Pensacola Honors Legendary Jazz Musicians

The Jazz Room

​Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis — many legendary jazz musicians have left their mark in the world and in the West Florida Public Library in Pensacola. 

An entire room on the second floor of the library is dedicated to honoring and preserving the history, performance and culture of jazz in all forms. Known as The Jazz Room, this bluesy little space opened in September 2013 and houses the entirety of the library’s collection of nearly 800 books, CDs and movies.

Michael Lane, adult programs coordinator, describes the room as a “one-stop shop” for anyone who’s interested in jazz. Complete with a listening station where patrons can sample music, the room features colorful jazz-related artwork donated by library users and two cozy armchairs. 

One glance in the room reveals all — jazz can’t be put in a box. According to Lane, it has saturated numerous facets, both culturally and musically, throughout history.

“It really is America’s art form,” Lane says. “Everything else we brought over, but jazz we created here.”