{"product_id":"swing-era-new-york-the-jazz-photographs-of-charles-peterson-9781566392273","title":"Swing Era New York: The Jazz Photographs of Charles Peterson","description":"\u003cp\u003eCharles Peterson entered the jazz world of New York as a guitarist but made his true contribution documenting an era and its most notable performers. A photographer whose images captured the passion and intensity of his subjects  Peterson took up the camera in the mid-1930s and transformed himself from a performer on stage to a visual recorder and observer of the stage. Creating a photographic style that combines artistic sensibility and technical skill  he became a preeminent New York jazz photographer of the pre-bebop  small combos and Big Band era. A deep love of jazz led Peterson to the legendary clubs of Harlem  52nd Street  and Greenwich Village; concert halls and ballrooms; jam sessions; recording studios; backstage get-togethers; and private parties. As a jazz scene insider  Peterson had access to all of these formal and informal venues and was often recommended to shoot special events by musicians  record producers  and club owners because  as Eddie Condon once noted  \"he knows how to handle musicians. He wont bother them when he shouldnt bother them and hell get what you want.\" And he did. Among the countless subjects he enshrined on film are Louis Armstrong  Billie Holiday  Duke Ellington  Benny Goodman  Zutty Singleton  Fats Waller  Mildred Bailey  Cab Calloway  Pee Wee Russell  Lester Young  and Jack Teagarden. Petersons photographs expose a startling contrast between integrated bandstands and audiences and the segregated world  and reveal the determination of those who refused to be confined by such oppressive conventions of the time. They depict musicianship and camaraderie  dancing  and technical innovation  as well as the harsh contrast of an all-too-pervasive alcoholism that interrupted the lives of many in that New York scene. Jazz historian and critic W. Royal Stokes provides commentary  historical and biographical information  and lively anecdotes that connect the musicians featured in Petersons photographs to each other and to the music within the social world of jazz. Don Peterson  the son of Charles Peterson  restored the 229 photographs included here from his fathers original negatives. More than half have never been published  while many others have not been seen in print since the 1940s. This striking collection represents a historical document of a city and an era that brought the great jazz and swing musicians of the time to the height of success and solidified their reputations.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45648169435189,"sku":"ByrdShop_1566392276","price":41.17,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781566392273.jpg?v=1781711358","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/swing-era-new-york-the-jazz-photographs-of-charles-peterson-9781566392273","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}