A Great Day in Harlem.

March 2, 2003 11:55 AM

A Great Day in Harlem. Jazz history through one photograph.
posted by plep (13 comments total)

nice find. those were definitely the days (if you were a jazz fan anyway).
posted by boltman at 12:03 PM on March 2, 2003

This is good. Thanks plep.
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 12:03 PM on March 2, 2003

wow. just wow.
posted by grabbingsand at 12:04 PM on March 2, 2003

beautiful photo. my dad (jazz drummer bill graham) has played with at least half that list during his career (including charlie parker), so if anyone in the toronto area wants to meet someone that cool his next gig is at the poor alexander theatre's jazz room this monday evening.
posted by t r a c y at 12:14 PM on March 2, 2003 [1 favorite]

I've always loved that photo.

Great link. This is what the Internet does best--allowing you to push through the surface information to the background and the context.
posted by Inkslinger at 12:49 PM on March 2, 2003

My friend has that framed up on his living room wall. Great picture.
posted by adampsyche at 1:06 PM on March 2, 2003

This is what the Internet does best--allowing you to push through the surface information to the background and the context.

No offense meant, but there's also a book that lets you do the same thing with this photo.
posted by drezdn at 1:13 PM on March 2, 2003

Another site plays off the same photograph to show the fall and rise of Jazz in Harlem.

For an article on Harlem in the Nov 2002 Smithsonian Magazine photographer Jeffrey Henson Scales photographed the same brownstone in Kane's photograph.
posted by ?! at 1:14 PM on March 2, 2003

The documentary film is worth checking out as well.
posted by Vidiot at 3:13 PM on March 2, 2003

What grabbingsand said:
wow. just wow.
t r a c y, the next time I head up to Toronto, I'll ask you if your father is gigging : )
posted by Shane at 4:10 PM on March 2, 2003

That's too funny. I was just looking at this site the other day; I used to work (rather peripherally) with its designer (who also created beat thief). An older version of the site is also here.

Finally, this is off-topic, but the same guy also wrote a piece for A List Apart that's well worth the read: Being Jakob Nielsen: The Story of the Blue and the Green.
posted by mattpfeff at 8:00 PM on March 2, 2003

About 7 years or so ago I saw a documentary on the taking of that famous photo. I had never seen the image before, but thought that it was very cool. I thought that was the end of it. Then a few months later, my new girlfriend (at the time) presented me with a framed re-print of the famous picture! Nice coincidence. The girlfriend may be gone, but I still love the photo/poster.

As an aside... for no real reason I often find myself wondering what ever happened to the children who are seated in front. I've always loved how Count Basie is seated with the kids and seems so genuinely pleased. :)
posted by terrapin at 6:52 AM on March 3, 2003

Mingus looks so surly, I love it!
posted by Pollomacho at 2:13 PM on March 3, 2003