Herman Leonard's "Legends of Jazz" Comes to the Komechak

To help celebrate the opening of the fifth season of the Komechak Art Gallery, a special exhibition comes our way. Herman Leonard's "Legends of Jazz", opens August 21 through September 23 at the Komechak, which is located at Benedictine University, in Lisle, IL. http://www.ben.edu/artgallery

The exhibition will feature several of Herman's iconic images of jazz musicians and singers such as Miles Davis, Dizzie Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Sonny Stitt, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holliday and Art Blakely. Leonard is widely considered the most celebrated photographer of his generation. His passion for jazz music led him to go to the nightclubs in New York City, Paris, New Orleans, Los Angeles and countless other places to photograph the best in the genre. He photographed musicians and singers, both on stage and behind the scenes, in practice sessions and impromptu settings to capture the essence of the time and the music.

Included in the exhibition will be two special educational sections: the Women of Jazz, which has five women and their biographies who Leonard considered immensely influential to the genre. The second section will show images of the nightclubs where Leonard photographed, like Birdland, Royal Roost, The Onyx, amongst others.

Additionally, the exhibit will show the 2011 documentary on Leonard, called "Frame After Frame:Images of Herman Leonard" which is narrated by Tony Bennett. The piece was produced by and directed Tika Laudun and is distributed via Louisiana Public broadcasting. Many thanks to them for the loan of this important interview with Leonard and his close friend, Quincy Jones.

Many thanks to Dr. Joseph A. Giordano and his family for donating these photographs to Benedictine University. Their passion for Leonard's work and willingness to share his work has been a tremendous gift.

In 2013, The William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, AR honored Herman Leonard's work with 'Jazz: Through the Eyes of Herman Leonard'. President Clinton has said that "Herman Leonard is the greatest jazz photographer in the history of the genre."

In 1995, Leonard released "Jazz Memories", published by Editions Filipacchi, and in that same year he was awarded an “Honorary Masters of Science in Photography” from The Brooks Institute of Photography. Other awards he received included the "Milt Hinton Award for Excellence in Jazz Photography," from Jazz Photographer's Association, the "Excellence in Photography Award" from the Jazz Journalists Association, and a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from Downbeat Magazine in 2004. Truly he was a gifted and much loved artist. The Komechak is honored to share his work with the public. For more information, contact curator Teresa Parker at 630-829-6270 or email tparker@ben.edu