BSH is proud to have had access to some superb shots from Ken Drew, Malcolm Sinclair and other hotshots both past and present. Even when restricted to screenshots, Ken Drew's collages are achieving legendary status.
However, this exercise isn't about the present but a look at some of the classic photo books I've collected over the years.
K.Abt: Jazz Giants. A Visual Retrospective Compilation. 1986, Billboard Publications.
Not all of the photos are by Abt and several of them are by other photographers whose photos appear in their own collections. However, it's worthy of any coffee table, not to mention the shelves of a library near you.
William Claxton: Jazz Seen. 1989 Taschen.
Perhaps the greatest of all the jazz camera men, he captures the images almost as if he was part of the band!
Gene Fernett: A Thousand Golden Horns. 1966 The Pendell Company.
A look at the big bands and the dance bands of the thirties and forties. the text is probably more interesting than the photos although they do complement each other.
William P. Gottlieb: The Golden Age of Jazz. 1979 Quartet Books.
As the title implies the images move from early jazz to early Bird/Miles. Lots of text accompanies the photos making it more than a mere visual tome.
Orrin Keepnews & Bill Grauer Jr.: A Pictorial History of Jazz. 1965 Spring Books.
I don't know if it's been re-published but my copy does the music no favours. Dull matt photos that lose the impact of the glossies in the other books. this is a shame as the text is great but, hey we're looking back 56 years and the photos a helluva lot longer...!
Jim Marshall: Jazz. 2005. Chronicle Books LLC (San Francisco).
Some terrific shots by Marshall who began as a rock photographer and found himself equally at home in the jazz world. I think this is, maybe, my favourite.
Robert Nippoldt: Jazz - New York in the Roaring Twenties. 2013 Taschen.
This doesn't really belong as they aren't photographs but, the drawings by Nippoldt are excellent - plus there's a CD that comes with it so, as well as the sketches, we hear music by Jelly Roll, Fats, Duke, Bessie, Bix, Venuti and many more. It was originally reviewed by myself on BSH in 2013.
David Redfern: david redfern's jazz album. 1980 Eel Pie Publishing.
Undoubtedly the greatest UK jazz photographer of his generation. His photo of Buddy Rich is considered the definitive one.
Michael Randolph: "Popsie" =N.Y.= Popular Music through the camera lens of William "Popsie" Randolph. 2007 Hal Leonard.
"Popsie" had the best possible access for shooting jazz musicians (and later rock musicians) he was band manager for both Benny Goodman and Woody Herman in their greatest years. He didn't stop there, he moved on to Broadway (one of the best photos of Streisand - he even makes her look beautiful) and on to the rock, pop, and soul legends of the day.
David D.Spitzer: Jazzshots. 1979 Zerkim Press.
Not quite sure how I stumbled across this gem - probably in a bookshop - but the black and white shots are brilliant. there's a one of Dexter Gordon that runs the famous one with the spiralling smoke pretty damn close.
Peter Symes & Peter Gamble (text): Focus on Jazz. 1988 Robert Hale.
I know this takes the total to eleven but I almost left it out which would have been most unfair. Also I note that it gives Humph's date of birth as May 23, 1921 which meant he would have been 100 last month something that slipped our eagle eyes and for which we are duly apologetic.
Of course there are many more books. I don't, unfortunately, have the Milt Hinton book which, I'm told, is terrific. There's also a Facebook page - Rare Jazz Photos - that has some good, often previously unpublished, photos of the greats. It's well worth checking out.
Lance
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