R.I.P. Photographer William Claxton
“William Claxton, a photographer of the famous who used his charm to lure jazz musicians from their dark, smoky natural habitat to pose on sunny beaches and carousels, then made stunningly intimate images of legendary loners like Steve McQueen and Frank Sinatra, died on Saturday (October 11th) in Los Angeles. He was 80.” His portraits of Chet Baker are particularly beautiful.
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Anyone unfamiliar with Chet Baker needs to listen to him sing “My Funny Valentine” or “I’ve never been in love before”, then look at Claxton’s photos.
Amazing, strange, sad and haunting.
The first time I heard Baker, I thought it was a woman’s smokey, lazy alto voice.
Then I heard his trumpet playing and was again taken aback.
Then I saw these photos.
Who knew that Chet Baker was a beautiful man?
Layer upon layer…
indeed layer upon layer, or listen to Chet do “Look For The Silver Lining” his singing matched only by his trumpet playing. Claxton captured Baker’s very very sad life.