The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco: Arthur Blythe

October 6th, 2023

…..The Naples, Italy native Giovanni Piesco is an Amsterdam-based photographer who since 1985 has taken photographs of the famous and the unknown, in places and in ritual, consistently demonstrating a flair for capturing the essence of human character.

…..Among his passions is jazz music and the musicians who create it. Beginning in 1990, Giovanni began taking backstage photographs of many of the great musicians who played in Amsterdam’s Bimhuis, that city’s main jazz venue which is considered one of the finest in the world.

…..Jerry Jazz Musician will occasionally publish portraits of jazz musicians that Giovanni has taken over the years. This edition is of the saxophonist Arthur Blythe and his trio, taken on the evening of June 24, 1999.

Click here to visit Giovanni Piesco’s website

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Arthur Blythe (1940 – 2017) was a Los Angeles-born musician who, during the 1970’s and 1980’s, merged the worlds of free and traditional jazz to the point that his music made a creative, if not widely popular, breakthrough. He led over 20 recording sessions during his career, many of them on major record labels.

On the evening these photographs were taken, Blythe and his trio (Blythe, alto saxophone; Bob Stewart, tuba; and Cecil Brooks III, drums) recorded their album Spirits in the Field [High Note Records].

All photos © Giovanni Piesco

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Arthur Blythe
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Bob Stewart.

Cecil Brooks III.

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Listen to the 1999 recording of the Arthur Blythe Trio playing “One Mint Julip” from the Spirits in the Field live album that was recorded the night Giovanni Piesco’s photos were taken [Savant/IDOL]