Dennis Stock Miles Davis. USA. 1958.
“I had a passion for jazz. I had listened and attended many jazz sessions from a child on. So I went out for three years and explored the world of musicians all across the
(...) United States and had a wonderful time. It was joyful. Just marvelous.
Jazz musicians are of a somewhat suspicious nature. They have the right to be. They know that the public doesn’t think much of them as people. I am therefore grateful for the way in which these men and women responded to the camera’s intuition. Their reactions moved from suspicion to acknowledgment, to curiosity, and finally to friendliness. My job was respected with the reservation that it should not interfere with their own. Often I was obliged to accept a fleeting moment in a busy musician’s day. A moment can be enough. It often happened quickly; the photographic decision, like the jazz decision, must be instantaneous. I thoroughly enjoyed knowing the people, the artists.”
— Dennis Stock, Dennis Stock: American Cool (Reel Art Press, 2013) © Dennis Stock | Magnum Photos
