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Herman Leonard dies.


B. Goren.

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RIP. More sad news - but what a great, great photographer. Remember seeing him 'in action' in front of the stage at Lincoln Center. The loss of his home and many prints in the hurricane was also tragic. Impressive the way he dealt with that (covered in a TV documentary shown over here).

Edited by sidewinder
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This is devastating news :(

One of the very last one of a breed that is slowly disappearing.

And yes he was a great person. I had the privilege of meeting him when he was in Paris working for Berclay Records.

My favorite photo (but there are hundreds more of fabulous Herman Leonard images!)

LesterYoung49.JPG

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To me, he was the greatest of them all - RIP and a million thanks for those evocative images.

LesterYoung49.JPG

... this one in particular ...

I keep looking for a hat like that. Most porkpie hats seem to have narrow brims.

Getting tired of the parade of depressing news. Never met him but was told by many that he was a very sweet and classy guy and, of course, a brilliant photographer with such a sharp eye not only for personality but theater, governed by impeccable taste and sensitivity to jazz. William Gottlieb was really more about "capturing the moment" as a journalist, though his finest images ascended to the level of art in terms of defining personality and formal composition. But Leonard was an artist fundamentally, making portraits with a sharp eye not ony for personality but theater and drama and creating compositions that mixed myth and metaphor, including, of course, his trademark back-lit cigarette smoke. I'm very proud to own a large format Leonard photograph of Thelonious Monk (the familiar shot looking through the open piano as he's composing, pen in right hand, cigarette in left hand) that my wife bought me as a wedding present from a Chicago gallery 19 years ago.

On the issue of the search for a porkpie hat with a wide brim, you almost surely need to go custom. I recommend Optimo Hats in Chicago. Graham and his team make some of the best hats in the country. It's not cheap (understatement), but you can get exactly what you want and the quality is second-to-none. Checking the website I see this model that would seem to be in the ballpark, though you can specify any brim size you want. http://www.optimohats.com/felt/flattop/

Edited by Mark Stryker
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I am aware that a book of his photos is scheduled for publication by the end of his years but I did not realize until today that his second book, the superb 'Jazz Memories', came out in France only (1995, Editions Filipacchi) and seems to have not been published elsewhere.

It's even better than his first book of photos 'L'Oeil du Jazz' (1985, Editions Filipacchi). That one went through several printings and was published in the USA.

51300YSS8BL._SS500_.jpg

'Jazz Memories' seems to command high prices at Amazon.com!

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