DETROIT, MI (September 20, 2022)–The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is pleased to welcome the upcoming exhibition Jazz Greats: Classic Photographs from the Bank of America Collection, which celebrates the legacy of singers, musicians, audiences, and artists who contributed to the cultural footprint of this genre.
The exhibition, from Oct. 21, 2022 to Feb. 28, 2023, will feature 31photographs by 14 photographers from the 1920s to the 1980s. Through their dynamic lens, the collection captures jazz legends and moments that defined this genre of music during an era of social,economic, industrial,and political reckoning.
Photographs in this exhibit include some of the most iconic performers in the world of jazz: Miles Davis, John & Alice Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Eric Dolphy, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dizzy Gillespie. The exhibit also highlights local communities and diverse audiences, enthralled by these captivating musicians.
Among the photographers showcased in the collection are Antony Armstrong Jones (Lord Snowdon)—one of Great Britain’s most celebrated photographers, and best known for his elegant magazine portraits of notable personalities; William Gottlieb—a photographer and newspaper columnist who created some of the most-recognized images of the golden age of jazz in the 1930s and 1940s; Barbara Morgan is known for her iconic images of modern dance pioneers Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham; and Chuck Stewart —known as one of the most prolific jazz photographers who photographed hundreds of musicians for album covers, in clubs, concerts and recording studios, in formal portraits and in live performance.
The Jazz Greats exhibition was made possible by Bank of America’s Art in Our Communities(R) initiative, the only corporate program of its kind allowing museums and nonprofit galleries to borrow Bank of America exhibitions at no cost. The program provides the public with the opportunity to see important works of art while at the same time generating vital revenue for participating institutions. Since 2009, more than 170 museums worldwide have borrowed exhibitions through Art in our Communities.
“Bank of America believes in the power of the arts to help economies thrive, educate and enrich societies, and create greater cultural understanding,”said Matt Elliott, Bank of America Michigan President. “Furthering our partnership with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History not only provides an opportunity for Detroiters to celebrate jazz as a unique American art form, but deepens the bank’s overall commitment to the arts.”
“The Wright Museum is proud to partner with our longtime supporter Bank of America to present the Jazz Greats: Classic Photographs from the Bank of America Collection. Bank of America understands the importance of bringing these photographs to our community given its long legacy of producing some of the greatest jazz artists of our time,” said Neil A. Barclay, President and CEO of The Wright Museum.
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