The 2022 Big Portrait Grid! As always, many thanks to stylists Angela Brasington, Kimberly Cox, and Karen Koenig or their expert touches.
If you like these portraits, youβll love yours. Find out how to book your session here.
saxophone
The 2022 Big Portrait Grid! As always, many thanks to stylists Angela Brasington, Kimberly Cox, and Karen Koenig or their expert touches.
If you like these portraits, youβll love yours. Find out how to book your session here.
In November, I had the great fortune of spending three days on three different campuses of the Music Institute of Chicago. From a roomful of musical toddlers to the New Horizons senior band, there was music from everyone, reminding me of my own days of Suzuki cello. The enthusiastic students, teachers, MIC staff, and parents gave me a rich and memorable experience. The future of music is in good hands.
Photos Β© Copyright 2015 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
I spent New Year's Eve 2014 in much the same way I spent most of the year: photographing great music. During Evanston's First Night celebration, I hopped from one downtown cathedral to another, in and out of the cold, to catch some killer jazz ensembles, as well as slam poet extraordinaire Marc Smith doing his thing. Here are some of my favorite shots from the evening, the last pictures I took in 2014, and some of the first of 2015.
Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan
Steve Gibons (violin) with Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan
John Bany (bass), Alfonso Ponticelli, Alex Udvary (cimbalom)
Howard Levy and Chevere
Joe Rendon (percussion), Ernie Denov (guitar) with Chevere
Howard Levy and Alejo Poveda
Ruben Alvarez
Ernie Denov
Steve Eisen (sax), Mark Ohlsen (trumpet)
Chevere de Chicago
The Slam Papi, Marc Smith (so what).
Marc Smith
Regina Carter
Regina Carter
Regina Carter and Southern Comfort
Fire Jamming
Fire Jamming
I wish the Pharez Whitted Group had a standing gig at the Green Mill. These guys played some of the hardest-hitting, soulful music I'd heard at the Mill all year. From my seat down front, I had clean views of most of the band (no music stands!), so I snapped away.
My affinity for jazz has grown in the last year alongside my approach to photography, and I believe the two are related. I've discovered that, for me, photography is largely improvisational. I arrive at a shoot with an idea of what I want, but the final product is often a collaboration between the subject or client and myself. The best images come from on-the-spot decisions, and I've learned to embrace the unknown or unexpected. Jazz teaches me this lesson every time.
Thanks to Pharez Whitted (trumpet), Eddie Bayard (sax), Lovell Bradford (keys), Jon Wood (bass), and Greg Artry (drums) for a weekend of killer music.
I'm pretty lucky to have one of the world's greatest jazz clubs three blocks away from my apartment. Recently, I've seen saxophonist Victor Goines, who performs around the world with the Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; and accordion virtuoso Julien Labro and the Hot Club of Detroit. Click through the gallery below for some views from my table.