M. Lea Rudee San Diego Jazz Photographs, 1981-1991 (MSS 71)

Extent: 2 Linear feet (24 matted photographs in one flat box)

A collection of twenty-four black and white photographs (1981-1991) taken of jazz performers in concert in San Diego by M. Lea Rudee.

These photographs were all taken during live performances of jazz in San Diego. A few were taken in night clubs. Most were taken at performances of either the San Diego Jazz Festival, when I served on its board of directors, or the Jazz Society of Lower Southern California. This latter organization held private performances in members' homes or other private venues and organized fund raising events to provide scholarships for the jazz program in the UCSD Music Department. Unfortunately, both organizations are now dormant. The performers in these photographs include both local and visiting artists.

Photography and jazz have some artistic elements in common. Of all musical forms, jazz places the highest emphasis on instantaneous, intuitive improvisation by the performer within a predetermined musical context. Photographs can be "made" in highly controlled circumstances, e.g. an advertising shoot, or the self-portraits by Cindy Sherman. In another form, the photographer "takes" a picture by instantaneously arranging images within the viewfinder, accepting what is seen rather than directing. Henri Cartier-Bresson, the great master of this latter form of photography, described the camera used in this manner as "an instrument of intuition," a term that could just as well apply to the jazz soloist.

-- M. Lea Rudee

Container List

PHOTOGRAPHS

Oversize FB-551 Folder 01
Lytle, Cecil, 1982
Oversize FB-551 Folder 02
McPherson, Charles, 1982
Oversize FB-551 Folder 03
Cheatham, Jimmy, 1983
Oversize FB-551 Folder 04
Marsalis, Wynton, 1983
Oversize FB-551 Folder 05
Pepper, Art, 1983
Oversize FB-551 Folder 06
Gentry, Hollis, 1983
Oversize FB-551 Folder 07
Cheatham, Jeannie, 1983
Oversize FB-551 Folder 08
Calloway, Cab and Cheatham, Jeannie, 1984
Oversize FB-551 Folder 09
Kessel, Barney, 1991
Oversize FB-551 Folder 10
Brubeck, Dave, 1983
Oversize FB-551 Folder 11
Biggs, Gunnar, 1982
Oversize FB-551 Folder 12
Gordon, Dexter, 1981
Oversize FB-551 Folder 13
Jones, Thad, 1982
Oversize FB-551 Folder 14
Lettau, Kevyn, 1991
Oversize FB-551 Folder 15
Lake, Oliver, 1984
Oversize FB-551 Folder 16
Carter, Betty, 1983
Oversize FB-551 Folder 17
Rollins, Sonny, 1983
Oversize FB-551 Folder 18
Redd, Vi, 1985
Oversize FB-551 Folder 19
McFerrin, Bobby, 1982
Oversize FB-551 Folder 20
Braxton, Anthony, 1985
Oversize FB-551 Folder 21
Bowie, Lester, 1989
Oversize FB-551 Folder 22
Jordan, Stanley, 1986
Oversize FB-551 Folder 23
McShann, Jay, 1986
Oversize FB-551 Folder 24
James, Etta, 1981