The photographic archive documents the activities of Siena Jazz and includes images donated by enthusiasts, journalists and professional photographers. A feature is the Roncaglia fund which contains more than 20,000 negatives of major Italian festivals of the 1970s and 80s.
A bond exists between jazz and photography. Photos occupy an important place in the collective imagination of lovers of Afroamerican music.
The arts of jazz and photography originated between the 19th and 20th centuries. The only images of many early jazz players are a few faded photographs, over which generations of enthusiasts have pored, searching for meaning. The best example is probably the photo of Buddy Bolden posing with his orchestra in 1905.
The Centre has various projects in this sector. Collaboration with Roberto Polillo enabled the first Stasera Jazz exhibition and coordinated online publication of the book Stasera Jazz by his father Arrigo. Scanning and publication of the images of the Musica Jazz gallery, and classification and scanning of photos donated to Siena Jazz by Gian Carlo Roncaglia are other projects. These materials will eventually be available online. To do this, the Centre has acquired equipment to enable high quality scanning of photos, slides and negatives.