The dynamic, insistent and often improvised sound of jazz is hard to pin down, yet instantly recognizable.
Originating in New Orleans, with roots in ragtime and blues, jazz is justifiably regarded as one of America’s greatest original art forms. Pay homage to some of the best in jazz with our archive of jazz photography, including the brilliantly unpredictable Miles Davis, the master of free jazz John Coltrane, the regal Ella Fitzgerald and the percussive Thelonious Monk.
-
Ray Charles in the Studio
Photo by: Bill Ray © Life Picture Collection
View -
Ray Charles at Carnegie Hall, 1966
Photo by: Bill Ray © Life Picture Collection
View -
Ray Charles at Carnegie Hall
Photo by: Bill Ray © Life Picture Collection
View -
Ray Charles With a Camera
Photo by: Bill Ray © Life Picture Collection
View -
Ray Charles Plays Piano
Photo by: Bill Ray © Life Picture Collection
View -
Billie on Holiday
Photo by: Bridgeman Images
View -
Ray
Photo by: Tom Copi
View -
Sade, 1984
Photo by: Mirrorpix
View -
Miles Davis Playing the Trumpet
Photo by: Robert W. Kelley © Life Picture Collection
View -
Jazz Players Studio Jam Session
Photo by: Gjon Mili © Life Picture Collection
View -
Stevie’s Harmonica
Photo by: Mirrorpix
View -
Thelonious Monk At Basin Street
Photo by: Donaldson Collection
View -
Billie Holiday, live at Downbeat
Photo by: King Rose Archives
View