The sights and sounds of American jazz

In 1960, photographer William Claxton and noted German musicologist Joachim Berendt traveled the United States hot on the trail of jazz music. The result of their collaboration was an amazing collection of photographs and recordings of legendary artists as well as unknown street musicians.

The book Jazzlife, the original fruit of their labors, has become a collector`s item that is highly treasured among jazz and photography fans. In 2003, TASCHEN began reassembling this important collection of material – along with many never-before-seen color images from those trips. They are brought together in this updated volume, which includes a foreword by Claxton tracing his travels with Berendt and his love affair with jazz music in general. Utilizing the benefits of today's digital technology, a restored audio CD from Joachim Berendt's original recordings has been produced and is included in this package. Jazz fans will be delighted to be able to take a jazz-trip through time, both seeing and hearing the music as Claxton and Berendt originally experienced it.

• Featuring photographs of Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Muddy Waters, Gabor Szabo, Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Charlie Mingus, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and many more
• Includes bonus CD of digitally remastered recordings of music made during Berendt and Claxton's journey (originally released in 1960 as two records)

The photographer:
William Claxton (1927-2008) began his career shooting jazz record cover art. His iconic images of Chet Baker, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday and many others reflect his preeminence among photographers of jazz music. Claxton worked for many of the biggest publishers including Life, Paris Match, and Vogue magazines. His work has been shown in galleries around the world, and his photographic prints are now sought after by collectors of fine art photography. He passed away on October 11, 2008 in his hometown Los Angeles.

The author:
Joachim E. Berendt was a founding member of South West German Radio (Südwestfunk) and produced more than 250 records. In 1953, he first published Das Jazzbuch, which became the most successful history book on jazz worldwide. His collection of records, books, and jazz documents form the basis of the Jazzinstitut Darmstadt. Berendt died in an accident in 2000. His contributions to jazz are internationally recognized to this day.

Something Different: 52Aces

Here's a novel way of getting your hands on artwork. 52Aces is a limited-edition deck of cards in which the 52 tiny canvases (plus two jokers) were created by artists and illustrators from all over the world in their distinctive style. Some look like a regular playing card, others look tarot-y, while still others look like they belong in a gallery.

Frieze New York, Cool and Collected

It's all about art fairs these days (you can thank Art Basel for that). So it was only a matter of time before the most pioneering of them, Frieze in London, made its way to New York, where the art market—and its collective price tag—continues to scale new heights. We strolled the booths of Frieze New York (May 4-7) and captured on Instagram the works that grabbed our attention...

Phtography>Mood Board>Inspiring us right now

Inspiring us right now: Willi Ninja and the other limber voguers photographed by Chantal Regnault between 1989 and 1992, who are now immortalized in a new book: Voguing and House Ballroom Scene of New York. Following the success of Paris Is Burning, in which Willi Ninja features prominently (after being discovered by the director in Washington Square), he went on to choreograph videos for Malcolm McLaren's Deep in Vogue and Madonna's Vogue. He also dabbled in music and walked in a Jean Paul Gaultier show before succumbing to complications of AIDS in 2006.

Something Different: Marcelo Burlon

What do you get when you mix Lea T's celestial visage, culty Masonic-looking symbols, exotic bird feathers, Mapuche crosses from Patagonia, and kaleidoscopic images straight from a rave flyer? You get County of Milan, a new T-shirt line from Marcelo Burlon, the Milan-based DJ, stylist, photographer, self-described cultural nomad, reluctant Argentinean expat, and sometime Givenchy collaborator—with the graphic help of Giorgio Di Salvo. Multiculti was never like this.

Temperance – The Culture Hub

Temperance – The Culture Hub is here to take Mumbai by storm!


Mumbai, June 9th, 2012: Temperance, Bandra’s own premier culture hub welcomed the rains as it opened its doors to all that is artsy, quirky and fun at its quirky launch party on June 8th at Sherli Rajan Road, Bandra. Celebrated as Mumbai’s new culture destination, the entrance to the looked no less than a star studded event as Stilt Walkers, Fire Poi and Rope Malakhamb performers zestfully welcomed all who entered. Each floor showcased its own personality as different acts adorned all floors.  The ground level came alive as painters, crooners and guitarists put their best foot forward. Musicians Helena and the Mariachis, along with the stand-up comedian Daniel Fernandes kept all entertained whilst the sumptuous spread of food kept many gluttons within sight on Level I. Level III boasted of an intense Contemporary Dance performance by Temperance Dance Director Amey Mehta and Aastha Gulati; whereas Level IV showcased a Mixed Martial Arts demo by India’s undefeated MMA fighter Khushnoor Jijina, Martial Art Veteran Akhil Kapoor, Sensei Rishi Dev and Martial Artist Shiva Malani – all set to crazy African beats by Tribal Fauna.

Hema Thakur and Viola Wadia, sisters and owners of Temperance, played the perfect hosts to the special gathering which saw Taneesha Mukherjee, Manasvi Mamgai, Pavan Anand, Prerna Wanvari. Shampa Sonthalia, Monikangna Dutta, Mohena Kumari Singh and with over 600 people in which included supporters of culture, media personnel and artists alike who believed and wished to further the cause.
Barmobile served various mocktails at the evening along with finger food.




About Temperance – The Cultural Hub

Temperance – The Cultural Hub is a milieu of the many artistic expressions we commonly call life. The 4 storey building, spreading across 8000 sq. ft, houses a deli, dance & yoga studio, and a mixed martial arts facility, all  under one big roof that is deservedly in Bandra.
The culture hub also promotes book clubs, movie clubs, film-makers clubs and weekend workshops – slated to start June onwards. Started in May 2012, Temperance aims at going pan-city with its offering within the next two years. If it’s creative, it’s associated with Temperance.

To know more visit www.temperance.co.in or call us on 98338 33270 / 274
Like us on www.facebook.com/TemperanceIndia         Tweet to us @TemperanceIndia
Address: St. Xaverian Court, Sherli Rajan Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai – 400050.

Ten Years of Henrik Vibskov

The flip side of the staid, straight-laced Scandinavian ethos is a kind of dizzy, frizzy fantasyland inhabited by the likes of Bjork and Fever Ray. Add to that esteemed list Henrik Vibskov, fashion designer, visual artist, musician, stage designer and all-around great Dane whose runway shows are always a colorful and welcome escape from the confines of other, trend-oriented collections.

And now Henrik Vibskov is the author and editor of a self-titled book from Gestalten ($50), the first compilation of his multifaceted vision. Many of the stories and recollections are written by the designer himself, offering insight into the twisted worlds he's created in the last ten years.