The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco: Archie Shepp

May 30th, 2024

…..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 Archie Shepp, who since the 1960’s has been a major exponent of avant-garde jazz.

…..The photos of Shepp (and his rhythm section for the evening) were taken at Bimhuis on May 13, 2001.

All photos © Giovanni Piesco

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…..Archie Shepp has been a stalwart of the avant-garde jazz scene since the 1960’s. As a leader, he has recorded over 90 albums that have featured countless important contributors to jazz music, and has collaborated with the likes of Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Horace Parlan, and John Coltrane, who admired Shepp enough to have him participate in the legendary 1964 A Love Supreme sessions. While the take with Shepp (“Acknowledgement”) was not included in the original LP release, it was made available in a 2002 reissue, and can be heard following Giovanni’s photos.

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Archie Shepp
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Photos of Shepp’s rhythm section who performed with him that evening

Pianist Tom McClung

Bassist Wayne Dockery

Drummer Steve McCraven

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Listen to an alternate take recording of John Coltrane’s “Acknowledgement,” with Coltrane and Archie Shepp (saxophone); McCoy Tyner (piano); Jimmy Garrison (bass); Richard Davis (bass); and Elvin Jones (drums). [Universal Music Group]

The jazz journalist Lewis Porter writes about the A Love Supreme session with Shepp, which can be read by clicking here

In 2021, Shepp collaborated with the pianist Jason Moran on an album, Let My People Go, that included this breathtaking version of the spiritual “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” on which Shepp plays soprano sax and sings.