Herman Leonard

The home of Herman Leonard is adorned with the rich décor of a man who has seen the world. Hanging on the wall are woven temple offerings from Bali and votive clay tablets from Burma. On a shelf is a damaged metal Buddha he rescued from a fire while stationed in Southeast Asia during World War II. An ancient American sign nearby reads: "Colored Only. No Whites Allowed." Just as prominent are artifacts from his love of jazz music, rows of books and CDs and, most preciously, the stacks of elegant photographs he's taken of musicians since 1948.

SAN FRANCISCO - Franklin Street skirts the edge of a trendy neighborhood known as Hayes Valley, where Herman Leonard's oversize photographs of Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Art Blakey look down from the windows of an old brick building onto jazz's newest temple. After 10 years of planning and a $64-million fundraising effort, the SFJAZZ Center opened this week - and immediately staked its claim as the West Coast's most significant hub for America's original art form. Blocks from Davies Symphony Hall and the War Memorial Opera House, the two-story SFJAZZ Center doesn't fit the imposing visual profile of the rest of the dwellers of the city's cultural corridor.

Herman Leonard, a photographer best known for his iconic images of such jazz greats as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis, has died. He was 87. Leonard died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, a family spokeswoman said. No cause was given. He had been living in Los Angeles since Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, flooding his home and destroying thousands of prints. Leonard became famous for the smoky, backlighted black-and-white photos he took in dark jazz clubs beginning in the late 1940s.

Herman Leonard, a photographer best known for his iconic images of such jazz greats as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis, has died. He was 87. Leonard died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, a family spokeswoman said. No cause was given. He had been living in Los Angeles since Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, flooding his home and destroying thousands of prints. Leonard became famous for the smoky, backlighted black-and-white photos he took in dark jazz clubs beginning in the late 1940s.

BACK IN THE 1940s and '50s, before jazz went big time and nicotine carried government warnings, Herman Leonard was photographing the men and women of the jazz scene. Cigarette smoke curling toward his camera, Leonard captured the greats--among them James Moody (left), Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie (right), Dinah Washington, and Billie Holiday. His dramatic black-and-white photographs lay bare the mystery and poignant impermanence of the jazz world.

For purposes of completing biographies of these photographers--who, importantly, sometimes worked in the jazz environment--I would be most grateful for any biographical material, personal reminiscences, copies of pertinent chapters, articles or clippings, newspaper obituaries (when appropriate), etc. Information needed for following: Otto Hess, Skippy Adelmen, Popsie Randolph, Ted Williams, Herman Leonard, Dennis Stock. JIMMY LEE 5982 Sagebrush Road La Jolla, Calif. 92037

SAN FRANCISCO - Franklin Street skirts the edge of a trendy neighborhood known as Hayes Valley, where Herman Leonard's oversize photographs of Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Art Blakey look down from the windows of an old brick building onto jazz's newest temple. After 10 years of planning and a $64-million fundraising effort, the SFJAZZ Center opened this week - and immediately staked its claim as the West Coast's most significant hub for America's original art form. Blocks from Davies Symphony Hall and the War Memorial Opera House, the two-story SFJAZZ Center doesn't fit the imposing visual profile of the rest of the dwellers of the city's cultural corridor.

IT'S easy to see why jazz musicians were so taken by Herman Leonard's photographs. "Jazz Giants," the exhibition of his works running through Jan. 13 at the Fahey/Klein Gallery, includes images of the most famous names in jazz, from Louis Armstrong to Miles Davis, depicted in ways that touch the impact of their art and the essence of their personas.

Many jazz fans experienced their first images of the art from the photographs of Herman Leonard. Shot in the jazz clubs of the '40s, '50s and '60s, they captured the emergence of contemporary jazz in atmospheric black and white. Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday were only a few of the iconic figures preserved via the hungry lens of Leonard's peripatetic camera.

Herman Leonard has, through the years, made his bread and butter capturing the likenesses of such celebrities as Marlon Brando, Jane Russell, Norman Mailer, Christian Dior and Charles Aznavour--both in personal portraits and for such magazines as Life, Playboy and Cosmopolitan. But photographing such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, Nat (King) Cole and Dexter Gordon was the sweet jam atop the bread and butter.

The home of Herman Leonard is adorned with the rich décor of a man who has seen the world. Hanging on the wall are woven temple offerings from Bali and votive clay tablets from Burma. On a shelf is a damaged metal Buddha he rescued from a fire while stationed in Southeast Asia during World War II. An ancient American sign nearby reads: "Colored Only. No Whites Allowed." Just as prominent are artifacts from his love of jazz music, rows of books and CDs and, most preciously, the stacks of elegant photographs he's taken of musicians since 1948.

IT'S easy to see why jazz musicians were so taken by Herman Leonard's photographs. "Jazz Giants," the exhibition of his works running through Jan. 13 at the Fahey/Klein Gallery, includes images of the most famous names in jazz, from Louis Armstrong to Miles Davis, depicted in ways that touch the impact of their art and the essence of their personas.

Many jazz fans experienced their first images of the art from the photographs of Herman Leonard. Shot in the jazz clubs of the '40s, '50s and '60s, they captured the emergence of contemporary jazz in atmospheric black and white. Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday were only a few of the iconic figures preserved via the hungry lens of Leonard's peripatetic camera.

Herman Leonard has, through the years, made his bread and butter capturing the likenesses of such celebrities as Marlon Brando, Jane Russell, Norman Mailer, Christian Dior and Charles Aznavour--both in personal portraits and for such magazines as Life, Playboy and Cosmopolitan. But photographing such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, Nat (King) Cole and Dexter Gordon was the sweet jam atop the bread and butter.

BACK IN THE 1940s and '50s, before jazz went big time and nicotine carried government warnings, Herman Leonard was photographing the men and women of the jazz scene. Cigarette smoke curling toward his camera, Leonard captured the greats--among them James Moody (left), Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie (right), Dinah Washington, and Billie Holiday. His dramatic black-and-white photographs lay bare the mystery and poignant impermanence of the jazz world.

For purposes of completing biographies of these photographers--who, importantly, sometimes worked in the jazz environment--I would be most grateful for any biographical material, personal reminiscences, copies of pertinent chapters, articles or clippings, newspaper obituaries (when appropriate), etc. Information needed for following: Otto Hess, Skippy Adelmen, Popsie Randolph, Ted Williams, Herman Leonard, Dennis Stock. JIMMY LEE 5982 Sagebrush Road La Jolla, Calif. 92037

A strong case can be made that history will judge today's generation as prodigal parents. We have not met our obligations to our children; we have inherited abundance but are leaving a legacy of debt. We have allowed our infrastructure to deteriorate and our debts to skyrocket and have turned to "creative financing" to bankroll our excesses. We simply haven't paid our own way. Two recent books expand on this theme.

A strong case can be made that history will judge today's generation as prodigal parents. We have not met our obligations to our children; we have inherited abundance but are leaving a legacy of debt. We have allowed our infrastructure to deteriorate and our debts to skyrocket and have turned to "creative financing" to bankroll our excesses. We simply haven't paid our own way. Two recent books expand on this theme.