Author Description

From 1985 to the present, Hank O'Neal interviewed 42 jazz legends who made music in Harlem during its heyday and decline. In their homes or immediate neighborhoods, he took their portraits with a large-format view camera and talked with them about what had been the best places to play, the interaction of the races, and about why the Harlem scene had faded. For each 'session' with a jazz legend, O'Neal has supplemented the interview and portraits with many of his other photographs, historical photographs and memorabilia. From the archives of Chiaroscuro Records, O'Neal has produced a CD that accompanies the book, which features sixteen of the 'ghosts' playing at the ends of their careers, between 1972 and 1996, including Cab Calloway, Milt Hinton, Doc Cheatham, Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Tate, Eddie Barefield, Earl Hines, and Illinois Jacquet.