Monday, January 11, 2010

The Jazz Loft Project


The Jazz Loft Project

The ever-vigilant PF (manning the ramparts of culture, his eyes scan the horizon!) tipped me to this, and I’m grateful. It hits squarely at the intersection of several interests/passions/concerns of mine. First, there’s the jazz. Secondly, you got your photography. Thirdly, it's history. And lastly, there’s the undeniable appeal of a Collyer Brothers-like mentality – a hoarding packrat who can’t throw anything out, and feels a compulsion to (literally) record everything.

I’ll spare the details and simply urge you to click through. Scan through the photos, listen to the recordings, and make time for the 10-episode radio series. Fascinating stuff. (And if you're flush, why not buy the book and then lend it to me?)

Thing is, it’s easy to see how someone could become W. Eugene Smith.

And as a side note, is that not a supremely beautiful website? It’s only fitting, given the subject, but design like that ruins me for lazily slapped together pages.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Miles Gawks, Howard McGhee Blows

From beyond the grave, McGhee shouts to a deaf world, It could have been me!