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Earlier in this exhibition, we quoted Claxton's statement regarding his "intrigue with the
movements and body language of musicians while they play," as well as his careful studies
before photographing them, "much like watching a dancer, an actor, or even an ordinary
person performing an ordinary task." In this 1996 image of innovative saxophonist and
composer Wayne Shorter, Claxton brings the viewer into a moment seemingly ordinary in
nature but that also carries with it the "behind the scenes" energy and dynamic of an
artist's relationship with their audience.
Consistently at the forefront of modern music, Shorter's ground-breaking work has continuously
re-defined traditional principals underlying both composition and live performance. During
his earlier career, performing and collaborating alongside both Miles Davis and Herbie
Hancock, when referring to the importance that he placed on the entire musical experience,
Shorter emphasized the necessity of "thinking of the whole evening as the composition,"
and when also describing the collective experience involved, went on to state that "as far
as everybody in the group thinking that way, it was up to each individual to be on his own
to help create images and illusions."
Bringing together two of the jazz world's most recognized and gifted artists, Claxton's photo
with Shorter represents the combination of two lifetimes equally dedicated to creating images
both inspired by the conditions around them and defined by the unique character of the
subject/song.
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In this 1955 photo of Frank Sinatra, it's hard to imagine
Claxton not instantly recognizing the enduring moment
he had just captured. When discussing the continuing jazz
influence of artists such as Sinatra, Crosby, Tony Bennett,
and Lena Horne, Claxton emphasized that, "all of these
artists have influenced jazz with their sound, phrasing,
and certainly their unique personalities. And all of them
surrounded themselves with great jazz talent."
Being surrounded by the greatest talents in both music
and film was certainly never more evident for Frank Sinatra
than during the period including 1954 and 1955. During
this time in his career, Sinatra had not only become one
of the busiest actors in Hollywood, completing a total
of six films, but also continued to be featured in countless
television appearances, as well as numerous, classic recordings
for Hollywood's Capitol Records.
Naturally, each of his on-screen, film appearances would
also be accompanied by unforgetable, Sinatra musical numbers,
many of which had been recorded while still working to
complete his previous film. Similarly, during the filming of "The Man With the Golden Arm,"
considered as, perhaps, one of his greatest, on-screen roles, Sinatra
would also be found recording the George and Ira Gershwin classic "Love
is Here to Stay" for his newest album.
In June of 1955, Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra's long-time collaborator,
stated "he's a great talent and can do no wrong as far
as I'm concerned. The only thing that Sinatra could ever
do wrong is … stop singing." Some fifteen years earlier,
shortly after becoming the newest member of the Tommy
Dorsey Orchestra, Sinatra explained the influence that
Dorsey's music would have on his career, when stating
"singing for the Big Bands is like lifting weights … you're
conditioning yourself."
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John Williams w/Max Bennett, Howard Roberts
Hollywood, 1956
© William Claxton |
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In this captivating 1956 image of Hollywood film composer John Williams, Claxton captures what he simply described as
"the poetic looking young man seated at the piano." Today, some fifty-years later, the gifted, twenty-four-year-old
pianist, pictured here in the earliest stages of his studio career, has gone on to become described as "one of the
most successful composers of film music in the history of the medium."
Like Claxton, Williams' passion for his craft began
during his early studies at the University of California
Los Angeles (UCLA). Later, continuing those studies
at New York's Julliard School, he would also begin
to refine his jazz piano skills, as both performer
and studio musician, before returning to Hollywood
to embark on an unparalleled career in film and television,
working with such renowned composers as Bernard
Herrmann, Alfred Newman, and Franz Waxman.
While Williams' early jazz influence can be found throughout the numerous
film scores, concert performances, and album recordings of his long career, one of the most
recent examples of his firmly rooted jazz voice was in the emotional and intimate score for Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me if You Can,"
starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.
The long and intuitive careers of both Williams and Claxton, now each inseparable parts of
Hollywood history, have been skillfully documented in works that will continue to delight,
inform, inspire, and elevate our shared experience, for decades to come.
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