| In 2002, T.Roth's photo-portfolio of portraits of jazz musicians was accepted by the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., which boasts the best jazz imagery collection in the world. Having worked as a photographer in Paris, France for 12 years the portfolio was shot from 1993 to 1999.
The musicians were on tour, most of them based in the U.S. (New Yorkers, for the most part). Among them are famous personalities like Abbey Lincoln, Hank Jones, Ahmad Jamal, but also "then-young lions" like Joshua Redman, David Sanchez, Ravi Coltrane, and Roy Hargrove, who are now Jazz royalty. Since the 1940's Paris has been a stronghold of American Jazz. Artists such as Miles Davies, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dizzy Gillespie performed and lived there. In their function as "music ambassadors" they established a global tradition and a cultural link to one of |
Americas most significant art forms. The musicians portrayed represent this thriving cultural exchange. Their music creates connections that transcend everyday events and political shifts. They are part of cultural history. Thorsten was fortunate to have unlimited access to these wonderful musicians.
Initially, he was motivated by curiosity and the opportunity for a balance to the world of fashion and advertising. Eventually the work grew out of assignments for magazines and agencies. The German Marie-Claire featured T.Roth and his work in its October '96 issue; others appeared in publications such as El Pais Semanal, Libération, Figaro, Angeline's, Hot Jazz, and Jazz Thing, amongst others. T.Roth became close with many of the musicians, often driving them to some of Paris' | most famous locations to take their picture. It is certain that jazz's structural frame, which borrows from classical music and improvisational African roots, inspired T.Roth's photographic style. The legendary Von Freeman told him once: |