Rosetta Reitz was a 20th-century feminist writer, business owner, and record and concert producer. After a career in which she published two books, owned a bookstore and wrote for music and culture publications, Reitz started Rosetta Records in 1979, the first and only record label specializing in women’s jazz and blues music, dedicated to rereleasing previously underappreciated recordings.

This project team explored Reitz’s papers housed in Duke’s David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to inform and construct a new model of creative and scholarly practice for the 21st century. 

Team members investigated the artistic agency and societal influences of 96 artists from Rosetta Records, considering the impacts of race, class, gender and sexuality on these women’s experiences within the music industry over a century of recording history.

Emphasizing empathy and care, the team unveiled nuanced insights into the intersectional dimensions of artistic agency, addressing historical injustices and disparities. Achievements included an interactive display at the Bass Connections Showcase and collaborative, public-facing engagements with scholars and musicians to advance discourse on archival practices and reparative strategies in the music industry.

Learn more about this team’s work by reading their team profile.

Timing

Fall 2023 – Spring 2024

Team Outputs

Listening to Legacy (Team profile; 2024 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase)

Rosetta Reitz’s Musical Archive of Care (Interactive display presented at Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, April 17, 2024)

Team website

Datasets

Blogposts

Lyrical transcriptions

Zine and interactive timelines

This Team in the News

The Archive is an Invitation: Bass Connections Team Reframes Research on 20th Century Blues Artists and Rosetta Records

Graduate Research in Queer Studies and the Many Expressions of Pride

Meet the Winners of the 2024 Bass Connections Student Research Awards

Rosetta Reitz: The Life Behind the Music

 See related team, Archives and Creative Process: Blues Women and Rosetta Records (2024-2025).

Image: Rosetta Reitz, Duke University Jazz Archive, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0