William P. Gottlieb began writing a weekly jazz column for The Washington Post as a student, and when the paper would not pay for a photographer he borrowed a press camera and took the pictures himself. After the war he worked for Down Beat until he left jazz journalism in 1948. These nine portraits date from 1946 to 1948, and his photographs are in the public domain.
Billie Holiday and her dog Mister
Billie Holiday posed with her boxer, Mister, at the Downbeat club in New York around February 1947. The negative in the Library of Congress is a square 2¼ inches on a side. Mister has the look of a dog who has sat through a great many sound checks.
Louis Armstrong at the Aquarium
Louis Armstrong plays the trumpet at the Aquarium, a New York jazz club, around July 1946. A white handkerchief is tied on his head, and the plaid jacket does the rest of the talking. The wall behind him is so shiny that it throws the flash back like a second, softer light.
Ella Fitzgerald laughing
Ella Fitzgerald, photographed in November 1946, laughs at something just out of the frame. She wears a small crown pin at her neckline and a dress with studs along the shoulders. Gottlieb mostly shot musicians while they played or sang, but this looks like a moment between songs.
Dizzy Gillespie at the Famous Door
Dizzy Gillespie was photographed at the Famous Door, a New York club, around June 1946. He wears round black glasses and a striped suit, and holds his trumpet against his chest like something he is a little proud of. The flowered wallpaper behind him is doing its best to compete.
Thelonious Monk at Minton’s Playhouse
Thelonious Monk sits at the piano at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem around September 1947. He had been part of the club’s house band in the early 1940s, when bebop was taking shape there. He looks at the camera sideways from behind his glasses, as if the keys can wait.
Duke Ellington at the piano
Duke Ellington was photographed at the Aquarium in New York sometime between 1946 and 1948; the record cannot say more exactly. He leans into the keys with his mouth open, caught mid-phrase, and the camera is clearly an afterthought.
Charlie Parker at Carnegie Hall
Charlie Parker plays alto saxophone at Carnegie Hall around 1947, according to the record. The light is hard and white behind him, so his shadow falls on the wall like a second player. His head is tilted up, as if he can already hear the next phrase.
Lionel Hampton at the Aquarium
Lionel Hampton plays the vibraphone at the Aquarium in New York around June 1946. He is bent over the bars with his mouth open and his hands a blur, and a bassist is half hidden behind him at the back of the frame.
Sarah Vaughan at Café Society
Sarah Vaughan sings at Café Society Downtown in New York around August 1946. Her eyes are closed and the microphone is close, so the picture feels like it was taken during the quiet part of a song. The room behind her is dark, and the stage seems to belong to her alone.
