When Jazz Giants Walked The Earth

Nora Lyons and I had the pleasure of hanging with legendary photographer Herman Leonard last week. He was in town for the opening of his show "Jazz Giants" at the Morrison Hotel Gallery.

It would be difficult to overstate Herman's impact on the iconography of jazz. He's responsible for some of the most indelible images in the music's history. And at age 85, he has a razor-sharp memory for the circumstances surrounding each one of them. The above shot, for instance, was taken in 1958, when Duke Ellington was onstage in Paris. Herman peaked out from the backstage curtain and got off one shot. The audience was sitting in such wrapt attention that Ellington could hear the shutter of Herman's camera click. He turned to Herman and gave him an approving wink without missing a beat.

Herman was living in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck, and he lost many beautiful silver gelatin prints to the storm. A couple of these prints, now ravaged by mold, are on display at the Morrison. Thankfully, Herman's negatives were spared from the storm, and the new prints on view are incredible. The show runs through June 10, and it's free to the public!

Here's a shot of Herman, Nora and me on the opening night of his show.