Sunday, November 27, 2016
Stories On Walls - Chicago's Original Jazz joints
Chicago in the 1950s was an exciting showcase for jazz. All kinds of jazz – from the swinging grandeur of Duke Ellington to the soaring vocals of Sarah Vaughan and the ground-breaking experimentation of Miles Davis.
The wave of musical talent that swept through the Windy City was simply breathtaking, and the music poured out of clubs, ballrooms, hotel lounges and restaurants. The joints were truly jumping. These smoky dives were almost as legendary as the players – the Blue Note, the Sutherland Lounge, the Trianon Ballroom and many more.
Musicians would form strong emotional attachments to some of these great jazz clubs. When the bandleader Count Basie returned to the city in 1960 and discovered the legendary Blue Note had closed its doors permanently, he said it felt like a death in the family.
The photographer Ted Williams haunted all these hotbeds of jazz during their heyday, from the late Forties to the early Sixties, and captured all the big names at work and at play. These photographs are priceless documents of that time, and they’re also stunning works of art, cool black-and-white icons with their own everlasting glamour and fascinating details.
And now you have the chance to own these photographs for the first time.
About Ted Williams
Most of Ted Williams’ archive, comprising both original negatives and photographs has never been published, printed, or seen before – until now. His jazz photography has been widely celebrated for the way in which it takes viewers on a heartfelt journey into both the on- and off-stage lives of touring, hardworking, and often legendary, jazz musicians.
Williams’ photographs capture the focus, the energy and the delight of jazz artists, and he photographed virtually every major name in jazz and blues: Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, Thelonius Monk, Dinah Washington, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.
Williams’ work emanated an intimacy and spontaneity towards his subjects and it’s in that dynamic where the honesty and truth of his photos is to be found. William’ longer-term ambition had been that the general public would get to see his images in exhibition settings. In this way, Ted believed that the photographs would offer some illumination on mid twentieth century African-American culture.
Ted died in 2009, but he remains a figurehead for African American photographers and in the history of American photography. He has left behind a dazzling photographic odyssey through the world of jazz.
* Taken from a piece written by James Clarke
Launched in November 2016, Stories on Walls is the world’s first true online gallery experience bringing extraordinary, affordable exhibitions to fans by way of an advanced mini-documentary exhibition platform.
The site is home to a growing number of photo-documentaries telling the stories behind extraordinary images found in rare archives and unusual back catalogues.
Stories on Walls print promise to customers’ means that every print comes with the
following:
• A signed certificate of authenticity with a uniquely numbered hologram
• A printed copy of the narrative that accompanied it in the exhibition
• Individual colour-management onto Hahnemühle Photo Rag fine art paper as a high-res print
• A choice of 3 tasteful framing options, wooden, black or white
• Carefully wrapped and tracked, we ship quickly and safely
• Worldwide shipping and FREE shipping within the UK
Stories On Walls can be found online at storiesonwalls.com or on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest with the handle @Storiesonwalls
EXTENDED! 30%. Off. Everything.
Because of the amazing respons we've got on the Black Friday discount we decided to extend the discount on our website during the whole weekend! So you can still buy the greatest albums today with a 30% discount on challengerecords.com! Order your holiday presents this weekend with this special discount.
* The discount is available on selected labels
Happy Holiday Season!
