RECAP: Opening of "Art of Jazz: Form/Performance/Notes" – Featuring the Photographs of Hugh Bell.
/Last night was the public opening reception for "Art of Jazz: Form/Performance/Notes," at the Ethelbert Cooper Gallery, Harvard University, featuring the photographs of Hugh Bell. The exhibition is now running through May 8th. Below are some photos from the event as well as an excerpt from the exhibition wall text:
(left to right) Researcher Mira Schwerda, Exhibition Co-curator David Bindman & Jon Gartenberg from GME in Hugh Bell section of exhibit.
A number of the best 20th-century photographers were stimulated by the challenge of capturing the vivid interaction of small groups of jazz players, often in dark and smoky cellars, while others were intensely interested in the individuality of great jazz musicians. One of the least known examples of the former is the photographer Hugh Bell (1927–2012), represented here by images of some of the greatest jazz players and a heartbreaking series of the great singer Billie Holiday in one of her last appearances.
Guests of the public opening looking at photos of jazz musicians by Hugh Bell.
Guests of the public opening looking at the series of Billie Holiday photos from one of her last public appearances at Carnegie Hall, 1957. Photographs by Hugh Bell.