The Jazz Loft

About this project:

In the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, photographer W. Eugene Smith made approximately 4,000 hours of reel-to-reel tape recordings, and took nearly 40,000 photos, in his lower Manhattan loft apartment. His was a building where the era’s top jazz musicians stopped by for jam sessions at all hours of the night. In a series of four reports on NPR’s Weekend Edition, culled from a 10-part series on WNYC, Sara Fishko explores the stories of The Jazz Loft.

I worked with Nelson Hsu and Patrick Jarenwattananon to put together this package that showcases a sampling of photos and audio clips (including three jam sessions) from the “jazz loft” during its heyday.

I’m in NYC at the moment and may have to take a stroll by the building, located at 821 Sixth Avenue, while I’m in town.

Explore the Project »