Jazz Images Inclus un CD de 18 titres et un livre de 168 pages

Description

Born in Pasadena, California, photographer William Claxton (1927 - 2008) is primarily known for a dozen stunning portraits of jazz stars (notably Chet Baker, for whom he took the first professional images) and Hollywood celebrities (like his friend Steve McQueen). In 1952, while photographing Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker at the Haig Club, he met Richard Bock, the founder of Pacific Jazz, who quickly hired him as the label's art director and photographer. During his time at this label, Claxton produced an album cover a week, thus shaping the visual identity of West Coast jazz. Until then, jazz photographers favored dark, smoky atmospheres; Claxton innovated by taking advantage of the Southern California sun for his outdoor shots. With Claxton, jazz, a genre in constant evolution, entered a new era. His images have illustrated numerous album covers and have been regularly published in magazines such as Life, Paris Match, and Vogue. A multi-award-winning photographer, Claxton published thirteen photographic books, and his work has been the subject of dozens of exhibitions around the world. Howard Mandel, president of the jazz journalists' association, wrote the introduction to this book, which also includes a preface by French jazz journalist Pascal Anquetil. This book offers us a selection of more than 150 stunning color and black & white photographs by the great William Claxton. Wonderful portraits of Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, Art Blakey, Clifford Brown, Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Billie Holiday, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Wes Montgomery, Lee Morgan, Art Pepper, Sonny Rollins, Dinah Washington, and Muddy Waters. "Claxton's avant-garde choices and his nonchalant style, which he called 'jazz for the eyes,' greatly contributed to the rise of trumpeter and singer Chet Baker, among others," Howard Mandel. "William Claxton's photographs embody the essence of 'cool' - his shots reveal the intimacy of icons like Chet Baker, combining his impeccable sense of timing and mastery of technology to forge a unique aesthetic he called 'jazz for the eyes.'" Jason Ankeny (AllMusic)