IJS: The London Sessions Is Now on View at Dana Library

A new exhibition at the John Cotton Dana Library features some of the most remarkable treasures from the Institute of Jazz Studies (IJS), the world’s foremost jazz archive and research center and one of Rutgers University Libraries’ five distinctive collections. On view through November 2027, IJS: The London Sessions brings together rarely exhibited photographs, manuscripts, recordings, artifacts, and awards from IJS, offering a unique opportunity to explore the global history of jazz on the campus of Rutgers University–Newark. 

Curated by Elizabeth Surles, IJS Archivist at Dana Library, and designed by Christine Foltzer, the exhibition highlights the rich cultural exchange between the United Kingdom and the United States through jazz. Among the treasures on display are Benny Carter's Grammy Award; a questionnaire completed by John Coltrane for jazz critic Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz, pages from Louis Armstrong's handwritten autobiography, and the Selmer tenor saxophone played by the legendary Ben Webster. 

The exhibition grew out of a special one-night showcase for the Rutgers community in the UK, co-presented by Rutgers University Libraries and Rutgers University Foundation in London in October 2025. The event spotlighted IJS and featured the first international exhibition produced entirely by IJS in the institute's history. The expanded version on view at Dana Library adds more than 40 additional objects and explores stories of migration, performance, recording, publishing, and artistic collaboration that connected musicians and audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Located in the library's fourth-floor gallery, IJS: The London Sessions also features materials from Maxine Sullivan, James P. Johnson, Annie Ross, Shabaka Hutchings, and other artists whose lives and careers illuminate jazz's enduring international reach. Whether visitors are longtime jazz fans or simply curious about one of Rutgers University Libraries’ most distinctive cultural resources, the exhibition offers a rare glimpse into the history of a music that transformed the world. 

Visitors can view the exhibit whenever Dana Library is open. For hours, visit the library's website.