neveronfriday Posted January 29, 2004 Report Posted January 29, 2004 Hi everyone, the other day I came across an as-new copy of Reiff, Carole. "Nights in Birdland. Jazz Photographs 1954 - 1960. Fireside/Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York 1987" It also contains an essay by Jack Kerouac, "The Beginning of Bop" (from: Escapade, April 1959). I have quite a few books with jazz photographs, but I had never come across Carole Reiff besides seeing the odd poster reprint (the most-known one, I think, is the one of Chet Baker on-stage at Birdland) on various sites. I also think Lee Tanner included some rarer photos by Reiff in some book, but I'm too lazy to check now. Does anyone have more extensive info on her? Apparently she died very young? Cheers! P.S.: The photos in the above-mentioned book are far better than the two generic ones below! Quote
skeith Posted January 29, 2004 Report Posted January 29, 2004 I have a paperback book of her photographs, maybe it is the same one. I don't know anything about her, but I love her pictures. Quote
brownie Posted January 29, 2004 Report Posted January 29, 2004 This is one of the worst job on jazz photography I have ever seen. I have the same 1987 edition. This was produced as an homage to Carol Reiff, a very good photographer who was present at a number of interesting jazz events. But the print job! Just awful. Why didn't they go to a better printer with quality prints. Most of the photos published look like second or third generation reproductions. Bad contrasts, very thin definitions. And whoever did the captions should have been dismissed pronto along with whoever did the darkroom printing! A few errors: the musician identified as Al Cohn (page 13) is Lee Konitz, musician on page 4O is Charlie Rouse (John Coltrane page 41), 'unidentified' saxophonist on page 52 is Leo Wright, 'unidentified' musician with Bill Evans on page 66 is Hal McKusick, 'unidentified' musician on page 89 is Warne Marsh. Even a easily recognisable Harry Carney remains 'unidentified' (page 106), Elvin Jones on page 118 turns out to be Art Blakey. And there are many, many more. Carol Reiff deserves better. Much better. Her photos of Bud Powell and Chet Baker are quite unique. I'm still waiting for a quality job on her photos. Quote
neveronfriday Posted January 29, 2004 Author Report Posted January 29, 2004 But the print job! Just awful. Why didn't they go to a better printer with quality prints. Most of the photos published look like second or third generation reproductions. Bad contrasts, very thin definitions. True, but so far, it seems to be the only collection. She shot some wonderful photos, some of the most interesting ones I have. Let's hope someone turns to her work again in the future. Cheers! Quote
couw Posted January 29, 2004 Report Posted January 29, 2004 Her photos of Bud Powell and Chet Baker are quite unique. Quote
neveronfriday Posted January 29, 2004 Author Report Posted January 29, 2004 Does anyone know who owns the rights to her photos (address of the Carole Reiff estate or the like [Hal and Florence Reiff])? I know of one publisher who has also published William Claxton here in Germany whom I would contact to maybe get her photos into high-quality print again. Cheers! Quote
brownie Posted January 30, 2004 Report Posted January 30, 2004 Deus, I think the Carole Reiff photos are now with Corbis-Bettman. Corbis is one of Bill Gates' ventures. And if the German publisher you mention is Taschen, that would be fine. They produce excellent books. Their William Claxton book was beautiful! Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted January 30, 2004 Report Posted January 30, 2004 I have a rather large poster of this photo, that I bought in New Orleans back around 1991. Great photo, and one I've always associated with the album "Miles Ahead" for some reason, even though I have no idea if that's the session it was really taken at. But for some reason, this pic really says "Miles Ahead" to me. Quote
neveronfriday Posted January 30, 2004 Author Report Posted January 30, 2004 Deus, I think the Carole Reiff photos are now with Corbis-Bettman. Corbis is one of Bill Gates' ventures. And if the German publisher you mention is Taschen, that would be fine. They produce excellent books. Their William Claxton book was beautiful! I wrote to the German branch to find out if they have the rights. If they do, I think I'll try to propose a reissue project to some of the better publishers. I didn't mean Taschen, but they are certainly also a publisher I would write to. I was thinking of Nieswand, a small publisher who published Claxography, Pieces of Jazz by Karl-Heinz Schmitt and several other wonderful books. But there, are many other publishers one could contact about something like that. I have no idea what the commercial feasability is, but it can't hurt to try. Cheers! Quote
neveronfriday Posted January 30, 2004 Author Report Posted January 30, 2004 Well, they actually want to get paid for telling me if they have the rights or not. Screw them. And Bill gates. Quote
brownie Posted January 30, 2004 Report Posted January 30, 2004 Well, they actually want to get paid for telling me if they have the rights or not. Screw them. And Bill gates. This sounds like some of the dealings I have had with the Corbis people! What a surprise! A Bill Gates venture out to make money! Would never have imagined this. And Deus! Happy Birthday You'll be a grown-up pretty soon Quote
neveronfriday Posted January 30, 2004 Author Report Posted January 30, 2004 This is one of the worst job on jazz photography I have ever seen. I have the same 1987 edition. This was produced as an homage to Carol Reiff, a very good photographer who was present at a number of interesting jazz events. But the print job! Just awful. Why didn't they go to a better printer with quality prints. Most of the photos published look like second or third generation reproductions. Bad contrasts, very thin definitions. And whoever did the captions should have been dismissed pronto along with whoever did the darkroom printing! A few errors: the musician identified as Al Cohn (page 13) is Lee Konitz, musician on page 4O is Charlie Rouse (John Coltrane page 41), 'unidentified' saxophonist on page 52 is Leo Wright, 'unidentified' musician with Bill Evans on page 66 is Hal McKusick, 'unidentified' musician on page 89 is Warne Marsh. Even a easily recognisable Harry Carney remains 'unidentified' (page 106), Elvin Jones on page 118 turns out to be Art Blakey. And there are many, many more. Carol Reiff deserves better. Much better. Her photos of Bud Powell and Chet Baker are quite unique. I'm still waiting for a quality job on her photos. I just checked again. In my 2nd edition most of these errors were fixed. But the print job remains pretty horrible. Note: On the coyright page it states: "Special thanks to Art Farmer and Tony Outhwaite in identification for the second edition." Quote
neveronfriday Posted January 30, 2004 Author Report Posted January 30, 2004 After I sent another mail to Corbis asking politely for another go at it, I actually got a reply from a nice guy. It turns out that Corbis only has one image which is not available because of legal issues. Currently the man is checking if there are any images in the BETTMANN collection. I'll keep you posted. Cheers! Quote
neveronfriday Posted January 31, 2004 Author Report Posted January 31, 2004 While waiting for an answer - and whenever I've got some time - I thought I'd scan some images from the book. Here are two (Armstrong [duh] and Mulligan]: Cheers! Quote
ghost of miles Posted January 31, 2004 Report Posted January 31, 2004 A jazz photography book I'd like to get a copy of is Dennis Stock's JAZZ STREET, published in 1960, I believe. He's the photographer who took all the pictures of James Dean during his last visit to Fairmount, Indiana in February of 1955. Quote
couw Posted January 31, 2004 Report Posted January 31, 2004 A jazz photography book I'd like to get a copy of is Dennis Stock's JAZZ STREET, published in 1960, I believe. He's the photographer who took all the pictures of James Dean during his last visit to Fairmount, Indiana in February of 1955. 17 copies listed on abebooks.com not cheap though--- Quote
neveronfriday Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Posted February 1, 2004 A jazz photography book I'd like to get a copy of is Dennis Stock's JAZZ STREET, published in 1960, I believe. He's the photographer who took all the pictures of James Dean during his last visit to Fairmount, Indiana in February of 1955. Well, the photos are online: Jazz Street Cheers! Quote
ghost of miles Posted February 1, 2004 Report Posted February 1, 2004 Hey, thanks, Deus! I have definitely thought about purchasing an OOP copy online, and probably will some day when I set aside a bit of cash for that very purpose. In the meantime, it's nice to visit that site--and cheers yourself, you whippersnapper, you! B) Quote
neveronfriday Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Posted February 1, 2004 --and cheers yourself, you whippersnapper, you! B) Do I understand you correctly? Miles comes before deus? Quote
doubleM Posted February 1, 2004 Report Posted February 1, 2004 The first image of the Jazz Street photos, which is titled "Waiting Trumpeter" shows a guy holding a trombone. Nice pics, though! Quote
neveronfriday Posted February 1, 2004 Author Report Posted February 1, 2004 True. They also apparently don't give a hoot about jazz but are only in it for the money. The usual licensing machinery. Cheers! Quote
brownie Posted February 1, 2004 Report Posted February 1, 2004 Another call for a reprinting of 'Jazz Street'. One of the must have jazz photo books that's so very hard to find. Dennis Stock is a veteran member of the prestigious Magnum photo agency. Magnum is a photographers' cooperative. Which is one of the reasons why some of their photo prints command very high prices. The agency members have to make a living! Guy Le Querec is another jazz-oriented Magnum photographer. Quote
Paris Posted November 14, 2006 Report Posted November 14, 2006 Hello all. I recently discover something that is very relevant to this thread. Carol Reiff was my cousin and it seems I am the holder of the copyright. She died in 1972 and her parents died a few years ago. I have not had much luck locating the original photographs but I am working on it. If you send me an email, I will keep you up to date on what images I find, and I can license the images, but I need to do a little more leg work. Thanks Paris Pierce paris@pond.com Quote
AllenLowe Posted November 14, 2006 Report Posted November 14, 2006 another musician unfortunately listed as "unidentified" in the original edition is pianist Dick Katz - Quote
brownie Posted November 14, 2006 Report Posted November 14, 2006 Welcome to Paris! Here is hoping we will see a better edited (and reproduced) reissue of Carole Reiff's work! Quote
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