Milt Hinton

Photography Appreciation

Photography documents important moments in history. Something Milt Hinton realized after going through the 60,000 plus photos he took while traveling with jazz bands across the country and recording with renowned jazz musicians in studios. 

Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on June 23, 1910, Milt Hinton (aka "The Judge) was an American jazz bassist, bandleader, and photographer. He played with some of the most prominent jazz musicians such as Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, and Lionel Hampton. 

At the time, blacks in the south experienced extreme poverty and racism, and lynching was common as blacks were targeted by white racists. To escape this, Milt was sent to live with extended family in Chicago, at a very young age. This provided him the opportunity to encounter diversity among blacks and experience the abundance of music, especially jazz.

For his thirteenth birthday, he received a violin. While in high school, he played violin in the school orchestra and learned several brass instruments. After graduating high school, he attended Crane Junior College and received work as a freelance musician around Chicago. 

In 1936, Hinton joined the Cab Calloway Orchestra. During his time with the Orchestra, he took part in recording sessions with renowned jazz musicians.  

Around that time, he began taking photographs. His first camera was a 35mm Argus C3, a low-priced mass-produced camera. He would later move to a Leica, then a Canon 35mm range-finder, and Nikon F. 

Throughout his career, Milt captured many iconic images of jazz musicians and other celebrities. He is considered one of the most important photographers of jazz musicians and his photographs have been featured in many books and exhibitions.

Cab Calloway with kids and winner of the 

'Calloway Quizical,' Providence, R.I., c. 1938

Dizzy Gillespie, Grande Parade du Jazz, Nice, France, c. 1981

Louis Armstrong, Seattle Hotel Room, c. 1954

Billie Holiday (last recording date), 

recording studio, New York, 1959.

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://casualphotophile.com/2020/01/17/four-lessons-learned-through-the-photography-of-jazz-bassist-milt-hinton/

https://putthison.com/jazz-style-behind-the-scenes-photographs-of-milt-hinton/

https://www.npr.org/2005/04/10/4583452/keeping-time-the-photos-and-jazz-of-milt-hinton

https://milthinton.com/