Joseph A. Rosen – Inside the Moment
Schiffer Publishing
216 pages
There are few photographers in the world who possess the innate ability to capture subjects in such a way that the pictures they produce capture for posterity the essence of the person they see through the camera lens.
Simply put, it’s magic. As a viewer, all it takes is a single glance and you feel the physical presence of the person and the emotion pouring from his pores. His image has been frozen in time, but his aura leaps off of the printed page because of the photographic mastery involved.
It’s a blessing for the world of music that New Yorker Joseph A. Rosen has been juggling his work as a commercial photographer by day for decades with his love for soul, jazz, rock, R&B and especially blues music at night.
A one-time hobby, it evolved into a career that took on a life of its own following in the footsteps of mentor Herman Leonaard, the legendary jazz photographer Herman Leonard — to whom this book is dedicated, Chicagoan Raeburn Flerlage, artists manager/photographer Dick Waterman and others who walked the path.
You know Joe’s work. His images grace the covers of dozens of music magazines – including Blues Blast – and hundreds of albums in your collection, too…color shots that present the artists in such a way that they leap off the paper they’re printed on and into your home. He’s also longtime official photographer on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruises and a regular at land-based festivals, too.
This book is Rosen’s second, a follow-up to 2015’s much smaller Blues Hands, which – as the title inferred – focused on the artists at play, mixing color and black-and-white images and including a chapter that delivered brief histories of each subject and comments about the pics, too.
Inside the Moment is definitely that volume’s big brother. It follows similar format, but it’s a masterwork chock full of black-and-white images, many of which were taken of the greats in the early part of Joe’s career. It’s a thick coffee table book printed on high-quality, heavy stock, and the images are full-bleed – fill the entire page or pages, allowing them to deliver more impact.
Sure, it’s a picture book, but it’s far more than that. Three of the foremost authorities in the music industry contributed essays as forwards. Former Living Blues editor/University of Mississippi professor Scott Barretta explored the history of music photography and how Rosen has taken it forward. Columbia Records executive/musician Steve Berkowitz introduces Joe to the reader. And Grammy-winning producer/historian Dick Sherman adds detail, too.
Essays from other authorities introduce each chapter of images. Deejay-turned-historian Bill Dahl kicks off the section on blues founders, Blues Music Award-winning vocalist Billy Price handles soul, drummer/author Ben Sandmel delivers a piece about the Gulf Coast, historian/actor Doug Curry takes a turn at R&B, folklorist/ethnographer Lamont Jack Pearly dives into the sounds of Mississippi, Rev. Billy C. Wirtz introduces rock-’n’-roll and our own Mark Thompson contributes, bringing the blues forward into modern times.
Making the book even more worthwhile are Rosen’s extensive comments about every photo in the book…a section that runs 46 pages and delivers plenty of insight.
Every one of the pictures in this book breathes a life of its own. And if you’re a music lover, every one of them deserves a place on your wall. Pick up a copy by visiting Joe’s website: www.josepharosen.com
