Frank Sinatra photographed by Bill Gottlieb, 1947, at a recording session
When I was an adolescent, I was obsessed with being cool and hip. An older friend once got quite upset with me when he asked me what I wanted to be when I ‘grew up’ and I replied, “I just want to be cool.”
I love the way Wynton Marsalis defines ‘cool’, in the documentary Bill Gottlieb: Riffs
“I always have loved this picture of Frank Sinatra. Just the whole thing, is like the essence of cool. He’s looking off; kind of got a harshness.
“The essence of cool is always harsh, because cool is always the denial of something. So the warmth of cool is very deep. The actual essence of hipness is denial; and that’s what makes you hip – is that you’re able to push things away from you.”
Bill Gottlieb was a jazz aficionado, critic, and photographer. He was one of the first and best photographers to properly document jazz musicians in the ‘golden age’ of modern jazz.
Using a big Speed Graphic press camera which had a very limited film capacity – two negatives per cartridge, which needed to be separately loaded – his rapport with the musicians and his sense of the perfect moment were crucial to these most iconic of jazz photos.
Many of his photos were taken in the short span of two years, 1946-1947. Bill Gottlieb: Riffs is a documentary about his photographs and the musicians, with many colorful and telling anecdotes. If you like biographies, photography and/or jazz, you will love this documentary.
Another great photographer of note was Francis Wolff. He co-founded Blue Note Records with Alfred Lion. It was one of the preeminent jazz labels, known for supporting new artists and new ideas in jazz. They were taste-makers and visionaries, always on the cutting edge. Another good documentary that tells their story is: Blue Note – A Story of Modern Jazz.
//
Amyeighttrack's Blog 
December 28, 2012 at 12:47 pm
He looks gaunt in that photo. I’m used to seeing photos of him when he was older and was wearing fitted suits. Looks like that belt is holding up trousers that are too big. I bet there’s a story behind that photo.
December 28, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Yes there is a context. It’s why I recommend the video.
He was in the midst of challenges from other singers of his era; at a nadir of his own popularity.
He was an absolute perfectionist at the session, which included a full orchestra. At the end of the session he looked tired, which was won through honest effort.
The photographer wondered if it was bluster or perfectionism which compelled him to insist on take after take, so he asked the musicians.
“Yes,” they said, “he was right in every instance.”
A critic remarks about him, “This is why his music swings so hard.”
January 15, 2013 at 6:52 pm
Also, those baggy, high-waisted pants were very stylish back then. If you notice, the belt hasn’t slipped down – it’s exactly where it’s supposed to be. The belt loop fits the belt perfectly.
It was a style adopted from the ‘zoot-suit’ – which was perhaps Latino youths’ fashion and cultural response to their much maligned status within the U.S. It was used as an excuse for Anglos to riot against the Latinos in 1943; supposedly because they objected to the ‘extravagance’ of the materials and tailoring during the lean years of WW II.
See ‘zoot suit’ and ‘zoot suit riots’ on Wiki for more background.