A Guide to the Best of Southern California : OUT & ABOUT : Portraits of the Jazz Artists
BACK IN THE 1940s and ‘50s, before jazz went big time and nicotine carried government warnings, Herman Leonard was photographing the men and women of the jazz scene. Cigarette smoke curling toward his camera, Leonard captured the greats--among them James Moody (left), Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie (right), Dinah Washington, and Billie Holiday. His dramatic black-and-white photographs lay bare the mystery and poignant impermanence of the jazz world.
Not many of his subjects are still around, but Leonard’s photos--stored under his bed for more than 20 years--make them seem immortal. The retrospective (Leonard will attend), is the first stop on a national tour.
Herman Leonard’s Images of Jazz, April 10 to 28, G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, 7224 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles; (213) 550-1504.
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