Paul Hoeffler
Encyclopedia
Paul Hoeffler was an American photographer based in Toronto, Canada. Hoeffler is mostly known for his photographs of the American Jazz scene of the 50’s and 60’s and of Jazz icons such as Louis Armstrong
, Duke Ellington
, Nat King Cole
, Oscar Peterson
, Jimmy Smith
, Count Basie
, Sarah Vaughan
and Billie Holiday
. He also had a great passion for classical music and cultivated a close friendship with the conductor Leopold Stokowski
, whom he photographed on many occasions during performances and in private.
Paul Hoeffler gained a BFA in photography at The Rochester Institute, where he studied under the supervision of Minor White
. After his graduation in 1959, Hoeffler moved to New York, where he worked as a master printer in a studio while building his career as a photographer.
He later started his own studio and worked for various magazines, including fashion magazines, and took up wide commercial and artistic assignments. Prestigious record companies such as Verve
, Mercury, Prestige and Blue Note
commissioned Hoeffler for numerous album covers.
He moved to Toronto, Canada in 1971, where he carried on with his passion for photographing musicians, festivals and clubs. He produced a few CDs, hosted a radio show and taught at Humber College and Ryerson University. His previous teaching experience was at the Parson's school of Design in New York.
Many of Hoeffler's photographs feature in the 2000 Emmy Awards-nominated documentary by Ken Burns
, "Jazz".
Paul Hoeffler died of cancer in 2005.
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
, Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith may refer to:* Jimmy Smith , American football player* Jimmy Smith , former NFL player with the Jacksonville Jaguars...
, Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
and Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
. He also had a great passion for classical music and cultivated a close friendship with the conductor Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
, whom he photographed on many occasions during performances and in private.
Paul Hoeffler gained a BFA in photography at The Rochester Institute, where he studied under the supervision of Minor White
Minor White
Minor Martin White was an American photographer born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.White earned a degree in botany with a minor in English from the University of Minnesota in 1933. His first creative efforts were in poetry, as he took five years thereafter to complete a sequence of 100 sonnets while...
. After his graduation in 1959, Hoeffler moved to New York, where he worked as a master printer in a studio while building his career as a photographer.
He later started his own studio and worked for various magazines, including fashion magazines, and took up wide commercial and artistic assignments. Prestigious record companies such as Verve
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
, Mercury, Prestige and Blue Note
Blue note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
commissioned Hoeffler for numerous album covers.
He moved to Toronto, Canada in 1971, where he carried on with his passion for photographing musicians, festivals and clubs. He produced a few CDs, hosted a radio show and taught at Humber College and Ryerson University. His previous teaching experience was at the Parson's school of Design in New York.
Many of Hoeffler's photographs feature in the 2000 Emmy Awards-nominated documentary by Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
, "Jazz".
Paul Hoeffler died of cancer in 2005.
Further reading
- Netsky, Ron. "Rhapsody in black and white. Paul Hoeffler retrieves al lost world" City Newspaper, 8 January 2003