He photographed the most recognizable names in jazz, and the photography category for the National Jazz Awards carries his name. Bob Parent was a New York-based photographer whose lucid, defining images appeared regularly in Life, Downbeat magazine, in books and on album covers. He spent countless nights in the dimly lit jazz clubs of Boston and New York, capturing images of all the jazz greats during the post-war era, from Sidney Bechet to John Coltrane. The eighteen legendary artists highlighted in this collection (#1) are: Art Blakey, Bill Evans, Buddy Rich, Charlie Parker, Chet Baker, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Gerry Mulligan, Horace Silver, Jimmy Guiffre, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Sidney Bechet, Thelonious Monk, and the original Birdland jazz club. Prints are available for purchase.
For more great images from this photographer, be sure to check out Jazz Noir 2.