A lover of music, with the eye to prove it.

April 21, 2007 6:17 AM

From 1970 to 2004 Michael P. Smith photographed musicians in performance at every New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. With an excellent sense of timing, Smith was adept at capturing the exultant, transcendant musical moment. Whether they be of the very famous or the relatively unknown, his are photographs you can practically hear.
posted by flapjax at midnite (29 comments total)

I originally discovered Smith's work through this book, which I recommend especially for those with a strong interest in New Orleans/Blues/Cajun/Southern roots music.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:18 AM on April 21, 2007

Very cool photos. Nice post.
posted by fallenposters at 6:26 AM on April 21, 2007

there's a particular picture he took of tuba fats from a fess in the 70's that's not in that gallery. a cursory search turned up nothing. it's def my fav of his. a couple years ago they hung his pictures all over the festival....maybe 2003 or 2004? can't remember.

only a couple weeks to go until jazzfest!!!!!
posted by oliver_crunk at 6:27 AM on April 21, 2007

great find.
posted by the cuban at 6:27 AM on April 21, 2007

That last picture ("hear") is especially amazing if you consider the relative fame that Trombone Shorty has found. (You may remember him from the Christmas episode of "Studio 60" where, leading a group of New Orleans musicians, he performed the holiday classic "O Holy Night" which drew such an enthusiastic response from viewers that NBC released the single for free download on their web site.) For more from "Trombone Shorty".
posted by ColdChef at 6:28 AM on April 21, 2007 [3 favorites]

Hey, ColdChef, cool! Thanks for that followup on Trombone Shorty!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:37 AM on April 21, 2007

Awesome post, thank you.
posted by sneakin at 6:58 AM on April 21, 2007

As a (very) amateur music photographer, pictures like these kick my ass. In a good way.
posted by thecjm at 7:07 AM on April 21, 2007

Excellent, thank you flapjax at midnite! You pulled out a good sampling, too - great to see some of these legends in their salad days like the BB King you highlighted, or this classic duo. I also liked this cool Fats Domino pic. And another view of my main man, the Professor.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:29 AM on April 21, 2007

Those are really something else - it must be said that shooting gigs in the daylight is infinitely preferable, and these are spectacular.

I'm shooting the Upton Folk Festival soon, so I'm going to be glued to these for the next few weeks.
posted by chuckdarwin at 7:40 AM on April 21, 2007

Excellent post. Thanks. And thank you coldchef for the hint on the O Holy Night download from Studio 60. I had missed that. It was a great moment on that show.
posted by mmahaffie at 8:44 AM on April 21, 2007

Inspiring! This guy is freakin' amazing. Nice one flapjax!
posted by algreer at 8:49 AM on April 21, 2007

Awesome post
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 9:40 AM on April 21, 2007

This kid actually grew up to be this guy, who is a pretty well known up-and-coming trombonist. Pretty cool.
posted by rossination at 10:38 AM on April 21, 2007

Ah, crap, Coldchef.
posted by rossination at 10:41 AM on April 21, 2007

Great post, and while I'm sure the dude is a talented photographer, how can you fuck up subject matter like Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint? So much talent in one place...
posted by odasaku at 11:03 AM on April 21, 2007

only a couple weeks to go until jazzfest!!!!!

Nope. One week.
posted by raysmj at 12:32 PM on April 21, 2007

These are great shots. Thanks, flap!

Very small nitpick: I hate to see bad photoshopping on great images. Like this one, where there are clear halos around their heads.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 2:05 PM on April 21, 2007

shooting gigs in the daylight is infinitely preferable

You're so right! I was trying to figure out why those pictures looked so crisp and energized and different...seeing performers surrounded by daylight, reflecting in from all sides, is way different from seeing them in concert shots where all the light is stagelight. They look more alive!

Great post, flap. I have been swearing for years that I really have to get down to that festival. One day I'd like this to be an annual tradition for me.
posted by Miko at 3:45 PM on April 21, 2007

This is the first article on MeFi that's prompted me to open an account, just so I can thank the poster. flapjax at midnite, thank you for introducing me to this photographer.
posted by andihazelwood at 5:56 PM on April 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

This is the first article on MeFi that's prompted me to open an account

You hear that, mathowie? So howsabout a little taste of this fellow's five bucks? Something like, oh, I dunno, 2 dollars sounds about right, don'tcha think?

You've got my PayPal info.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:07 PM on April 21, 2007

...this fellow is a chick ;)
posted by andihazelwood at 6:09 PM on April 21, 2007

Whoops, just checked andi's userpage, and andi ain't no fellow. So... what with females being generally underrepresented on MeFi, I'd say $3.50 as my cut is more like it.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:09 PM on April 21, 2007

I have to snark. This is just celebrity photography.
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 6:19 PM on April 21, 2007

This is just celebrity photography.

Except that virtually all those depicted are a different type of celebrity than the type usual seen in "Celebrity Photography." These pictures would be remarkable (and in fact, are), even if you have no idea who is depicted. Your snark is unfounded.
posted by ColdChef at 6:34 PM on April 21, 2007

Hey Rich, this is celebrity photography. This is photo-documentation of a moment that resonates with beauty and communicates something noble and wonderful about the human spirit. It's also a piece of art.

And remember, you don't have to snark ;-)
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:48 PM on April 21, 2007

This makes me think of those big coffee table books of jazz photography: Billie Holliday, Coleman Hawkins wreathed in cigarette smoke, etc. I might flip through one of these once, but I'd never spend money on one and I certainly don't consider it art. It's craft. It's genre photography like waterfall photography, lightning-storm photography, or National Geographic photography.

And the ecstatic-moment shot you pointed out: as well as it caught the moment or the joy or whatever, artistically it's hackneyed. I wouldn't have mentioned this but people keep misusing the term "art".
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 8:04 PM on April 22, 2007

Hey, to each his own, Rich! Ain't nobody gonna force you to buy photobooks of musicians, nor, for that matter, to click on MetaFilter links containing photos of musicians.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:23 PM on April 22, 2007

Oh, and arguments about what's art and what's not art... useless, really. Totally subjective opinions, bound to vary from individual to individual...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:25 PM on April 22, 2007