Herman Leonard

I just read in the new Time magazine that Herman Leonard passed away last Saturday. He was without a doubt the greatest photographer of the jazz scene ever. I got a chance to see a collection of his photos a few years ago at the Indianapolis Art Museum and they just blew me away. First of all, the photos were of all the heavy hitters of the jazz scene from the 40's, 50's and 60's - Jack Teagarden, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Billy Holiday - but the photos themselves were absolutely fabulous. Beautiful black and white prints that had to be really tough to take in the smoky, high contrast environment of jazz clubs. These weren't some glitzy posed photos, these were the real deal, capturing the musicians live. I mean live like you could hear the music coming out from the photos. The man was a true artist. You can buy a portfolio of six photos of your favorite images for $5750.00. Unfortunately great art doesn't come cheap or I'd already have a dozen.