The best photographs linger in the mind even after you shut your eyes. It's the same with great jazz songs, whose melodies seem to stay awhile, even after the last note sounds. In both, there's a sense of eternity, which is why the marriage of the two — as in the jazz images of photograper Jim Marshall can seem timeless.
Read more at www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2016/DB1612/single_page_view/86.html
Oh yeah - Reel Art Press does it again! The Estate of Jim Marshall is pleased to announce the launch of "Jim Marshall: Jazz Festival" (Reel Art Press, September, 2016). We lost a true hard-working character when Jim died, and we thank Amelia Davis for her dedication to keeping his work out there, and editing such a rich and fabulous book (and for letting me make an edit for this story! Thank you!) The book covers six years of Monterey and Newport Jazz Festivals, on stage and behind the scenes, and is chock-a-block with pics.
In time for the holidays this is a good bet for music lovers and those interested in jazz and its history.
Read more at acurator.com/blog/2016/10/jim-marshall-jazz-festival.html
By Paul Liberatore, Marin Independent Journal
Whenever there’s mention of the work of the late San Francisco photographer Jim Marshall, the first thing most people think of is rock ’n’ roll. A pioneering rock photographer, he was famous for his iconic images of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and many other bands and musicians from the heyday of rock in the late 1960s and ’70s.
But he actually began his career in 1959 and ’60, shooting black-and-white photos of jazz musicians at the Monterey and Newport jazz festivals with his ever-present Leica camera. Many of those photos, including a number of current and erstwhile Marin residents, are collected for the first time in a weighty new coffee table book, “Jazz Festival” (Reel Art Press, $75), covering the years 1960 through ’66. The majority of them have never been seen before by the public.
“Before there was rock, there was jazz,” says Amelia Davis, Marshall’s longtime assistant and heir to his estate. “People don’t realize that before Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin there was John Coltrane and Miles Davis.”
Read more at marinij.com
Jim Marshall's coverage of the "culture of cool,” the jazz scene of the '60s, is captured in "Jazz Festival." This new book, published by Reel Art Press, has been named by American Photo to its list of "Best Photography Books Fall 2016.
More at americanphotomag.com
By John Blake, CNN
"Jazz is dead."
Jazz connoisseurs have been hearing that eulogy for at least half a century. They're a picky bunch, often complaining about the quality of contemporary jazz while pointing to some golden era when "real" jazz thrived.But if jazz did indeed die, what was the cause of death, and when did it pass away?
A new book, "Jazz Festival: Jim Marshall," offers some possible answers. It features a handsome collection of black-and-white photos of jazz icons playing for and mingling with the glamorous crowds at the Monterey Jazz Festival in the early 1960s. The photos were taken by the legendary music photographer Jim Marshall, who captured those final summers when jazz was still widely popular -- and when it started to lose its commercial appeal.
The intimacy of the photographs is palpable. There's one of saxophonist John Coltrane slumped alone on a bench backstage, staring off into space as if contemplating some cosmic mystery. There's another of trumpeter Miles Davis whispering something into the ear of Steve McQueen that draws a mischievous smile from the actor. And then there's a shot of the regal composer Duke Ellington urging on a soloist; the Duke seems so close you can almost smell the pomade in his wavy hair.
Marshall's photos also freeze-frame a scene -- the stylish, hip and racially integrated crowds that were as much a part of the festival as the performers themselves. This was an era before people routinely wore flip-flops and sagging jeans in public. The festivalgoers, with their lean builds, exquisite cheekbones and fancy shades, were as sharp as the music.
Read more at cnn.com