The Jazz Loft Project Radio Series (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording) [show prizes]
Title: The Jazz Loft Project Radio Series
Writer: Sara Fishko
Producer: Sara Fishko
Abstract: From 1957 to 1965, the master photographer W. Eugene Smith had a studio and darkroom in a dilapidated building on 6th Avenue north of 28thstreet in Manhattan. The Jazz Loft, as it became known, had already become a favored spot for jam sessions by hundreds of jazz players of the day. During his years there, Smith became obsessed with the goings-on in the building, musical and otherwise, and he taped and photographed them with an unimaginable thoroughness, capturing thousands of hours of sound as well as tens of thousands of images. The sounds and stories that emerged from those years are the basis for The Jazz Loft Project, a ten-part radio series.
Hear the whole story of the Jazz Loft years in The Jazz Loft Project Radio Series.
Original air dates: 11/16/09-11/25/09
Date: 11/16/09
Primary URL: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/jazz-loft/2010/feb/01/
Primary URL Description: The website for The Jazz Loft Project Radio Series
Format: Radio
Format: Digital File
Format: Web
National tour of The Jazz Loft Project (Exhibition)
Title: National tour of The Jazz Loft Project
Curator: Sam Stephenson
Abstract: In January 1955, celebrated photographer W. Eugene Smith quit his longtime job at Life magazine. In search of greater freedom and artistic license, he accepted a three-week freelance assignment in Pittsburgh that turned into a four-year obsession and, in the end, remained unfinished.
In 1957, he moved out of the home he shared with his wife and four children in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, and into a dilapidated, five-story loft building at 821 Sixth Avenue (between 28th and 29th streets) in New York City’s wholesale flower district. The building was a late-night haunt of musicians, including some of the biggest names in jazz—Charles Mingus, Zoot Sims, Bill Evans, and Thelonious Monk among them—and countless fascinating, underground characters. As his epic Pittsburgh project broke down, Smith found solace in the chaotic, somnambulistic world of the loft and its artists.
The exhibition evokes the jazz loft through more than 200 images, several hours of audio, and 16mm film footage of Smith working in the loft. Setting the scene is Smith’s gritty photographs of the loft and his pictures of the flower district below his fourth-floor loft window. Viewed alongside his master prints, Smith’s 5x7-inch work prints further indicate the breadth and depth of the loft story. Listening stations give access to remastered selections from Smith’s reel-to-reel tapes, which caught everything from rousing jam sessions to historic radio and TV broadcasts, loft conversations, and street noise. Concerts and other programming will supplement the exhibition experience.
Year: 2010
Primary URL: http://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/jazz-loft-project
The Jazz Loft: A Preview Performance Chat (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: The Jazz Loft: A Preview Performance Chat
Abstract: Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
In a loft at 821 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, during the late 50’s and early 60’s, jazz musicians gathered nightly for jam sessions. WNYC is at work on the Jazz Loft Radio Project, a ten-part series using a treasure trove of tapes made in the loft by photographer W. Eugene Smith.
“Jazz Loft Live” will bring together musicians from that magical time -- who haven’t performed together in decades -- including pianist Dick Katz, vibraphonist Teddy Charles, bass player Bill Crow and drummer Ron Free, to play in the exciting, spontaneous and free-wheeling style that characterized the Jazz Loft era. Project Director Sam Stephenson of CDS at Duke and Senior Producer Sara Fishko of WNYC, will also preview the upcoming Jazz Loft Project, sharing Smith’s photographs and excerpts of the audio tapes. A Q & A with the musicians will round out the evening.
Author: Sara Fishko
Date: 05/07/2009
Location: WNYC, New York Public Radio
Primary URL: http://www.wnyc.org/thegreenespace/events/2009/may/07/jazz-loft-preview-performance-chat/
Primary URL Description: Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
In a loft at 821 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, during the late 50’s and early 60’s, jazz musicians gathered nightly for jam sessions. WNYC is at work on the Jazz Loft Radio Project, a ten-part series using a treasure trove of tapes made in the loft by photographer W. Eugene Smith.
“Jazz Loft Live” will bring together musicians from that magical time -- who haven’t performed together in decades -- including pianist Dick Katz, vibraphonist Teddy Charles, bass player Bill Crow and drummer Ron Free, to play in the exciting, spontaneous and free-wheeling style that characterized the Jazz Loft era. Project Director Sam Stephenson of CDS at Duke and Senior Producer Sara Fishko of WNYC, will also preview the upcoming Jazz Loft Project, sharing Smith’s photographs and excerpts of the audio tapes. A Q & A with the musicians will round out the evening.