22 DECEMBER, 2010
By: Maria Popova
Last winter, The Jazz Loft Project was one of readers’ favorites — a rare and fascinating look at the secret life of a New York loft, where some of the most iconic jazz musicians of the 1950s came to play at night. This season brings us a greater treasure still: Jazz — a humbly titled yet absolutely amazing retrospective of the work of legendary photographer Herman Leonard, who passed away a few weeks before the book was published. Leonard had been photographing jazz musicians since the 1950s and developed close friendships with greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, which gave him unique access to these innovators and their larger worlds beyond the stage. The book reveals a rare glimpse of the underbelly of a cultural revolution through stunning, luminous never-before-seen images of icons like Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald and more.
Frank Sinatra
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard
Louis Armstrong, Paris, 1960
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard via NPR
Billie Holiday, New York, 1955
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard via NPR
Thelonious Monk, Minton's Playhouse, New York, 1949
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard via NPR
From backstage parties to afterhours sessions to private get-togethers in musicians’ apartments, Jazz is both a bittersweet remembrance of one of the greatest entertainment photographers in history and a remarkable record of an era whose legacy shaped everything from music to pop culture for decades to come.
Percy Heath, Miles Davis and Gerry Mulligan, Newport Jazz Festival, 1955
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard via NPR
Dizzy Gillespie, San Francisco, 1990
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard via NPR
Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, NYC, New York, 1948
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard
Frank Sinatra
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard
Charlie Parker
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard
Lena Horne
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard
Doc Cheatham
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard
Ella Fitzgerald
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard
Duke Ellington
Image courtesy of Herman Leonard
Alongside the images is a fascinating essay contextualizing the stories behind the photographs, as well as an interview with Leonard pulling the curtain on his signature techniques and unique creative vision.
With its vibrant, exhilarating record of live performances and its intimate portraits of musicians’ off-stage personas, Jazz is a priceless timecapsule of the glory days of “the sound of surprise,” a cultural icon in its own right.
via NPR
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