This collection of wonderfully evocative black-and-white photographs is a love song to jazz and to the musicians whose live performances were captured mid-note during 40 years of beautiful music. Photographer and amateur drummer Ron Hudson was already a devout fan of the Monterey Jazz Festival when he started shooting pictures backstage in 1973, and his images document historic Monterey performances as well as jazz singers, horn players, pianists, drummers and other music-makers, in concert at festivals and clubs from Honolulu to Port Townsend to Atlanta to Montreux. Hudson s work is introduced in an enthusiastic foreword by Dr. Herb Wong, esteemed jazz historian and producer. What makes Hudson s book special is his sensitivity to the artists and the music, reflected by the haunting cover shot of the late Milt Jackson, poised over his vibes in a moment that seems to define rapture. What makes it personal is Hudson s brief remembrances about what was happening in the photos when he took them. What makes it admirable is Hudson s mastery of a technical challenge: black-and-white images shot at night against dark backdrops, using manual equipment and available light. He often adds technical notes about how he did it. He processed his thousands of rolls of film himself, chose the winners, printed and framed them, and often gave the artists a copy. Then there are the late jazz artists who live on in Hudson s unique images: Miles Davis dressed in velvet with an angry glance masked by sunglasses in Honolulu, where that look is called stink-eye; resplendently gowned Carmen McRae at Monterey holding a breathless audience of 6,000 in her hand along with the mike; sax-playing Dexter Gordon sporting a button that identifies him as an Artist at 1978 Monterey, as if anyone didn t know. The newer wave of jazz artists who caught Hudson s eyes and ears, are in turn captured in their motions and emotions, such as singer Nnenna Freelon, whose fervor is barely contained in a frame, and saxophonist Joshua Redman, hopping from one foot to another with too much music in him just to stand there on two feet. The bands play on, and times change. Hudson has added a digital camera to his bag, and jazz is again attracting budding stars from the ranks of high-school bands, like those in Seattle which Hudson supports, and others who step up to the stage and excel. Jazz fans everywhere, celebrate. You ll love this book, and it will bring you right down front, (where the photographers work), even if you can t quite hear the music.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Hudson is first and foremost a passionate, knowledgeable fan of the music. He s got technical chops to be sure, but what makes this collection so special is the photographer s ability to capture transcendent bandstand moments of improvisational majesty; in-the-moment magic....on many of Hudson s best shots I swear I can hear the music! - --Joseph Blake, CODA Magazine, November/December 2007.
As Coltrane was to the tenor, Miles to the trumpet, Rich to the drums, Brubeck to the piano, Ella to the voice, Ron Hudson is to the camera. - --Michael Chatfield, Carmel Magazine, Fall 2007
Ron Hudson s images bring you face to face with the intimacy and intensity of jazz at the moment of creation. - --Jim Wilke, Jazz After Hours, Public Radio International
As Coltrane was to the tenor, Miles to the trumpet, Rich to the drums, Brubeck to the piano, Ella to the voice, Ron Hudson is to the camera. - --Michael Chatfield, Carmel Magazine, Fall 2007
Ron Hudson s images bring you face to face with the intimacy and intensity of jazz at the moment of creation. - --Jim Wilke, Jazz After Hours, Public Radio International
About the Author
Ron Hudson was born in Oakland, California, and grew up surrounded by jazz in his father's music shop. He was a young fan in the 1950s, the age of bebop, and starved for jazz in Labrador during a stint with the US Air Force. A graphic artist in New York, California, and Hawai'i, he played drums on weekends. In the 1960s, he began photographing jazz artists in night clubs, concerts and festivals, documenting jazz history as it happened. He has photographed more than 900 jazz artists and covered festivals from Montreux to Monterey. He is a member of the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE). His images appear on CD covers and in magazines, art exhibits and private collections of many jazz artists. His jazz portraits are displayed on permanent exhibit in Seattle's Jazz Alley nightclub. He lives in the Emerald City with his wife, Christine, and a miniature poodle named Ella Fitz.
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This review is from: Right Down Front ron hudson jazz images (Hardcover)
Here's what jazz artists, critics, and fans say about Ron Hudson's Right Down Front:
"As Coltrane was to the tenor, Miles to the trumpet, Rich to the drums, Brubeck to the piano, Ella to the voice, Ron Hudson is to the camera." -Michael Chatfield, Carmel magazine Fall 2007< "This book is hip." - Kurt Elling "Thanks for capturing history." - Christian McBride "...a sterling collection..." -Wallace Baine, Santa Cruz Sentinel "Ron Hudson's magic is that he somehow knows when the essential moment is about to happen and has the rare combination of instinct, timing, and technical skill to capture it." - Doug Ramsey, Take Five: The Public & Private Lives of Paul Desmond "We writers often get so lost in the sound of jazz - and in looking for words to describe it - thank goodness for Hudson...for documenting the look of the music in the moment of it's creation." - Paul de Barros, Down Beat/Seattle Times "This collection is an amazing journey in contemporary jazz history." -Katy Bourne, All About Jazz "Ron Hudson's images bring you face-to-face with the intimacy and intensity of jazz at the moment of creation." -Jim Wilke, Jazz After Hours, PRI "His gift as a photographer, capturing musicians at the perfect moment, is unsurpassed. Thousands of (our) customers have marveled at his artistry. He is truly a giant." - John Dimitriou, President Jazz Alley "His images are so keen, so in the moment, you can almost hear the music..." - Rick Carroll, author/jazz writer
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