Just over two decades ago, Carol Friedman began a series of portraits of jazz musicians that would come to define the essence of her style. This assemblage makes evident her admiration for - and keen attention to - her subjects and the jazz form itself. Forgoing the conventional backdrop of the stage, she did not make her pictures while the music was playing. Instead, she focused on the emotion and spontaneity that she believed were as integral to personality as they were to performance.

Sarah Vaughan, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Eubie Blake, Dizzy Gillespie, Abbey Lincoln, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock, Gil Evans, Nina Simone, Gerry Mulligan, Johnny Hartman, Cecil Taylor, Shirley Horn, Joe Henderson, Roy Eldridge, Kenny Barron, Joe Williams, Red Garland, Art Blakey, Lena Horne, Stan Getz and Count Basie are among the celebrated artists included in this collection.