The 1979 Playboy Jazz Festival

I began producing my Jazz Passages Archive when I was 14 in the '70s, as a young trumpet student and photography enthusiast growing up in the San Fernando Valley. In June of 1979 serendipity aligned with a high school buddy/usher, which led to me attending the first Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. At 16 years old I had one day of roaming around the crowd at the Bowl, listening, and attempting to get some decent pics on film without getting in the way.

Included here: Bobby Shew Quintet, Willie Bobo, Flora Purim & Airto Moreira, Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea, Lionel Hampton Band, and Weather Report.

Later, I became a commercial photographer and worked for major corporations and institutions throughout my career in photography. Over the years I have reengaged in my roots periodically to add to my historic jazz archive. In recent years I have photographed live performance of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Barbara Morrison, Ernie Andrews, Jon Faddis, Ron Carter, and many more.

Comments