Chuck Koton, Jazz Moods II
Jazz Moods II
August 1-28, 2009
Chuck Koton,Kenny Burrell, Photograph Courtesy of the Artist
Chuck Koton, Slide Hampton, Photograph Courtesy of the Artist
Jazz Moods II is a collection of work visualizing Koton’s lifelong commitment to Jazz. Inspired by Francis Wolff’s black and white photographs that adorned many of the Blue Note records purchased by Koton, his portraits of live jazz, shot in the Los Angeles area over the last ten years, share with us the passion and creativity of dedicated jazz artists. Mesmerized by live performances by musicians like Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Rahsaan Roland, and Kirk and Pharoah Sanders, Koton’s approach to capturing the essence of jazz is to simply convey, with the use of light and motion, what jazz means to him: dignity and the entire spectrum of human emotion. The use of dramatic lighting along with tight compositions allows viewers to focus on the moments that create the flowing sounds of spontaneity and the unique improvisation that is involved in creating this lively syncopated music. Through sharing with his audience the relationship between artist and instrument, one can feel the passion and emotion radiating from the images.
About the Artist
Born into a family of photographers, Chuck Koton’s passion for photography may have been inevitable. At a young age, these mysterious boxes, covered with buttons and knobs and able to magically capture the briefest of moments, exerted an irresistible attraction on his imagination. During his teenage years, Chuck had begun carrying his camera wherever he went. He even set up a darkroom in his parents’ apartment, where he would print negatives while listening to jazz. Though not a full-time photographer, his cameras are always near at hand and his photographic “eye” is always open. Over the years, his work has been exhibited in several galleries and has won awards. For the last five years, Chuck has been reviewing and photographing live jazz for All About Jazz.com, the largest jazz website. Currently, the artist continues to work on a lifelong project of documenting jazz, in addition to pursuing other photographic studies of the world of man and the world of nature.
