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Clint Eastwood w/Lennie
Niehaus
Burbank, 1998
© William Claxton |
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[ click to enlarge ] |
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In Hollywood, no connection between a filmmaker and the creative language of jazz is
more firmly established than that of the long-standing passion that continues to be
realized by actor, writer, director, and pianist Clint Eastwood.
Roughly ten years after producing his award-winning chronicle of the life of legendary saxophonist
Charlie Parker, entitled simply "Bird," Eastwood and his long-time musical
collaborator Lennie Niehaus were reunited, here, through the lens of William Claxton.
Claxton's image is clearly one that conveys the enduring connection between his subjects,
and has forever captured the joy radiated through Eastwood's candid expression. Whether to
say that his glance reflects a reaction or a suggestion, related to this spontaneous
performance with Niehaus, is a question that this marvelous image will no doubt embody for
many years to come.
When referring to his first exposure to a live performance of Charlie Parker and his music,
Eastwood once described that seminal event as "an incredible Jazz at the Philharmonic concert."
Many years later, clearly inspired by that experience, and the numerous others that certainly
followed, the remarkable historic detail that both Eastwood and Niehaus employed in their
filmed tribute to the legendary Parker would reach far beyond its Oscar-winning sound recordings.
Extending their vision to also include a full-scale
recreation of New York's famed 52nd Street, incorporating
both its celebrated "Three Deuces" and "Birdland"
music clubs, production designer Edward Carfagno,
cinematographer Jack Green, musical director Lennie
Niehaus, and director Clint Eastwood harnessed the
power of Hollywood to provide the richest possible
window into the life, art, and genius of Charlie
Parker.
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In this 1959 photo of Duke Ellington, Claxton captures a time in Ellington's long Hollywood career that would coincide not only with a small, on-screen performance in the film "Anatomy of a Murder," opposite actor Jimmy Stewart, but that would also find Ellington's musical score for the film receiving awards in the three separate categories of Best Musical Composition, Best Performance by a Dance Band, and Best Motion Picture Soundtrack.
The sheer joy reflected in Ellington's expression, as well as in his spirited mannerism, embodies William Claxton's clear command of his craft. In his words "When I feel that I have a visual grasp on the subject, I press the shutter release, and I usually know instantly whether or not I have captured that perfect moment in time." Whether the studio backdrop for Ellington's photo was simply a matter of convenience, or chance, or perhaps a logical artistic choice, it provided the perfect environment to highlight this inspiring moment in the life of one of the most beloved artists in the world.
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Claxton's 1995 photo of renowned pianist and composer Herbie
Hancock even further embodies the document of an
artist whose command of their craft has spanned
decades of American jazz history. Beginning as early
as 1963, Hancock's continuing exploration of both
acoustic and electronic musical forms has secured
his role as one of the leading modernist artists
of our time.
As a central catalyst of both discovery and invention
in the world of contemporary music, Hancock's creative
voice has served to define numerous milestones in
the art and form of American jazz. Once describing
the intuitive challenges of a live, recorded collaboration,
he explained, "I had to find sounds (not so much
chords) so that when the other information came,
I wanted to leave room for more to happen, to provoke
you and stretch yourself. The whole story should
not be told in the song itself. The value is in
the whole record in jazz."
Comparing Claxton's visual documents of both Hancock
and Ellington we see a recurring narrative of the
artist engaged with their instrument, as well as
the consistent openness of the recording studio
as backdrop. More importantly, represented by two
images maintaining a nearly forty-year difference
in time, Claxton’s ability to capture the sheer
sense of joy in the hearts of each of his subjects
is also clearly the product of an intuition
continuing to both illuminate and share with us
"the whole record in jazz."
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