The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and the Performing Arts was established in 1966 as the social arm of Local No. 274, the Philadelphia Black musicians union, which was in existence from 1935 to 1971. As part of its mission to further the level of arts and culture in the community, the Clef Club strives to preserve and promote jazz and its history through educational and cultural services and programs. The Clef Club's archives are comprised of the records of both Local No. 274 and the Clef Club, totaling some 34 linear feet of materials dating from 1925-1974. Included are meeting minutes, administrative and financial records, membership/artists' files, correspondence, and a small amount of photos and ephemera. With such illustrious Local No. 274 members as Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Benny Golson, the Heath Brothers, Jimmy Smith, Grover Washington, and others, the Clef Club's archives are an important historical resource documenting Philadelphia's world-famous jazz tradition.