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| Photographer Skip Bolen Launches New Website of Jazz Photos The new Skip Bolen Photography website has been officially launched this week. The website features an eclectic mix of both black + white and color photographs primarily of musicians in New Orleans; downtown street scenes of New Orleans, Los Angeles and New York City; rural water towers from Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas; and lastly, stills photography from Fox Television's K-Ville. The new website can be viewed at www.SkipBolen.com The new website contains an impressive portfolio of music portraits: James Brown (commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" and "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business"), the luminous jazz vocalist Jimmy Scott, plus many other musicians including Wayne Shorter, Henry Grimes, Roy Hargrove, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, Nicholas Payton, David Murray, Marcus Roberts, Terence Blanchard, Irvin Mayfield, Ellis Marsalis, John Legend, Elvis Costello and many more seasoned performers to several new rising sensations such as Jonathan Batiste, Christian Scott and Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews bringing down the house at the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Other works on the new website include an architectural project that captures the romance and nostalgia of vintage signs, landmarks and other points of interest shot in and around New York, Los Angeles, and Bolen's hometown of New Orleans. Images include a black + white photograph of the first Buds Broiler opened in 1952 on City Park Avenue in New Orleans still standing and untouched by Hurricane Katrina that appears the same today as it did 56 years ago - this photograph was included in Skip Bolen's latest work exhibited in the group photography show at the Stella Jones Gallery in New Orleans last December 2007. Other images on the website include downtown Los Angeles street scenes at night of old theatre marquees, eateries, and a view of Los Angeles' downtown skyline from a top the hills behind the Hollywood Sign; a thrilling view at night of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges with the Manhattan skyline in the distance from the perspective of a sixth-floor artist loft in DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) in Brooklyn; and the downtown New Orleans Walgreens Drug Store, Lenny's Piccadilly Lounge, The Half Shell, Meyer The Hatter and Mrs. Mae's all photographed in the wee hours of the night. Bolen says, "I much prefer roaming the streets and photographing late at night with only available light as I often think that the night is so much more alive and much more richly colored than the day. Jazz comes alive at night in the clubs, streetlights and neon lights wash everything in a glow and there is often a sense of mystery lurking in the shadows and silhouettes." Rural water towers have always fascinated Skip Bolen, and the new website includes photographs of several rural water towers taken on travels across southern Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The freshly painted Lake Village water tower illuminated with spotlights on the banks of Lake Chicot in Louisiana and photographed at night almost looks surreal while his other photographs of older water towers are completely rusted, pitted, graffitied or grown over with vines. When Skip Bolen isn't roaming the streets or spending late nights in jazz clubs searching for images to photograph, he is often found on movie sets working as a stills photographer and the new website features several of his stills photographs from Season 1 of Fox Television's K-Ville based in New Orleans in the wake of post Katrina that featured Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser as the lead roles. Born outside New Orleans, Skip Bolen has made his home in New Orleans after living in New York City and Los Angeles. His photographs are in several public and private collections, among them the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans and most recently, The Louisiana State Museum acquired 22 of his photographs. His work has also been exhibited in many solo and group exhibitions, among them The Stella Jones Gallery, Robert Bruno Gallery and John Stinson Gallery in New Orleans; The Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, Jazz Day L.A. at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and the Los Angeles Jazz Society's Annual Jazz Tribute & Concert. His photographs have appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vogue, New York Post, US Weekly, Elle, VH-1, New York Magazine, Jazz Times Magazine, Downbeat Magazine, Where New Orleans and recently the July 24th 2008 cover of Pasatiempo, the Arts and Culture Magazine of the Santa Fe New Mexican. More information about Skip Bolen and his photography can be found on www.SkipBolenStudio.com or www.myspace.com/skipbolen Skip Bolen is a southern photographer of musicians, architecture, interiors, old signage, lifestyle and the culture of New Orleans and southern United States. He is a member of the IATSE Union 600 (International Cinematographers Guild, Jazz Journalists Association, NPPA, and Advertising Photographers of America. Skip Bolen is represented internationally by Getty Images and WireImage.com, and by Stella Jones Gallery in New Orleans. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |