Art Review: Photographer Bob Barry documents jazz musicians in their native environment
Among the milestones for Los Angeles jazz musicians are studying with a good teacher, holding your mud on the bandstand, playing Catalina’s, making your first tour with a big name, and your first recording. Add to that list when Bob Barry has photographed you in performance.
Like all of the great jazz photographers, Barry’s work has a viewpoint, a visual hallmark. His live shots are in black-and-white and his subjects are alone in the frame. Though caught in an instant in time, an essential truth of the performer seems to be part of a Barry photo. The late Ray Avery, who founded the Jazz Photographers Assn. of Southern California, dubbed Bob’s work “performance portraiture.”
A selection of that work will be part of Forest Lawn’s Black History Month observation, beginning Feb. 4: “Saluting L.A. Jazz: Performance Portraiture by Bob Barry,” in the lobby of the Hall of Liberty. On Feb. 6, the Hall hosts a one-night performance of WordTheater’s original production “And All That Jazz.” It’s a stage production of music, story, poetry, song and memoir — starring actors from movies and shows like “Selma,” “Orange is the New Black,” “Veep” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”
When native New Yorker Barry came to L.A. in 1980, it was to visit a friend during Christmas week. He already had careers in musical theater, commercial acting, and singing in upscale hotels in New York, but the disco era closed the door on his livelihoods. Hollywood held the promise of work and Barry acted in TV, commercials and film, though with no great satisfaction. “In television and commercials,” he points out, “there’s no chance to establish relationships. I’m an emotional person and I missed the sense of community you get working with people during a two-month musical.”
In 1997, Barry received a call from guitarist John Pisano. “He said he was putting together a Guitar Night,” Bob recounts, “and invited me. I took my camera along, without any great expectation. I got the pictures back from the lab and I was thrilled! John and the musicians liked them and I wanted to do more. I can probably count the number of Guitar Nights I’ve missed on one hand.”
Though he had always loved photography, and had even done many head shots for actor friends in New York and L.A., Barry’s camera work suddenly had passion and direction. “One visual aspect is compelling for me,” he explains. “When a guitarist holds his instrument, it’s an embrace; it’s almost sensual. And, of course, each night is different. My acting years taught me to think on my feet and be in the moment.”
Barry’s modus operandi is dependent on his eye and his patience. He uses available light and has to look for the moments and angles conducive to good images. “It’s a waiting game,” he says. “I’m waiting for my subject to move in such a way that the lighting is there. I wait until I see what I want and then I hit the button.”
Barry still photographs Pisano’s Guitar Nights and he’s a familiar sight at Catalina’s and the Jazz Bakery’s Moveable Feast series around town. “Access is what it’s all about,” he succinctly puts it.
Through his photography, Barry has found the community that he longed for. Part of that is his work as board member and staff photographer for the California Jazz Foundation, which financially aids struggling California jazz musicians. “It’s a great group of people to be involved with,” he notes with pride, “and the foundation does very important work.”
Of his own work, he notes: “These photos are not journalistic in any way,” Barry states. “It’s about the artists and how I see them. They’re unique people and I see them all as Don Quixote: they know the odds are against them but they’re incredibly brave in their pursuit. I admire that tremendously.”
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What: “Saluting L.A. Jazz: Performance Portraits by Bob Barry”
Where: Hall of Liberty, Forest Lawn — Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive
When: Feb. 4 to 28. Closed Monday through Wednesday.
More info: forestlawn.com
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KIRK SILSBEE writes about jazz and culture for Marquee.