Jazzhouse.org - Gene Martin Photographics

Jazz Journalists Association Entrance Gallery Library

Gene Martin Photographics

Gene Martin studied photography in college but spent the next 15 years as a professional guitar player. In the mid 1980's he resumed a career as an editorial photographer specializing in portraits of celebrities and music personalities. He soon became a leading portraitist of jazz artists by shooting numerous CD covers, posters and publicity for record companies, and covers for most major jazz publications worldwide. For JazzTimes alone, he has shot over 50 covers since 1988 and his image of jazz legend Sonny Rollins appeared on the 50th anniversary issue of Japan's Swing Journal. His images have appeared in mainstream magazines as well including Time, Newsweek, US, People, and Entertainment Weekly. Some of the other celebrities that have been in front of his lens include Evander Holyfield, Tony Randall, Cyndi Lauper, Ravi Shankar, Spike Lee, Bill Cosby, and Margaret Thatcher. He is best known for his conceptual work and in his artist statement he explains: "Through years of photographing entertainment personalities for magazines and record companies, I've always approached my work first in terms of concept, then composition and technique. Through this, my aim is to explore creative image making as a form of illustration. Whether it be blind pianist Marcus Roberts' musical 'vision', McCoy Tyner's virtuosity on the keys, or Canadian trumpeter Ingrid Jensen's embrace of American jazz, my goal has always been to tell a story about the performer in a single image." Gene Martin Gene Martin Photographics P.O. Box 2250 New York, NY 10021 Tel: 212-861-0811 Cell: 917-929-8767 GMPfoto@aol.com
Al DiMeola
Benny Golson

Gene Martin studied photography in college but spent the next 15 years as a professional guitar player. In the mid 1980's he resumed a career as an editorial photographer specializing in portraits of celebrities and music personalities. He soon became a leading portraitist of jazz artists by shooting numerous CD covers, posters and publicity for record companies, and covers for most major jazz publications worldwide. For JazzTimes alone, he has shot over 50 covers since 1988 and his image of jazz legend Sonny Rollins appeared on the 50th anniversary issue of Japan's Swing Journal. His images have appeared in mainstream magazines as well including Time, Newsweek, US, People, and Entertainment Weekly. Some of the other celebrities that have been in front of his lens include Evander Holyfield, Tony Randall, Cyndi Lauper, Ravi Shankar, Spike Lee, Bill Cosby, and Margaret Thatcher. He is best known for his conceptual work and in his artist statement he explains: "Through years of photographing entertainment personalities for magazines and record companies, I've always approached my work first in terms of concept, then composition and technique. Through this, my aim is to explore creative image making as a form of illustration. Whether it be blind pianist Marcus Roberts' musical 'vision', McCoy Tyner's virtuosity on the keys, or Canadian trumpeter Ingrid Jensen's embrace of American jazz, my goal has always been to tell a story about the performer in a single image."

Gene Martin
Gene Martin Photographics
P.O. Box 2250
New York, NY 10021
Tel: 212-861-0811
Cell: 917-929-8767
GMPfoto@aol.com

Al DiMeola

Benny Golson

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Jazz Journalists Association Entrance Gallery Library