New York Times: Herman Leonard, an internationally renowned photographer whose haunting, noirish images of postwar jazz life became widely known only in the late 1980s, died on Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 87. <snip>
Mr. Leonard never set out to document the birth of bebop, though he wound up doing just that. He was simply a young jazz lover whose camera gave him entree into the many New York clubs — the Royal Roost, Birdland, Bop City — whose cover charges he could not afford.
A friend of mine said of Leonard’s passing:
“I grew up with his photos of my childhood idols. Herman seemed to be able to photograph the musician’s sound as well as their appearance.”
I think my friend captured this event well. If you look at a collection of Leonard’s photos, you will most likely find a whole bunch that make you go, “Oh, *he* took those pictures!” In a rather big way, he helped capture the Jazz movement.
The Bis Key Chronicles 