Correspondence for Bill Leslie
Item
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Title
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Correspondence for Bill Leslie
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Description
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Bill Leslie’s urgent letter to members of the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts provides a slight glimpse into the finances of the Clef Club at a specific period of time.
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The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts was founded in 1966 as the social arm of Union Local 274, Philadelphia’s Black musicians’ union (1935–1971). With members such as John Coltrane and Dizzy Gillespie, Local 274 was central to the city’s jazz tradition before its dissolution and merger with Local 77 in the early 1970s due to integration. The Clef Club became a cornerstone for the jazz community, initially as a social club, and from 1978 expanding into performance, instruction, and preservation of Philadelphia’s jazz history (see link to the club's history below).
Bill Leslie born in Media, PA, was a tenor saxophonist (1925–2003). Bill married Thelma Buksa in 1962, and the couple had three children.
After serving in World War II and studying at the Landis School of Music in West Philadelphia, Bill launched his professional career in the late 1940s. During the 1950s he toured with the Louis Jordan Band, performing nationally and in Europe at venues. In the early 1980s he became the first president of the Philadelphia Clef Club, guiding its transformation from a social club for Black musicians into a full-fledged cultural institution. In later years he served as a musician and performer at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Sellersville, Pennsylvania (The Morning Call, “William C. Leslie Obituary.”).
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History (Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts)
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Contributor
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Temple University Libraries, Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection
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Date
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July 1, 1989
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Rights
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This material is subject to copyright law and is made available for private study, scholarship, and research purposes only. For access to the original or a high resolution reproduction, and for permission to publish, please contact Temple University Libraries, the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection (blockson@temple.edu; 215-204-6632).
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Identifier
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149
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Language
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eng
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Extent
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1
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Subject
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Saxophonists
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Jazz
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Big band music
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African American labor leaders
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Labor unions
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Financial crises
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Date Created
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1989
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Bibliographic Citation
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The Morning Call. “William C. Leslie Obituary.” Tribune Publishing, June 24, 2006. https://www.mcall.com/obituaries/william-c-leslie-pa/.
