#jam sessions

Swing Era New York

The Jazz Photographs of Charles Peterson

W.Royal Stokes

Photographic preparaion by Don Peterson, Foreword by Stanley Dance

Temple Univ. Press, Philadelphia 1994, 232 pages, paperback,  25,5x20,5cm.,    ISBN  978-1566392273

euro 30,00

email if you want to buy :[email protected]

Charles Peterson entered the jazz world of New York as a guitarist but made his true contribution documenting an era and its most notable performers. A photographer whose images captured the passion and intensity of his subjects, Peterson took up the camera in the mid-1930s and transformed himself from a performer on stage to a visual recorder and observer of the stage. Creating a photographic style that combines artistic sensibility and technical skill, he became a preeminent New York jazz photographer of the pre-bebop, small combos and Big Band era. A deep love of jazz led Peterson to the legendary clubs of Harlem, 52nd Street, and Greenwich Village; concert halls and ballrooms; jam sessions; recording studios; backstage get-togethers; and private parties. As a jazz scene insider, Peterson had access to all of these formal and informal venues and was often recommended to shoot special events by musicians, record producers, and club owners .Among the countless subjects he enshrined on film are Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Zutty Singleton, Fats Waller, Mildred Bailey, Cab Calloway, Pee Wee Russell, Lester Young, and Jack Teagarden. Jazz historian and critic W. Royal Stokes provides commentary, historical and biographical information, and lively anecdotes that connect the musicians featured in Peterson's photographs to each other and to the music within the social world of jazz. Don Peterson, the son of Charles Peterson, restored the 229 photographs included here from his father's original negatives. More than half have never been published, while many others have not been seen in print since the 1940s. This striking collection represents a historical document of a city and an era that brought the great jazz and swing musicians of the time to the height of success and solidified their reputations.

04/06/21

orders to:     [email protected]

ordini a:        [email protected]

twitter:         @fashionbooksmi

Don Byas Jam Sessions: 1945

I love the passion and foresight that Michael Steinman provides us with a look at a true neglected giant of jazz: Don Byas. He recorded so many great small group sessions for small labels during and after WWII (as well as those big band sides for Basie) and they are classics to be listened to over and over.

-Scott Wenzel

Jammin' At the Café Bohemia: When Friends Drop In

When this terrible moment in the world’s history is over, I hope a little spot in the West Village re-opens with more of the great music that is talked about and shown by Michael Steinman in this post in jazz lives. Musicians par excellence and a quaint wonderful spot to hear live music.

-Scott Wenzel