The Ellington celebrates 15 years of jazz photography

To mark fifteen years of The Ellington, Perth’s home of jazz, on the weekend of June 7-9, the club hosted an exhibition of performance photography. Curated by photographer Angelyne Wolfe, whose association with The Ellington goes back to its founding in 2009, it comprised some hundred and fifty dramatic portraits of local, national and international artists, along with shots of the venue and audiences.

The show was held in the Club’s recently renamed upstairs rooms. Dedicated originally to great American jazzmen, as a part of The Ellington’s ongoing fifteenth-anniversary celebrations, the spaces now commemorate three great female artists. The main room and bar celebrate the grand dame of West Australian jazz, Helen Matthews. The two anterooms are dedicated to Australian jazz icon Wilma Reading and American jazz pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams. Portraits and profiles of each artist are permanently displayed in situ.

The Ellington 15 Exhibition featured the work of five photographers: Wolfe, along with Nathan Bulliant, Ewa Ginal-Cumblidge, Steven Emerson and Corey James. Unframed prints were clipped to wires criss-crossing the rooms, while mounted and framed shots hung on the walls. In the Matthews Room, a large video screen scrolled a montage of other images. There were many beautiful, candid portraits of familiar and famous faces captured in action, bristling with energy, engagement and excitement.

If it were possible to select but one image that jumps off the wall—and should always jump off the wall in that club—it would be Angelyne Wolfe’s magnificent portrait of The Ellington’s founding partner, the late, great Graham Wood. At his treasured grand piano, lost in the moment of creation, the shot captures the essence of this ground-breaking musical visionary.

But there were many more artists besides—Chris(tine) McNalty, Paul Grabowky, Ali Bodycoat, Jamie Oehlers, Libby Hammer, Mace Francis, Grace Knight, Ben Vanderwal, Penny King, Adrian Galante, Simone Craddock, Danny Susnjar, Jessie Gordon, Pete Jeavons, Helen Matthews, Pete Evans, Holly Scott, Mike Pigneguy, Bourby Webster and the Russell Holmes Trio, to name but a few. It was truly a who’s who of the Ellington scene.

Some years ago, Wolfe published Hot Nights Cool Jazz, a book of Ellington photography. Many of the images in this show appear there. Copies are available through the club. It is well worth a look.

It is strange to think that The Ellington is a mere fifteen years old. Such a central part of the Perth music scene, it seems to have been here forever. The Ellington 15 Exhibition captured the vibrancy of the venue and fired the memory of many fine nights of brilliant music. Hopefully, the show will be remounted to further celebrate this key club and its sensational sounds.

IAN LILBURNE

Photos by Adrian Thomson