"A Great Day in Harlem" & "A Great Day in San Diego"

4 Photos

Inspired by two remarkable photographs celebrating the spirit of jazz and music community, this blog identifies each participant and their placement within both “A Great Day in Harlem” and NAMM’s “A Great Day in San Diego.” Together, these images capture generations of influential musicians whose artistry helped shape the musical landscape.

In 1958 a photographer by the name of Art Kane was hired by Esquire with the intention of snapping a photo that encapsulated the “golden age of jazz” and the result has been deemed “A Great Day in Harlem.” Inspired by the photo and collection of iconic jazz musicians, filmmaker Jean Bach created the documentary A Great Day in Harlem, which later went on to be nominated for the 1995 Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Below is a guide to each of the 57 participants in “A Great Day in Harlem,” corresponding with their placement in the photograph. A few of the names are even linked to their NAMM Oral History interviews, if we were fortunate enough to add them to our collection.

“A Great Day in Harlem”

  1. Hilton Jefferson (1903-1968)
  2. Benny Golson (1929-)
  3. Art Farmer (1928-2003)
  4. Wilbur Ware (1923-1979)
  5. Art Blakey (1919-1990)
  6. Chubby Jackson (1918-2003)
  7. Johnny Griffin (1928-2008)
  8. Dickie Wells (1909-1985)
  9. Buck Clayton (1911-1993)
  10. Taft Jordan (1915-1981)
  11. Zutty Singleton (1898-1975)
  12. Henry “Red” Allen (1908-1967)
  13. Tyree Glenn (1912-1972)
  14. Miff Mole (1898-1961)
  15. Sonny Greer (1903-1982)
  16. J.C. Higginbotham (1906-1973)
  17. Jimmy Jones (1918-1982)
  18. Charles Mingus (1922-1979)
  19. Jo Jones (1911-1985)
  20. Gene Krupa (1909-1973)
  21. Max Kaminsky (1908-1994)
  22. George Wettling (1907-1968)
  23. Bud Freeman (1906-1988)
  24. Pee Wee Russell (1906-1969)
  25. Ernie Wilkins (1922-1999)
  26. Buster Bailey (1902-1967)
  27. Osie Johnson (1923-1968)
  28. Gigi Gryce (1927-1983)
  29. Hank Jones (1918-2010)
  30. Eddie Locke (1930-2009)
  31. Horace Silver (1928-2014)
  32. Luckey Roberts (1887-1968)
  33. Maxine Sullivan (1911-1987)
  34. Jimmy Rushing (1902-1972)
  35. Joes Thomas (1909-1984)
  36. Scoville Browne (1915-1994)
  37. Stuff Smith (1909-1967)
  38. Bill Crump (1919-1980s)
  39. Coleman Hawkins (1904-1969)
  40. Rudy Powell (1907-1976)
  41. Oscar Pettiford (1922-1960)
  42. Sahib Shihab (1925-1993)
  43. Marian McPartland (1918-2013)
  44. Sonny Rollins (1929-)
  45. Lawrence Brown (1905-1988)
  46. Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981)
  47. Emmett Berry (1915-1993)
  48. Thelonious Monk (1917-1982)
  49. Vic Dickenson (1906-1984)
  50. Milt Hinton (1910-2000)
  51. Lester “Pres” Young (1909-1959)
  52. Rex Stewart (1907-1972)
  53. J.C. Heard (1917-1988)
  54. Gerry Mulligan (1927-1995)
  55. Roy Eldridge (1911-1989)
  56. Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993)
  57. William “Count” Basie (1904-1984)

Gaining inspiration from this iconic representation of jazz, NAMM Music Historian Dan Del Fiorentino, with the help of musician and music advocate Murray Davison, arranged for their own photo to capture a modern collection of musicians that later became known as “A Great Day in San Diego.” Dan and Murray coordinated more than 69 individuals to gather at NAMM headquarters in Carlsbad, California, in 2000 for the special photograph, which was captured by photographer Michael Oletta.

Below is a guide to each of the 69 participants in “A Great Day in San Diego,” corresponding with their placement in the photograph. A few of the names are also linked to their NAMM Oral History interviews if we have been fortunate enough to include them in our ever-growing collection.

“A Great Day in San Diego”

  1. Amber Whitlock
  2. Robin Adler
  3. Lee O’Connor (1923-2009)
  4. Bobby Gordon (1941-2013)
  5. Joe Azarello
  6. Hollis Gentry 
  7. Bobby Byrne (1918-2006)
  8. Duncan Moore
  9. Carl Janelli (1927-2018)
  10. Daniel Papaila
  11. Bob Boss
  12. Leo Adelman
  13. Cath Eckert 
  14. Johnny Ace Harris
  15. Bob Finch
  16. John Ironman Harris
  17. Gunnar Biggs
  18. Jack Wheaton
  19. Tom Azarello
  20. Bruce Cameron
  21. Jimmer Bolden
  22. Jose Serrano
  23. Flip Oakes
  24. Jim Merod
  25. Greg Porter
  26. Kristen Korb
  27. Max Bennett (1928-2018)
  28. Rob Whitlock
  29. Ron Satterfield
  30. Shep Meyers
  31. Joe Marillo
  32. Marv Drucker (1930-2018)
  33. Charles McPherson
  34. Specs Powell (1922-2007)
  35. Don Purnell
  36. Robert McKewen
  37. Don Loeffler (1925-2012)
  38. John Smith (1910-2008)
  39. Jimmy Cheatham (1924-2007)
  40. Sammy Nestico (1924-2021)
  41. Lori Bell
  42. Benny Hollman
  43. Pam York
  44. Gary Scott
  45. Robert Jeffries
  46. Rob Thorsen
  47. Bert Turetzky
  48. Hal Smith
  49. Murray Davison (1921-2005)
  50. Dan Terry
  51. Paul Tanner (1917-2013)
  52. Pete De Luke
  53. Steve O’Connor
  54. Coral MacFarland-Thuet
  55. Kamau Kenyatta
  56. Art Johnson
  57. Valeria McPartland
  58. Mundell Lowe (1922-2017)
  59. Shari West
  60. Betty Bennett (1921-2020)
  61. Jeannie Cheatham
  62. Marguerita Page
  63. Chubby Jackson (1918-2003)
  64. James Moody (1925-2010)
  65. Herb Jeffries (1913-2014)
  66. Larry Linkin
  67. Mikole Kaar
  68. Dave Pike (1938-2015)
  69. Jaime Valle

Elizabeth Dale
Former NAMM Archivist

Dan Del Fiorentino
NAMM Music Historian
dand@namm.org