Jazz theme for January/February art exhibit

Jazz photographer and musician Kenan Foley is a part of jazz photographer and musician Ronald Jones' collection. Foley and Nelson Harrison join Jones for a three-man show that runs until Feb. 28 at the Penn State New Kensington Art Gallery.

 

Photographers Ronald Jones, Kenan Foley, Nelson Harrison

“Photo Jazz: Come and See the Music”

 

“If light is the language of photography, I believe low light whispers dark splendor. I try to capture the subject in low light settings; dark backgrounds and low light settings shall tell the mood. I wish to see through my lens before I close the shutter; I usually watch and wait for the subject to show their subtle secrets.” -- Ronald Jones

“My photography attempts to document jazz musicians in their working environment - on the gig and at rehearsals. Through the visual image, I hope to capture some of the camaraderie, seriousness of intent, and joie de vivre (joy of living) that makes up the jazz musician’s professional life.” -- Kenan Foley

 

        
Kenan Foley by Ron Jones            By Ron Jones             Nelson Harrison by Kenan Foley    By Nelson Harrison

 

UPPER BURRELL, Pa. -- An exhibit of jazz images by photographers Ron Jones, Kenan Foley and Nelson Harrison will be on display in January and February in the art gallery at Penn State New Kensington.

“Photo Jazz: Come and See the Music” is the title of the exhibit, which is a selected collection of photographs of local jazz musicians. The three musicians offer different perspectives on the Pittsburgh jazz profession. The city is internationally known for its jazz history. Luminaries, such as singers Lena Horne and Billy Ekstine, composer Henry Mancini, and pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines, were a part of the Pittsburgh jazz scene.

Jones, a self-taught photographer, uses low light settings and dark backgrounds to set the mood of his photographs. His patience and timing bring out the nuances of his subjects.

“I learned photography from websites and book reading,” said Jones, a longtime friend of the late playwright August Wilson.

His passion for the fine arts -- theatre, photography, music and creative writing –- was rekindled by his recent retirement from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local #5. In addition to performing on the trumpet, he is in the final stages of writing his first play, “I Remember Johnny.” Jones is a charter member of Kuntu Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh Black Theatre dance ensemble and the Homewood Jazz Workshop.

Foley, a former adjunct instructor at Penn State New Kensington, is an ethnomusicologist and a drummer specializing in jazz performance. Ethnomusicology is the interdisciplinary study of music that emphasizes cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dimensions or contexts. Ethnomusicologists approach music as a social process in order to understand not only what music is but why it is.

The Pittsburgh resident’s studies have taken him from northern New York to southern Louisiana to West Africa. He holds a doctorate in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh, where he studied under J. H. Kwabena Nketia, professor of music and a renowned authority on African music. Foley earned a master’s degree at Binghamton University in New York and a bachelor’s degree at Southern University in Louisiana. In addition to the New Kensington campus, Foley has taught courses in ethnomusicology, jazz, popular music, and African and African-American studies at Indiana State University, Chatham University, Clarion University, Youngstown State University, and the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently an adjunct associate professor of music at Carlow University.

Harrison is a clinical psychologist, educator, composer, author, arranger, and clinician, as well as a photographer. He has collected data on Pittsburgh’s jazz traditions for over 60 years. His career includes playing saxophone with the Count Basie Orchestra and featured performers Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughan, and Sammy Davis Jr. as well as Eckstine, Horne and Hines. He has composed more than 400 songs, and scored movies for John Russo, Billy Jackson and Tara Alexander and plays for City Theatre, Kuntu Repertory Theatre, New Horizons Theatre and Black Theatre Dance Ensemble. He is musical director of WQED-TV Black Horizons and host of “Jazz Pittsburgh” on WDUQ-NPR.

The multifaceted Harrison holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, where he also earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He has been on the faculty of the Pittsburgh and Duquesne universities.

A reception for the artists is scheduled from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 7, in the art gallery. The exhibit and reception are free to the public. The gallery is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. weekends.

For more information, contact Tina Sluss, art gallery director, 724-334-6056, tms57@psu.edu

For photos of the exhibit, visit http://psnk.smugmug.com/

  
Photography by Nelson Harrison                                Photography by Ron Jones         Photography by Kenan Foley