FOTOJAZZEANDO

Jorge Lardone: Images of music

“Here was a photographer with the soul of a jazz musician. He 'felt' what he was capturing on film.” (Gail Wynters) 

For people who live in places where Jazz is a part of the culture, Jorge’s story is unique. It is a reason for this gallery to have taken shape. At a time when we have had to rely on technology to maintain our lives at fairly basic levels, his history of developing venues for sharing his love of music is inspirational. The kind of determination it must have taken to bring attention to music from another culture, to a place that is quite like another world, is affirming. It demonstrates that passion is contagious. It demonstrates that, at a time before technology, Jorge must have had a deep and contagious conviction that he shared directly with a multitude of people to create a community where it did not exist before. In this case, a community that shared a love for Jazz that has been sustained and has grown under his care.

His photographs, documents of the concerts he organized, as well as documents of his joy as a viewer, are more like poems, than records. They are verification of his participation, not as a musician, as a fellow artist. His images have received the approval of those musicians, who recognize the special atmosphere of “jazz” that pervades his work.

In part, this is because Lardone, who works with non-professional cameras, always uses natural light from the environment, instead of flash. Some images have a soft light that drapes over skin and instrument, suggestive of reflective moments within a composition, quiet and subdued; others have less detail and high contrast, blur and color splashes, conjuring dissonance, high energy, explosive moments of spontaneity, that the camera has barley been able to contain.

A critic from "El Mercurio" newspaper (Chile) wrote about Lardone’s photographs: "Lardone gave us a subjective view of jazz with images that deliver camera moments of special evanescence in jazz improvisation. 

Jorge Lardone uses the instant to accord his photographs with mystery and suggestion".

Gallery 1: double click on an image to enlarge them. use the controls on the left and right of the image to scroll through the selection

Jorge was born in San Rafael City (Mendoza Province, Argentina) in 1948. He learned photography as a child in his father´s business: Optica Lardone, an optometry store. He can recall learning about lenses and working in the darkroom of that store. In the seventies and early eighties he was a part of local Photo Club activities, winning many prizes. 1984 was the year of his first exhibition, and since then he has participated in 115 individual and collective exhibitions in his province, his country and abroad.

Now, he is a retired producer and journalist, who specialized in jazz, an ex-member of Jazz Journalists Association (U.S.A.), the founder of “Jazz Club Gato Barbieri” (non profit Cultural organization); and creator and Director of “Festival Internacional Fotojazzeando”.

His portfolio includes many of the main Jazz musicians from different scenes around the world. His images have been published in magazines, newspapers and on-line. The Fotojazzeando Collection was shown for the first time in San Rafael in 1988. Since then it has been displayed 50 times to date in San Rafael and Bariloche, Buenos Aires, El Bolsón,  General Alvear,  Godoy Cruz, Mendoza & Rosario (Argentina); Viña del Mar (Chile); La Habana (Cuba); Sabadell (Spain); Helsinki y Turku (Finland); Crema, Milano y Torino (Italy); Stockholm (Sweden). And now at the Grady Alexis Gallery.   

Musicians are seen performing live in concerts and in rehearsals, back stage and off stage. The collection includes well-known musicians as well as, musicians known locally: Dino Saluzzi; Gustavo Bergalli; Roque Crescitelli; Wynton Marsalis; Enrico Rava; Gato Barbieri; Joe Lovano;  Seppo Paakkunainen; Francois de Lima; Conrad Herwig; Jiggs Whigham; Riccardo Fassi; Eero Ojanen; Eddie Palmieri;  Horace Silver; Luis Basaure; Teppo Hauta-aho; Jorge Hernáez; Lonnie Plaxico; Elvin Jones; Max Roach; Claudia Acuña; Teri Thornton; Silvina Tinte; Gail Wynters; George Benson; Enzo Rocco; etc. 

Gallery 2: double click on an image to enlarge them. use the controls on the left and right of the image to scroll through the selection

This exhibition represents Jorge Lardone’s artistic expression and the historical background of “Festival Internacional Fotojazzeando”, the most successful Jazz festival in central/west Argentina. San Rafael is Fotojazzeando´s main place but there were also important activities in other cities such as General Alvear, Godoy Cruz and Mendoza (province´s capital city).

“Festival Internacional Fotojazzeando”, was an independent cultural non for profit festival with a very small budget. From 1991 to 2004 thirteen international exhibitions have taken place with the participation of artists (musicians, photographers, dancers, painters)  from the country and Austria, Brasil, Canada, Chile, England, Finland, Italy, Spain and U.S.A, among others: Guillermo Bazzola, Roque Crescitelli, Ernesto Jodos, Luis Basaure, Quique Sinesi, Pablo Satek, David Haney, Jorge Hernáez, Jordi Clua, Teppo Hauta-aho, Eero Ojanen, Seppo Paakunainen, George Haslam, Ricardo Fassi, Enzo Rocco, Greg Kelley, Gail Wynters, Jazzmanía Quartet, Pablo Kusselman, etc-      

Gallery 3: double click on an image to enlarge them. use the controls on the left and right of the image to scroll through the selection

Fotojazzeando is unique project. It captures the need for music, and because of this need, it shows how music flows between borders, in the land, through water, and over mountains. The language of music cannot be contained. Jorge’s story is epic, for this example alone. How the Jazz of New Orleans and New York City found itself among the vineyards of Mendoza is in itself a magical thing. That Jorge’s images capture the proof of how Jazz has influenced cultures all over the world, and that that music has come back transformed, expressing the rhythms of the Andes, is another. 

Gallery 4: double click on an image to enlarge them. use the controls on the left and right of the image to scroll through the selection

This program is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with, the City Council. Additional funding comes from the Jacob and Ruth Epstein Foundation and individual donations. 

We Thank You!