Ever wondered what it was like to live in a New York city artists loft back in the day? NPR and WNYC report on photographer W. Eugene Smith's 4,000 hours of reel-to-reel tape recordings and 40,000 photos of his loft apartment. In the '50s and '60s, jazz musicians stopped by his building (821 Sixth Avenue) at all hours for jam sessions.
W. Eugene Smith, a Life magazine photographer was assigned to take 30 photos of the jazz loft. He ended up leaving his family in a small upstate New York town, and moving in to the building. He took 40,000 photos of the musicians, the loft space, and his many cats (the original inspiration for his tape recordings). The loft cost $40 a month and had little electricity or water. At the time, the neighborhood (west 20s along Sixth Avenue) was strictly commercial and deserted at night. Smith's photographs and recordings give an amazing picture of living in The Jazz Loft.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE JAZZ LOFT
• The Jazz Loft Project website
• The Jazz Loft Project: Sights And Sounds series on NPR
Images: W. Eugene Smith
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Luckily, driving home from Maryland to Long Island, I caught a segment of this radio piece on NPR. (Probably one of the few times I've been happy to sit in traffic.)
A week or so later, on the road again, I caught another piece.
The subject is fascinating, to me, and the inner life and history captured my attention. Someday I'd love to hear the entire project, and read or see the written and photographic materials.
But somewhere other than my car ;)
"At the time, the neighborhood (west 20s along Sixth Avenue) was strictly commercial and deserted at night."
And people were moving in droves to the Long Island.
Go figure.
Elliott Banfield
http://www.elliottbanfield.com/