During the height of mid-century jazz, so many of the world's best African-American artists headed to Paris to perform. The choice of the City of Lights as host was no accident: the city offered these artists a level of equality, respect, and honor that was rare to find in 1950s and 60s America.  

French photographer Jean-Pierre Leloir, himself a huge jazz fan, tagged along with most of the greats, channeling his admiration into his own art for all to enjoy. In his book Jazz Images, the viewer sees beautiful, intimate portraits taken backstage, on stage, and after hours. I first discovered this book through The New Yorker, and as I've long been a fan of jazz, the subject matter caught my eye immediately. Whether it's Billie Holiday with her characteristic look of weary exhaustion (one would assume her tiredness goes beyond customary New York to Paris jet lag) or Thelonious Monk inconspicuously smoking a cigarette amongst other tobacco-obsessed Parisians, each photograph presented in Jazz Images is a compelling reminder of the beauty and power of the artists' personhood and work.