Fantagraphics Books has just released Invitation To Openness: The Jazz & Soul Photography Of Les McCann 1960-1980 a beautiful hardcover coffee table book which collects the photographs of legendary musician Les McCann; he documented the jazz and soul scene —across several decades. All of them previously unpublished until now. Perhaps the largest collection of vintage unpublished jazz and soul photos taken by a sole photographer.
Throughout Les McCann’s incredible jazz career, he took hundreds of photos—at clubs, studios, and festivals around the world—and documented the vibrant cultural life of jazz and soul between 1960 and 1980. These photos include a very young Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sammy Davis Jr., John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin, Nancy Wilson, Richard Pryor, Quincy Jones, Tina Turner, Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderly, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, B.B. King, Errol Garner, Stanley Clarke, Bill Evans, Lionel Hampton, and other black celebrities, such as Muhammed Ali, Stokely Carmichael, Redd Foxx and even Martin Luther King, Jr. to name but a few. These photos are characterized by their intimacy, and the cross-section of names listed is merely the tip of the iceberg. The book features candid commentary by McCann himself and is curated by Pat Thomas (Listen, Whitey!: The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975) and maverick music producer Alan Abrahams (Joan Baez, Stanley Turrentine, Kris Kristofferson, Taj Mahal)
Here’s a link with more info about the book, including a jpeg of the front cover, 20 sample pages as a PDF, and a 90 second video clip of what’s inside the book as well.
