William Claxton (1927 – 2008) made the West Coast jazz scene of the 1950ies and early sixties look good. His photos were used for countless LP covers and he was sometimes also responsible for the cover design. Most of his pictures for LP covers are very colorful and have a California touch: sun, sea, desert and fun. Back then most jazz photography was caught in clichés – harsh flashlights, sweat, and strong contrasts were dominant. Claxton gave jazz photography a fresh perspective. Read the New York Times obituary for more information about William Claxton.
Photo-Audio Mashup (audio tribute from NPR)
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Motown Publicity Shot
The Marvelettes, Motown Girl Group. Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Originally Detroit based Motown music label celebrates its 50th birthday. guardian.co.uk published a wonderful photo gallery of the legendary music enterprise, that launched classic girl groups like The Marvelettes, The Supremes and The Miracles and started the careers of stars like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson. Motown was also home to the great songwriter Norman Whitfield and the classic song writing team Brian Holland, his brother Edward Holland and Lamont Dozier.
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