Francis Wolff (1907-1971), one of the most famous jazz photographers of all time, was indispensable to the success of the Blue Note record label. Born Jakob Franz Wolff in Berlin, Germany, he soon became passionate about jazz, even though this musical genre was banned by the government after 1933. In 1939, Wolff, who was Jewish, left Berlin, where he had worked as an advertising photographer, and settled in New York. He began working there with his childhood friend Alfred Lion, who had founded Blue Note Records with Max Margulis. The latter soon withdrew from the company, and Wolff joined Lion at the helm. During Blue Note recordings and rehearsals, Wolff took thousands of photographs. His highly personal visual approach will forever be associated with both Blue Note and jazz as a whole.

This book brings together more than 150 Francis Wolff photographs of jazz stars, most of which are published here for the first time. Among the many artists profiled here are Art Blakey, Tina Brooks, Clifford Brown, Donald Byrd, Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Grant Green, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones, Thelonious Monk, Lee Morgan, Bud Powell, Sonny Rollins, and Wayne Shorter. It also includes a special introduction by Grammy Award-winning music historian and jazz critic Ashley Kahn.

ACC Art Books, ISBN9788409088966, Various materials, 164 pages, 170 black and white photos in book.