Jazz Life
Chances are you’ve heard of William Claxton before, even without being a die-hard jazz fan. He’s one of the most famous photographers and has captured on film the likes of Steve McQueen and Chet Baker and worked for for LIFE, Paris Match, and Vogue.
45 years ago, Claxton and German musicologist Joachim Berendt traveled the United States and upon completion of their journey collected their individual impressions in a now classic book, Jazz Life. Said book is a collector’s item today and until recently fetched outrageous prices for even torn and unruly looking copies.
In 2003, Taschen Books showed interest in re-releasing this wonderful book and the result of nearly years of work is the lavish updated edition which now not only includes new color photos from that trip but also a new forword by William Claxton reflecting on the journey and on his love for jazz in general. Additionally, the book includes a restored audio CD from Joachim Berendt’s original recordings.
The book is huge and very heavy and the price is quite stiff, but if you have a shelf to put this onto and if you have the money, this is a very worthy addition to your book collection. It’s a classic.
Editions:
English: 3-8228-3066-6 (November 2005)
French: 3-8228-4971-5 (November 2005)
German: 3-8228-4970-7 (November 2005)
List Prices:
USD 200.00 | GBP 100.00 | EUR 150.00 | JPY 25000.00
Note: There’s also a limited slipcased edition.
I would like to know if there are any pictures of Oscar Pettiford in the book
Jazz Life.
Hi Nancy,
I only have the original and in that one I could only find one picture of Pettiford together with Harry ‘Sweets’ Edison. It’s on page 211 of the original book (mine’s the German edition from 1961) and is surely also in the new and expanded edition.
It’s a shot from the side/slightly behind with Pettiford looking over his left shoulder into the camera while playing the bass sitting down. Edison is standing in the background, also playing. There’s no info as to where/when the photo was taken.
I hope I could be of help.