(Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1923 - 2010, Los Angeles, California)
(Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1923 - 2010, Los Angeles, California)
1958 (printed later)
Gelatin silver print
17 1/8 x 14 in. (43.4 x 35.6 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of George Stephanopoulos
2007.106
Leonard captured a casual moment with saxophonist Johnny Hodges (1906-1970) at the world famous Brasserie Lipp in Paris. By the late 1950s and early 1960s Leonard’s old New York friends like Hodges were no longer obscure musicians but renowned stars of American Jazz. Hodges was one of the most influential saxophonists prior to Charlie Parker and played with Duke Ellington’s orchestra for nearly four decades. For many African-American musicians, Europe proved to be a haven from the social barriers and discrimination that restrained their lives in the United States.