well as visiting American musicians playing in local clubs. Upon his retirement from Minnesota State University in 1992, he devoted all of his time to music, writing and arranging charts for local musicians, as well as playing in local groups. For 13 years, he produced and hosted "Condell's Corner," a weekly jazz program on KDSU, North Dakota State University's Public Radio Station in Fargo, His audience was wide, reaching the entire Red River Valley in Minnesota and North Dakota, and parts of South Dakota, Montana, and Canada. He played his last engagement two weeks before his death on September 4, 1998. MS48-James F. Condell Collection 2 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION Dr. James Condell and Dr. Yvonne C. Condell, Professor Emerita of Biology at Minnesota State University, were married for 46 years. She survived him. Biographical information provided by Dr. Yvonne C. Condell. MS48-James F. Condell Collection 3 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION SCOPE AND CONTENT The James F. Condell Collection was gifted to LaBudde Special Collections by Dr. Yvonne C. Condell, wife of the late Dr. James F. Condell. The collection focuses on Condell’s longtime interest and scholarly pursuits in the field of jazz from 1980-1998, although some items date back to his time in Spain in the early 1970s. Included in the collection is information on his radio programs, A Little Jazz Music and Condell’s Corner, which aired on KCCM 91.1FM in Moorhead, Minnesota, and KDSU 91.9FM in Fargo, North Dakota, respectively. Also included is research material about Kansas City Jazz pianist Jay McShann and the writing of his autobiography, on which Condell worked closely with McShann. Other material includes a collection of music scores, some of which possibly date from his musical studies in Spain; a small photograph collection; correspondence; writings and notes; various articles and clippings; and other miscellaneous ephemera and memorabilia. An addendum to the collection primarily focuses on his interest in jazz music and his writings on jazz. Condell was an avid researcher of jazz, and had a great amount of research dedicated to Duke Ellington and Jay McShann. There is also a large collection of guitar sheet music, music theory texts, and jazz arrangements. Sound recordings from this collection are housed separately in the Marr Sound Archives. SERIES NOTES Series I: Radio Station Material Series I is contained in Boxes 1-3. Condell hosted two different radio programs. The first was A Little Jazz Music, airing July 19, 1980 – January 30, 1982, on KCCM 91.1FM in Moorhead, Minnesota. The program included a 3-4 minute editorial on some facet of jazz, entitled “Condell’s Corner.” The next program was titled Condell’s Corner, which first aired February 6, 1982 on KDSU 91.9FM in Fargo, North Dakota. This series contains approximately 250 play lists dating July 19, 1980 – December 5, 1994. The play lists are arranged in chronological order. The series also contains program schedules for Condell’s Corner for February 1982 – August 1995. Most of them are typed, but a few handwritten drafts are included. The program schedules are arranged in chronological order. Other miscellaneous items are included such as radio station information, business cards, and clip art. Series II: Music Scores Series II is contained in Box 4. This series includes over 75 pieces of published sheet music and over 45 pieces of unpublished sheet music. Also included are several copies of Things Get Better All the Time, an original score by Condell. The series is arranged by published and unpublished scores, with separate folders for Condell’s composition and miscellaneous music material. Series III: Jay McShann Material Series III is contained in Boxes 5-7. This series consists of material, compiled by Condell, related to Kansas City Jazz pianist Jay McShann and the writing of his autobiography. Included are a 311-page unpublished manuscript, Confessin’ the Blues: the Autobiography of Jay MS48-James F. Condell Collection 4 University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION McShann with James F. Condell; interview transcripts and notes; correspondence (arranged in chronological order); a book proposal to University of Missouri Press; a contract agreement between McShann and Condell; discographies and timelines; and other research material such as articles, clippings, notes and ephemera about McShann. Note: Related photographs from this series are