Compiling—as the DVD jacket points out—“stories from the man who documented the golden age of jazz,” Bill Gottlieb: Riffs presents an illuminating and entertaining profile of Gottlieb, whose work included the definitive image of Billie Holliday, as well as fascinating portraits of Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Dizzie Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker, Django Reinhardt, and NYC's famed 52nd St. on a rainy night. What's truly amazing is that these iconic photographs—extraordinary compositions that “capture the essential personality of the subject”—were created using an awkwardly hefty Rube Goldberg-like camera ironically named the Speed Graphic, which produced (digital shutterbugs take note) a whopping two pictures per film load. Featuring interviews with Gottlieb (who passed away in 2006), his wife Delia (a wonderful media-supportive librarian who also happens to be one of Video Librarian's biggest fans), jazz great Wynton Marsalis, the late Atlantic Records' mogul Ahmet Ertegun, Downbeat editor Jason Koransky, and others, Riffs is chock full of engaging anecdotes from the ‘40s tied to key photographs in Gottlieb's impressive oeuvre, including one of Duke Ellington in his dressing room (before donning his clothes, Gottlieb notes, the Duke emerged from the shower naked, looking “like a slob, just like I did”). The fact that so many jazz luminaries allowed this writer-cum-photographer such intimate access speaks volumes. The jazz world was fortunate to have Bill Gottlieb, a man whose sublime images were equal to the artistry of the music itself. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)
Bill Gottlieb: Riffs
(2007) 53 min. DVD: $19.99. Kultur International Films. ISBN: 0-7697-8670-7. Volume 23, Issue 3
Bill Gottlieb: Riffs
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