Leith Stevens

Leith Stevens: Jazz Scores

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
August 5, 2013

West Coast jazz of the early 1950s had its own sound but it also had a particular look. White T-shirts, open shirts, tan chinos, hollow features and a hungry look replaced chalk-striped suits, wide ties and the twinkling eye of an entertainer. The casual, dangerous feel of Los Angeles jazz musicians was celebrated in the photography of William Claxton, Bob Willoughby, Dave Pell and others. Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Hampton Hawes and others in those images seemed like bruised outsiders ...
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