Skip to main content

Photography: An Iconic Retrospective for the Jazz Age

Ted Williams is the archetypal guy you’ve never heard of, but seen all of his work. He was one of the most important music and civil rights photographers of the 20th century; his work was published everywhere from Time to The Saturday Evening Post.

jazz
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Williams worked his way into the most exclusive cliques and circles of the Chicago and New York Jazz scenes while becoming the go-to photographer for most of the icons of the era. Although his archives total more than 100,000 images, a collection of unreleased photographs have been compiled to celebrate his life and the music he documented.

Recommended Videos

Jazz: The Iconic Images of Ted Williams (ACC Editions) just oozes cool. It’s more than 300 pages documenting the era of zoot suits and skinny ties. This was a time when the magnitude of a great singer jumped off the pages of the weekly magazines.

jazz-1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

He gained unparalled access to the greats, capturing their every emotion. Williams primarily photographed African-American musicians, illustrating a piece of their culture in the mid-20th-century. On one page, A striking, playful image of jazztet Art Farmer & Benny Golson captures them serenading a group of children on a run-down stoop. The smiles on almost everyone except a small child in focus is a moment frozen in time from 1950s Chicago.

This book is also amongst the first to publish Williams personal commentary with his photos, something he didn’t start writing until late in his life. The notes offer fascinating backstories of lavish parties, late-night jam sessions and the perennial drama of the times.

jazz-3
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The commentary is the perfect complement to singers that seemingly pop off the pages with microphone or instrument in hand. Among other catalogs, Williams owned one of the largest libraries of original Duke Ellington photos and the Duke is at seen at ease behind a piano, holding the mic dearly or in post-show smoking conversation. Williams had a way, whether it was Ray Charles or Tony Bennett, of perfectly capturing the artist’s on- and off-stage personalities.

Williams worked in a time when America was changing almost as fast as the music. WWII was ending; the Civil Rights Movement took off, then everything else in the 1960s and early ’70s that changed the face of the nation. He documented an era that much like Mahalia Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald or Thelonious Monk, was larger than life.

You can grab your copy here.

Geoff Nudelman
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff is a former contributor to The Manual. He's a native Oregonian who’s always up for a good challenge and a great hike…
Predator: Badlands is giving Predator fans the movie they’ve always wanted
The movie is set to hit theaters in November, years after the debut of Prey.
Elle Fanning in Predator Badlands

After the success of Prey, there's some new energy in the Predator franchise. What's even better for Predator fans, though, is that the next installment seems designed to give them something they've always wanted. Namely, a movie that follows a predator's POV.

In the first trailer for Predator: Badlands, a predator named Dek is exiled from his clan, only to meet a humanoid-looking life-form played by Elle Fanning. The two of them team up to take on something that "can't be killed," and a long the way, we get some pretty incredible looks at the homeworld of the predators.

Read more
The next Hunger Games movie has found its lead actors
The movie will be set 24 years before the original Hunger Games.
Sunrise on the Reaping cover

Following the success of Sunrise on the Reaping, the latest book in the Hunger Games series, Deadline is reporting that the film adaptation that is set to release in 2026 has found its lead actors. Joseph Zada will play Haymitch in the film, while Whitney Peak will play Lenore Dove, Haymitch's romantic partner.

The film will be set 40 years after the events of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and 24 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her sister's place in the Hunger Games. The book follows Haymitch, the District 12 victor who mentors Katniss and Peeta, as he wins his own Games on their 50th anniversary.

Read more
The 9 best golf documentaries to watch this year
Here's a glimpse into the amazing history of golf, including how the sport has evolved
Tiger (HBO)

Depending on how you look at it, golf is either one of the simplest sports or one of the most complex. The objective is very easy to wrap your head around: This ball has got to wind up in a hole that's maybe a quarter mile away. Everything that happens after that, though, is where things get interesting. Of course, people who love golf love it for a wide array of reasons. Some people love the beautiful courses, while others love the stories behind their favorite players.
There are plenty of people who love golf but don't play it much themselves, and those are the people who this list is really for. Golf's full of amazing stories, and we've even gotten our fair share of great golf movies as a result. Sometimes, though, a documentary is an even better fit for a particular story set in the world of golf. As someone who doesn't play much golf but loves to watch it, these documentaries are right up my alley. They're the kinds of movies that can inspire and perplex you, and also remind you that at its best, golf is filled with legendary moments. These movies might not be on the shortlist for any awards, but that's only because sports documentaries are so recognized for how well they put stories together.
After careful consideration, we've brought you this list of the best golf documentaries you can stream now.

Full Swing (2023)

Read more