Jazz music of the mid-20th century returns to the spotlight on Thursday, Dec. 3 with a party celebrating a new book, website, radio series and exhibition about The Jazz Loft Project.
Led by Sam Stephenson of Duke's Center for Documentary Studies, the project uncovers the stories and sounds of 821 Sixth Avenue, a loft building in Manhattan's wholesale flower district where major jazz musicians of the day gathered and played their music.
Between 1957 and 1965, legendary photographer W. Eugene Smith recorded approximately 4,000 hours of music and conversation and took nearly 40,000 photographs of the jazz luminaries and lesser-known musicians who gathered in the loft. Smith's work remained in the archives until Stephenson set out to uncover the stories behind this legendary moment in American cultural history.
"The power of the story is not really about jazz or New York City but rather that history is told from the point of view of what's documented," says Stephenson. "(Smith) documented musicians who otherwise would have been forgotten and lost to posterity. He also gives us a glimpse of what these iconic musicians were like when they were offstage."
The book has received critical praise and was listed last month in the New York Times as one of the best coffee table books for the holiday season.
Free and open to the public, the launch party at Durham's West End Wine Bar is sponsored by the Center for Documentary Studies, the Regulator Bookshop, the West End Wine Bar and The Splinter Group, a local design firm. Doors open at 6 p.m. for a reception at which music from the tapes will be played and photographs from the book will be shown on a wide- screen television. At 7 p.m., Stephenson will read from his book, The Jazz Loft Project: Photographs and Tapes of W. Eugene Smith from 821 Sixth Avenue, 1957-1965. At 8 p.m., the Ronnie Free Trio -- led by the man who was the session drummer on more than 200 hours of loft recordings -- will perform.
"I think that even though this story is about one building in the middle of New York City and the hundreds of musicians who went there, it's really universal," says Stephenson.
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Event: Jazz Loft Project book and website launch 6 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 3 West End Wine Bar, 601 Main St. Durham Information: jazzloftproject.org
Jazz fans can also enjoy a Dec. 3 concert by the Duke Jazz Ensemble with trumpeter Ray Codrington. Learn more here.