A Day in the Life of Miles Davis - Glen Craig

Running through November 2015

While working with B.B. King in the late 60s, Columbia / CBS introduced Glen to Miles Davis in New York City. The record company wanted to cross Davis into a more mainstream music audience, and Glen and Miles developed a trusting relationship that allowed the photographer to photograph Davis at home, at the gym, and in the studio. Glen went on to photograph Miles in 1970 for Zygote magazine, which ran an 18-page feature on the musician, including many of the photos shown here, of three weeks Craig spent with Miles Davis, leading up to and including his performances in June 1970 at the Fillmore East.

Glen Craig is known for photographing musical legends including Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and B.B. King. This intimate collection of images of Miles Davis was a part of the Leica Galerie at Photokina 2014 and will be featured in our gallery through the end of November 2015. Both open and limited edition archival fiber based gelatin silver prints will be available for purchase. Glen was recently interviewed on the Leica Camera Blog about this series.

About Glen:

Glen Craig, born in New York City in 1949, started taking pictures at age 12. By 16, his images were published in magazines in the United States and Europe and he later studied at Parsons School of Design in New York. In 1965, a chance encounter with B.B. King propelled a young Glen Craig into the world of music photography. Craig’s image of the blues guitarist became a front cover of Cashbox magazine. Soon after, Glen became chief photographer for Hullaballoo magazine.

During his next few years with the magazine, Glen photographed many musicians who went on to become music legends. These include celebrated artists Aretha Franklin, James Brown, B.B. King, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Wayne Cochran, and Johnny Cash, as well as rock and roll icons The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, The Beach Boys, Loving Spoonful, The Doors, and countless others.

Craig’s work caught the attention of Sid Bernstein, the man who first brought The Beatles to America. Glen worked closely with Sid as creative director and press officer. Glen also served as artist manager, creative director, and press officer to B.B. King, collaborating on TV commercials with the artist in the 1970s.

Glen Craig credits as his mentors the photographers Diane Arbus, Gordon Parks, and Benedict J. Fernandez, whom Glen studied under at Parsons School of Design in New York City.

Published credits include work in: The New York Times, Boston Globe, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News Time-Life, Paris Match, Rolling Stone, Vogue, Esquire, NPR, Guitar Player, Downbeat, Swing Journal, Jazz Weekly, Jazz Wise The Nation, Relix, Mojo, Billboard Leica Fotographe International and Ebony. My work appears on the following labels: Atlantic Records, Virgin, A&M Records, Warner, Sony, and Universal records. In addition to my photography, I produced and shot commercials for Puerto Rico Board of Tourisme, Peru Board of Tourisme, AT&T, and Southern Bell.

To see more of Glen's work, visit his website.

 

Prints for Sale: