William P Gottlieb was a music journalist and photographer whose byline appeared in The Washington Post, Downbeat and Record Changer from 1938-1948. He taught himself to use a speed graphic camera and began to shoot musicians to illustrate his articles. The Library purchased his collection in 1995 and scanned all his prints and negatives, now …
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been seven months since we announced the Music Division’s William P. Gottlieb Collection joining the Library of Congress Flickr project. Clearly time flies when you’re having fun checking out Gottlieb’s stellar photographs, and here we are today uploading the last images in the collection. This week’s final batch …
Today we release the penultimate set of photographs from the William Gottlieb Collection to Flickr. This set includes classic portraits of jazz legends like Fats Navarro and Tadd Dameron, Ray Nance, and Buddy Rich. There are also striking images of lesser known figures, like a Kodachrome portrait of singer Dottie Reid. Her isolation in the frame – …
The Music Division has uploaded its latest batch of William P. Gottlieb jazz photos onto our Flickr site. Several are particularly eye-catching, notably the two images of bassist Chubby Jackson: one with dramatic lighting, the other showing Jackson’s irrepressible personality. There is an impressive triple exposure of bandleader Jerry Jerome, and an unusual shot of …
Next Friday the Music Division will release another batch of images from the William P. Gottlieb Collection to Flickr Commons. What makes this particular selection of images special, and a little more poignant, at least for me, can be found outside the image. If you look closely at the edges of the color images in …
William P. Gottlieb (1917-2006) is one of the most celebrated jazz photographers. His iconic images documenting the great stylists and innovators in American jazz and popular music have been studied and reproduced for generations, and his collection of photographs is one of the Library’s great treasures. The Music Division is now pleased to announce the …
It’s the summer of 2018, and I’ve once again found myself at the Marina in Corpus Christi, TX, sitting with my father on his sailboat. Guitars in hand, we are playing a special concert for the seagulls and pelicans, our only true fans. The vibrations of our strings loft into the air in perfect harmony …
The following is a guest post by 2023 Library of Congress Jazz Scholar and 2024 Grammy Nominee Lakecia Benjamin. In many ways, 2023 was a breakout year for me. I was blessed to be able to perform the music I love, meet new people and experience different countries, languages, and cultures. Most people don’t know …
While our nation continues to mourn the loss of First Lady Rosalynn Carter (1927-2023), here in the Music Division, we are reflecting on her lasting relationships with artists, performers, and creators, both during her time in The White House and the decades that followed. America’s civic leaders cross paths with many of the leading musicians, …