Description
Miles Davis Newman’s Gym 1970 Jim Marshall Photo
Photographer Jim Marshall was renowned for his ability to capture the mood, soul and personality of countless jazz greats, as evidenced by this 1970 portrait of Miles Davis at Newman’s Gym in San Francisco.
This was the year Davis released the monumental double-album, Bitches Brew, widely considered a turning point for modern jazz.
“I first photographed Miles Davis in 1959, but not too well. I remember after a show in Berkeley, California, a little later around 1960, I went up to him backstage and asked why he had a green trumpet. He shot back at me, ‘M—————r, do I ask you why you have a black camera?!'” – Jim Marshall
Professionally Framed with museum glass – approx 17.75″ x 21″
Silver gelatin print – approx 11″ x 14″
unsigned, stamped on reverse
This photo is known as – don’t hit me in the mouth, i gotta play tonight
The setting, Newman’s Gym, in 1971 and the fact that Miles would let Jim, or ANY photographer, shadow him during his workouts, which he viewed as sort of a sacred part of his regimen. And a boxing gym in the Tenderloin? For me, whose grandpa boxed Golden Gloves, I’m not sure there’s anything cooler.
The way Jim captures the combative side of Miles … somehow it’s not so surprising that Miles was a devotee of the sweet science. Boxing, especially back in the day, was a combo of deft, swift and lethal talents, something that Miles’ playing and Jim’s approach to capturing his subjects had in common.
