The Jazz.com Blog
December 19, 2007 · 0 comments
The Jazz Photography of Ray Avery
In this day of 24-hour satellite coverage and ubiquitous Internet access, it is hard to comprehend the jazz world of a half century ago, when documenting the history of the music depended on the persistence and dedication of a handful of individuals. The jazz world of bygone eras is still vividly present to us, but only because of record producers, photographers, researchers and film-makers, among others, who captured the artistry that would have otherwise soon have disappeared from view.
Dizzy Gillespie, photo by Ray Avery
The late Ray Avery was one of these ardent preservers and disseminators of the jazz art form, most notably in his photographs which continue to charm and delight fans by bringing their subjects vividly to life. Wherever jazz was found at its finest, Ray was there – attending virtually every Monterey Jazz Festival, returning to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival each year over the course of a decade, traveling to the North Sea Festival in Holland, or to Nice, France, or other locations near and far. And always with his camera in hand.
At the same time, Avery shared his passion for jazz through his record retailing activities, starting with his first shop, The Record Roundup, opened in 1947, and continuing for the next four decades. UCLA now houses a collection of 63,300 78 rpm recordings that were originally part of Avery’s personal collection – a resource that would be virtually impossible to replicate today and which serves as further testimony to the success of this one individual in preserving the jazz music of his time.
One of the goals of jazz.com is to share the work of visual artists such as Ray Avery to the broader jazz community by means of the transforming power of the Internet. The Ray Avery gallery, presented in jazz.com's Visual Jazz galleries, in cooperation with CTSIMAGES, features a small sampling of his timeless images.
You can visit the Ray Avery gallery here.
This blog entry posted by Ted Gioia
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