Links. William P. Gottlieb Collection. Library of Congress. Jazz.
About this Collection
In 1995 this collection was purchased with financial
support from the Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Fund. The collection
consists of jazz photographs taken by writer-photographer William P.
Gottlieb, from 1938 to 1948, the "Golden Age of Jazz" when swing reached
its peak and modern jazz developed. While on assignment for the Washington Post, Down Beat magazine, and Record Changer,
Gottlieb photographed and interviewed jazz pioneers primarily in
Washington, D.C., and New York City. A skilled craftsman, the
self-taught photographer captured the personalities of jazz musicians in
a sensitive, storytelling manner. The collection is an important
contribution to the documentation of American culture during a time when
jazz music thrived. Gottlieb's photographs are perhaps the most widely
reproduced images of jazz musicians, such as Louis Armstrong, Duke
Ellington, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Hines,
Thelonious Monk, Stan Kenton, Ray McKinley, Benny Goodman, Coleman
Hawkins, Ella Fitzgerald, and Benny Carter.