Jazz music of the mid-20th century returns to the spotlight this month with the release of a new book, website, radio series and exhibition about The Jazz Loft Project. Led by Sam Stephenson of Duke's Center for Documentary Studies, the project tells the stories and sounds of 821 Sixth Avenue, a loft building in Manhattan's wholesale flower district where major jazz musicians of the day -- including Thelonious Monk, Alice Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Charles Mingus -- gathered and played their music.
From 1957 to 1965, photographer W. Eugene Smith recorded approximately 4,000 hours of music and conversation and took nearly 40,000 photographs of the jazz luminaries and lesser-known musicians who gathered in the loft. Smith's work remained in the archives until Stephenson set out to uncover the stories behind this extraordinary moment in American cultural history.
Stephenson discovered the resource 11 years ago at the University of Arizona's Center for Creative Photography, and has since spent the past decade cataloging, archiving, and editing these materials for the book, The Jazz Loft Project: Photographs and Tapes of W. Eugene Smith from 821 Sixth Avenue, 1957 -- 1965 (Knopf) and, along with other partners, a radio series airing on WNYC and NPR, an exhibition at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center opening in Feb. 2010, and a website. He also interviewed more than 300 people who experienced the loft scene firsthand.
"The power of the story is not really about jazz or New York City but rather that history is told from the point of view of what's documented," says Stephenson. "(Smith) documented musicians who otherwise would have been forgotten and lost to posterity. He also gives us a glimpse of what these iconic musicians were like when they were offstage."
Stephenson was recently interviewed on NBC's Today Show and will participate in a book signing and launch party for the book, at Durham's West End Wine Bar on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 6 p.m.
An interactive website featuring audio recordings, image galleries, a biographical directory, a blog, and other content from and about the loft is online now at: jazzloftproject.org.