DJ Ryan Swift

austinkleon:

Drummer Gene Krupa performing at Gjon Mili’s studio. NYC, 1941

*Amazing* photographs from LIFE Magazine’s photo archives. Originally featured in the July 9th, 1941 article, “GENE KRUPA SHOWS HOW TO PLAY DRUM IN THESE FANTASTIC SOUND PICTURES.”

In these unusual shots Krupa illustrates some rudiments of drumming. They were taken by Gjon Mili’s multiple-exposure camera so you could follow the track of Krupa’s drumsticks whizzing through the air. But they are interesting also as impressionistic portraits of sound, suggesting the rhythmic pandemonium of a Krupa jam session.

….As a drum historian, he likes to tell how Napoleon Bonaparte was once defeated by Russians who were roused to a fighting frenzy by Cossack drummers. Says Krupa proudly, “I have Cossack blood myself.”

Also, be sure to follow the LIFE Tumblr.

All photos this week were taken by the man in the middle, the amazing (and self-taught!) William P. Gottlieb.  Check out the rest of the collection in the Flickr Commons if you haven’t already, it’s truly amazing.

There are more photos to come, this set has only scratched the surface:

The first 200 images in this set show the photos published alongside the photographer’s personal recollections in his book, The Golden Age of Jazz. We’ll add more photos each month until all 1,600 are in Flickr, with thanks to our Music Division for contributing such dramatic images.

Above:

[Portrait of Jimmie Lunceford, William P. Gottlieb, and Gene Krupa, Washington, D.C., ca. 1940] (LOC)

Gottlieb, Delia Potofsky, photographer.

1 negative : b&w ; 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 in.