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Francis Wolff Collection

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THE FRANCIS WOLFF COLLECTION One of the most renowned jazz photographers of all time, Francis Wolff (1907-1971) was also a record company executive and producer, whose skills were essential to the success of the Blue Note record label. Born Jakob Franz Wolff in Berlin, Germany, he soon became a jazz enthusiast, despite the government ban placed on this type of music after 1933. A Jew, in 1939 he left Berlin, where he had worked as a commercial photographer, and established himself in New York. He began working there with his childhood friend Alfred Lion, who had co-founded Blue Note Records with Max Margulis. The latter soon dropped out of any involvement in the company, and Wolff joined Lion in running the label. Wolff took thousands of photographs during the label’s recording sessions and rehearsals. His highly personal visual concept would be forever associated with both Blue Note and jazz as a whole. This new Jazz Images collection presents some of the best jazz albums ever in 56 LPs and 18 2CD Sets with Wolff’s wonderful and, in most cases, rarely seen pictures. Most of the photographs featured in this collection have never appeared before on any album.