Sight Readings

'A mixture of scientific history of photography and insight into a profession in the jazz world that we seldom think about. It is readable and deep at the same time. It can be assigned to the field of "new jazz studies", which have recognized that interdisciplinary views of music and its environment contribute to knowledge about the music itself. In doing so, Ainsworth succeeds in explaining different approaches, in drawing attention to perspectives and in bringing us closer to what we don't see. [...] Alan John Ainsworth's Sight Readings thus supplements every photo book collection with a documentation of what actually happens when a photographer photographs musicians, how photos influence the perception of jazz history and how they have formed our view of jazz.'

'Sight Readings is the outcome of at least 10 years of research and travel across the USA collecting photos and other archives and interviewing musicians and photographers. With a foreword by Darius Brubeck, the discission is structured into 10 chapters that move both thematically and chronologically through the period, developing a key theme of the book, that is, visualizing the sounds of jazz. This nuanced and erudite photographic history of jazz is supported by 136 jazz photographs. Its focus is on the formative period of both jazz and photography from the turn of the 20th century to 1960, though strays both back and forwards from these dates. Central to the narrative here is that this was also the period of segregation and the emerging struggles for civil rights along with the assertion of black identity within which jazz was crucially situated. It is difficult to do justice to this wide ranging and complex book in a brief review. The level of erudition and the breadth of discussion of jazz and photography that weaves together themes of race and migration, struggles for visibility, changing musical techniques all informed by a passion for jazz, are extremely impressive.[...] Sight Readings is a milestone in research on photography and American jazz.'

'This fascinating and beautifully-produced book addresses a neglected issue in jazz studies: the nature of the images which have plentifully illustrated writing on the medium. Alan John Ainsworth considers the work of American jazz photographers through the first sixty years of the twentieth century... [Ainsworth] has insightful discussion of neglected areas including studio publicity portraiture, the canonisation of white photographers that has largely been accepted in the jazz literature, and work done for the segregated press... Sight Readings is a groundbreaking contribution to its subject.'

'Here we have a thinking man's guide to early jazz photography that will appeal to fans of the art and science of photography, fans of history and fans of the photos and photographers who take the shots. It only makes sense when looking at author Alan John Ainsworth's resume. [...] It makes for insightful reading and viewing.'

'The most fascinating chapter explores early African American photographers, and here the book is invaluable - collating information about key figures, including Arthur Bedou, James Van Der Zee, Edward Elcha and Carroll T. Maynard. No previous study has shed such light on this vital and important era. [...] a timely, thorough and absorbing addition to the study of jazz iconography.'

'It is rare that somebody brings so much profound knowledge to the reading of pictures. To delve into the complexity of photographic agency that Ainsworth describes as "the imposition of an inner-directed personal vision and identity on the image" widens not only the horizon but also brings much into consciousness that many have very probably never thought about.'

'The book's originality lies in its ambition and range. There is nothing else in the market that covers the range of issues discussed in this book, draws on such a variety of scholarly and non-scholarly written material, or provides so much information about so many photographers. [...] The persuasive power of this work rests on its careful documentation and determined naming of photographers.'

"Sight Readings is an instant classic, a work of breathtakingly thorough research and seasoned erudition that shows how African American, Jewish emigre, and other photographers created a vast archive of jazz imagery that both reflected and shaped the emergence of American multiracial modernity. Himself a superb photographer and learned historian of the form, Ainsworth's concern is how photographers have gone about framing jazz as a space of aesthetic, cultural, and political meaning. Sight Readings teaches us how photographers approached their jazz subjects with a view to their expressive potential and social importance, and how jazz writers, listeners, and musicians themselves can better grasp the richness and complexity of jazz history through visual evidence. An exemplary model of multi-sensorial music criticism, this excellent book enables us to see, hear, feel, and think about jazz much more deeply."

John Gennari, professor of English and critical race and ethnic studies at the University of Vermont; author of Blowin' Hot & Cool: Jazz and Its Critics (University of Chicago Press. 2006).

"Sight Readings is the definitive book on jazz photography. It will certainly continue to be so well into the future. I admire its theoretical sophistication as well as its exhaustive account of the many artists who devoted themselves to creating a photographic record of jazz."

Krin Gabbard, author of Better Git It in Your Soul: An Interpretive Biography of Charles Mingus (University of California Press, 2016).

"Like an expansive jazz solo, Sight Readings both digs deep and flies high, remapping the history and redefining the conceptualization of jazz photography as a subgenre. Alan Ainsworth uncovers studio publicity portraiture, vernacular photography, and work done for the segregated black press, among other new directions, while illuminating the faded jazz image of the early twentieth century."

Benjamin Cawthra, assistant professor of history at California State University, Fullerton; author of Blue Notes in Black and White: Photography and Jazz (University of Chicago Press, 2013).