Frequently Asked QuestionsGetting HereAccessibilityProgram NotesExhibitionsJazz Memorabilia

In the Best Possible Light: Herman Leonard's Jazz

On View:  October 13, 2009–June 19, 2010

In the Best Possible Light: Herman Leonard’s Jazz features masterworks in black and white photography by Herman Leonard, whose pictures of jazz icons Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, and Thelonious Monk—among many others—make him the dean of jazz photographers. This exhibition of Herman Leonard’s jazz pictures honors a great photographer and some of the most beautiful photographs ever taken. “I want to show jazz artists in the best possible light,” says Leonard, “to tell their truth but to tell it in terms of beauty.”

FREE Gallery Talks and film screenings

Gallery Talks
A guided tour of Herman Leonard’s masterworks of jazz photography with an exhibition curator.
Saturday, May 1 at 6:00pm
Saturday, May 15 at 6:00pm, Frame After Frame screening 7:00pm
Saturday, June 5, 6:00pm, Frame After Frame screening 7:00pm
Saturday, June 19, 6:00pm, Frame After Frame screening 7:00pm

FILM - Frame After Frame: The Images of Herman Leonard, 1997, 27 min.
The story of a man whose art has finally received the recognition it deserves, even if it took almost 50 years for it to happen. Produced and directed by Tika Laudun for Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

Where: Peter Jay Sharp Arcade, 5th floor, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street; New York, New York.

Admission: The exhibit is FREE and open to the public, Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Monday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Sponsors:
This exhibition is made possible by a generous gift from Janice and Bob Burns, and is presented in collaboration with Herman Leonard LLC and the Morrison Hotel Gallery.

All of the images presented in this show are for sale through The Morrison Hotel Gallery, committed to presenting the best in fine art jazz photography. The Morrison Hotel Gallery prides itself in maintaining the highest standards in customer service and investment value in each photograph it sells. A portion of proceeds from the sale of photographs will benefit Jazz at Lincoln Center. Visit www.morrisonhotelgallery.com.

Acknowledgements

Jazz at Lincoln Center’s curatorial group consists of Robert G. O’Meally, C. Daniel Dawson, Diedra Harris-Kelley, Emily J. Lordi, and Linda Florio (designer); the group’s interns are Imani Owens and Simone Eccleston. Jazz at Lincoln Center is pleased to thank the group’s advisory circle: Gerald Cyrus, Bridget Moore, Michael Rosenfeld, Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, Greg Tate, J. Daniel Veneciano, Kellie Jones, Farah Griffin, Brent Edwards, Stephen Good, Arthur Jafa, Sarah E. Lewis, Glenn Ligon, Xaviera Simmons, Frank Stewart and Deborah Willis. Many thanks to Miles Davis, and JR Sanders for their help in shaping this exhibition, and to Leslie Woodhead, Regina Nadelson, Louisiana Public Broadcasting, the Sundance Channel and Daryl Sivad for generously providing their films. Our gratitude goes to Herman Leonard as well as to Geraldine Baum, Katie Rosinsky, Maxine Gordon, and Garnette Cardogan, whose participation and scholarship made this exhibition possible, and to Oriel Wines and Shore Fire Media for their support. Special thanks to The Morrison Hotel Gallery and its owners Peter Blachley, Richard Horowitz, and Henry Diltz.

Morrison Hotel

Previous Exhibitions:
Jazz at First Sight: The Art of David Stone Martin
In the Best Possible Light: Herman Leonard's Jazz
The Collage Aesthetic of Louis Armstrong: "In the Cause of Happiness"
Looking at the Music: The Jazz Photography of Chuck Stewart
Jam Session: America’s Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World