The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith

Once upon a time in New York City, in a dilapidated loft with no heat on 6th Ave., a magical space appeared. It started with a musician and soon became the place to gather, crash, get high, and jam. In 1957 W. Eugene Smith, a nationally acclaimed photojournalist for Life Magazine, moved to the floor below. He became obsessed with the music and the performers, even boring holes in his ceiling to plant microphones to record the jams. For many years into the 60s, he amassed thousands of extraordinary images, as well as taped conversations and sessions with some of the most famous artists in the jazz world, including Thelonius Monk and Zoot Sims. The range of these documents is staggering. THE JAZZ LOFT ACCORDING TO W. EUGENE SMITH mines the rich vein of this mostly unknown material to create a narrative not just of the times, but of the tortured artist who created it. This fascinating and cultural audio-visual legacy is now here for all to treasure. –C.R.