Herman Leonard, photographer of jazz greats, dies (NOLA)

[eppur_se_muova]

Dennis Persica, The Times-Picayune

Herman Leonard, a photographer who created some of the most famous images of such jazz greats as Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and others, died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. Mr. Leonard, 87, lived in New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina struck and destroyed much of his collection.

Mr. Leonard was best known for his smoky, backlit portraits of jazz artists in New York, Paris and London, many of which graced the covers of numerous jazz albums. He was born and raised in Allentown, Pa. When he was 9, he became enthralled with photography when he saw an image being developed in his brother's darkroom.
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"When people think of Jazz, their mental picture is likely one of Herman's."

Subjects of Mr. Leonard's photographs include Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie.
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Mr. Leonard's home and studio were damaged in Hurricane Katrina and his archive of over 8,000 prints were lost in the flood. Fortunately, his negatives had been housed at The Ogden Museum of Southern Art and escaped damage.



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more: http://www.nola.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2010/08/herman_leonard_photgrapher_of.html

http://www.hermanleonard.com/






RIP, Mr. Leonard. You left us quite a legacy.

[tishaLA]

1. Wow that breaks my heart. Abbey Lincoln yesterday, Leonard today

RIP

[Mimosa]

2. There was a great bio documentary about Leonard on Ovation last week.

If you get Ovation channel on cable check it out. What a life!

[niyad]

3. I remember seeing a documentary about katrina that talked about the loss of most of his

life's work. so very, very sad.

requiescat in pacem, mr. leonard.