NEWS FROM MAGNET BOUND PRESS | MICHAEL WEINTROB PHOTOGRAPHY AND LITTLE GEM SALOON
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Nancy Balik, PR Director (760) 333-9296 | [email protected] www.instrumenthead.com
ACCLAIMED MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHER MICHAEL WEINTROB AND LITTLE GEM SALOON PRESENT THE “INSTRUMENTHEAD” BOOK LAUNCH/ SUPERJAM, FEATURING WELL-LOVED NEW ORLEANS MUSICIANS AND EXHIBITION OF LARGE-SCALE MUSICIAN PORTRAITS FROM HIS ICONIC COLLECTION
Combination of exhibition, live music and book launch party open to the public on Thursday, April 27, beginning at 1 pm and Superjam starting at 9:30 pm, benefiting the New Orleans Musicians’ Assistance Foundation
(New Orleans, LA, April 6, 2017) —Kicking off the 2017 New Orleans Jazz Fest, acclaimed music photographer Michael Weintrob celebrates the launch of his much-anticipated book, INSTRUMENTHEAD, at the historic Little Gem Saloon with a Superjam concert featuring an array of well-loved New Orleans musicians, along with an exhibition of his large-scale portraits of iconic musicians, on Thursday, April 27, 2017 beginning at 9:30 pm in the venue’s upstairs Ramp Room. The INSTRUMENTHEAD exhibition will be open to the public beginning at 1 pm, along with live music throughout the day.
Local musicians, whose portraits appear in the INSTRUMENTHEAD collection, who will per- form at the INSTRUMENTHEAD Superjam include: Bill Summers (Los Hombres Calientes, Herbie Hancock); (Papa Mali (7 Walkers, M & Ms, solo artist); Peter Levin (Greg Allman Band, Blind Boys of Alabama); Kirk Joseph (Dirty Dozen Brass Band); Roger Lewis (Dirty Dozen Brass Band); Craig Klein (Bonerama); Terrence Higgins (Warren Haynes Band, Last Walt Trib- ute Band, Ani Difranco) and more.
INSTRUMENTHEAD comprises a vast collection of striking portraits shot since 2006, portray- ing diverse entertainers shown with their instruments obscuring their faces. Subjects include: Bootsy Collins, Mickey Hart, Junior Brown, Scott Avett of the Avett Brothers, and Derek Trucks. In the INSTRUMENTHEAD book, Weintrob has captured uniquely intimate expressions of 369 artists and their instruments, without ever showing their faces.
As Weintrob explains, “I have long been fascinated by the special interrelationship of the indi- vidual to his or her instrument, so I decided to place the instruments in front of their faces to blur the boundaries between each individual and the tools of their trade, aiming to get across my time-honored realization that this is where their heads are really at.”
There will be a $10 suggested donation at the door for entry, benefitting the New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation
INSTRUMENTHEAD EVENT DETAILS AT A GLANCE
WHO: Acclaimed music photographer Michael Weintrob with performances by local musicians (who also appear in book): Bill Summers, Papa Mali, Peter Levin, Kirk Joseph, Roger Lewis, Craig Klein, Terrence Higgins, and more.
WHAT: INSTRUMENTHEAD book launch, Superjam concert and fine art photographic exhibit of iconic musician portraits.
WHERE: Little Gem Saloon, Ramp Room, 445 S Rampart St, NOLA
WHEN: Thursday, April 27, 2017, 9:30 PM for Superjam. INSTRUMENTHEAD exhibition viewing open to the public beginning at 1 pm, with live music.
COST: $10 suggested donation at the door, benefitting the New Orleans Musicians’ Assistance Foundation.
About the Book Released by Magnet Bound Press, the INSTRUMENTHEAD book is a surrealist look into the soul of a musician, not through the eyes as with traditional portraiture, but through his or her in- strument.
It began in April of 2000, through a candid moment in a photoshoot with the Derek Trucks Band, which sparked an unprecedented art project, bringing together more than 500 musicians from across the globe over the course of nearly two decades. As a superior quality fine art book, INSTRUMENTHEAD is the culmination of this visionary project.
Honored in April 2017 with the Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) for Most Outstanding Design, the hardcover book was printed in Italy on three different types of fine art paper by Gra- fiche Antiga. Measuring 11” x 15”, the full-color book shows musicians as you’ve never seen them before, and conveys “where their heads are really at.” The book is offered with three dif- ferent cover options, featuring 369 different INSTRUMENTHEAD artist portraits, priced at $75. The book is available for purchase at www.instrumenthead.com
About the Artist Michael Weintrob has been shooting artist portraits and live music professionally since 1998. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Spin, Mojo, Billboard, Relix, Downbeat and Jazz Times, among other publications.
Weintrob’s eclectic collection ranges from mainstream to cult musicians and spans numerous genres. The INSTRUMENTHEAD series has been featured on NPR’s “The Checkout,” in Popu- lar Photography Magazine, in Nashville Arts Magazine, and Luxxe Immo Fine Art Magazine. INSTRUMENTHEAD has been shown at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival; North Sea Jazz Fes- tival; the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum; Gathering of the Vibes; the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival; Big Ears Festival and countless other venues, events, and galleries.
For more information, visit: www.instrumenthead.com
About the Little Gem Saloon Little Gem Saloon is a historic restaurant and live music venue that dates back to 1903 when it was known as Frank Douroux’s Little Gem Saloon. Located in the historic “Back O’ Town” neighborhood that bordered the infamous Storyville red-light district, the Little Gem Saloon was a hang out for early progenitors of Jazz like Buddy Bolden and Jelly Roll Morton. The 400 Block of S.Rampart Street, also known as “The Ramp”, was the crossroads of the teeming commercial district that was home to the Karnofsky Tailor Shop, where Louis Armstrong reportedly worked in his youth, numerous loan shops and famous Jazz clubs including the legendary Eagle Saloon, The Iroquois Theatre and The Little Gem Saloon.
The Little Gem Saloon was boarded up for close to 40 years until its rebirth in December 2012 when, with a vision and passion for Jazz, the Bazan family restored the Little Gem Saloon into a restaurant and live music destination. Harkening back to the days when Little Gem Saloon was truly the jazz corner of New Orleans, the new Little Gem Saloon includes a street-level dining room serving Southern Soul cuisine, a mahogany antique bar where bartenders offer handcrafted cocktails and an art-deco stage where small ensembles perform. Visit www.littlegemsaloon.com or call 504 267-4863.
About the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic & Assistance Foundation The New Orleans Musicians’ Assistance Foundation (NOMAF) evolved from the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic (NOMC, established 1998) following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. NOMAF expands the services of the NOMC and its mission to keep New Orleans music ALIVE by sus- taining the city’s traditional and emerging music cultures. They do this by providing cost-effi- cient access to direct health care, mental health support and social services for 2500 performing artist patients through the NOMC, in addition to promoting wellness & preventive health educa- tion, musician advocacy and support in the broader, indigenous New Orleans music community. www.neworleansmusiciansclinic.org