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Jazz: Best of the Apollo, Village Vanguard, and Riverside Sessions

by Steve Schapiro

Jazz in New York’s early 1960s

Critically Recognized
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Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    Praise from Charles McPherson

    Direct praise for the book, including its photographs and writing.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Jazz in New York’s early 1960s

Steve Schapiro’s photographs document New York jazz during the early 1960s, from performances at venues including the Apollo and Village Vanguard to recording sessions and informal gatherings. The images also extend to Chicago, following Schapiro’s work for Riverside Records as a young freelance photographer. Alongside portraits of musicians such as Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter and Count Basie, the collection includes glimpses of life around the music: a backstage moment, a player at the piano, and the people assembled in and beyond the venues. Jazz journalist Richard Scheinin provides the accompanying text. Together, the photographs and writing form a visual record of musicians, performance spaces and gatherings from that period.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Photography readers interested in portraits and documentary images of musicians.
  • Jazz fans curious about performers and venues of the early 1960s.
  • Readers exploring visual records of New York’s music scene and Riverside Records sessions.

Themes

Jazz photographyMusicians and performanceEarly 1960s New York jazzDocumentary photography

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Jazz is an essential volume of rare and previously unseen photos by Steve Schapiro, featuring the biggest 1960s jazz legends.

"These pictures are very emotional for me. They take me back to a time when everything was copasetic. Elvin Jones is smiling. And I don't think I've ever seen a photo of Paul Chambers smiling, but there he is. Paul Chambers is smiling! All these guys: Ron Carter, Miles, Red Garland. I mean, these pictures take me back into a time which will never be like that again." Sonny Rollins, Jazz, from The Foreword

"This is a great, great book. The shots are unbelievable, just absolutely beautiful, and the writing is spot-on., .[It] brings back the times, the power of those times in the 1960s when everything was changing." Charles McPherson

"A truly magnificent work. We have been overwhelmed by its beauty." Louis Hayes and Nisha Hayes

One of the leading social documentary photographers of the 1960s, Steve Schapiro's images stand among the most important of the 20th century, covering Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King, Jr., James Baldwin and many others. These largely unknown jazz photos - shot just before his career breakthrough - showcase his early mastery and his empathy for his subjects, making Jazz: Best of the Apollo, Village Vanguard, and Riverside Sessions an essential archive.

In the early '60s, when Schapiro arrived on the scene, New York jazz was enjoying a golden age. A young freelance photographer who had grown up in the Bronx and somehow snagged a gig with Riverside Records, he began voraciously documenting shows, players, venues, recording sessions and gatherings both in his native New York and later in Chicago. Whether it's Sonny Rollins lifting weights backstage, or Bobby Timmons lost in an instant of discovery at the piano, Schapiro was on their wavelength.

Written by US jazz journalist Richard Scheinin Jazz: Best of the Apollo, Village Vanguard, and Riverside Sessions features dozens of never-before-seen photos of jazz legends like Cannonball Adderley, Melba Liston, Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Rollins, Count Basie and more.
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Customer reviews

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Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

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Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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Olivia

Smooth.