Helen Mirren by Melvin Sokolsky
Two shots of Bert Lahr. Melvin Sokolsky took these in New York in 1961.
Gus Van Sant + friend by Melvin Sokolsky, Los Angeles, 2008
Melvin Sokolsky
Hal Holbrook, Los Angeles, 2008
Natalie Wood by Melvin Sokolsky
Los Angeles, 1962
Lena Horne by Melvin Sokolsky
A match of the undated Helen Mirren portrait at the top of this thread, this shot is probably considerably earlier; it’s from New York in 1963
What a wonderful portrait of Zero Mostel by Melvin Sokolsky, made in New York in 1962
Here’s a Melvin Sokolsky portrait of one of my favourite actresses: Paula Prentiss, New York, 1963
Melvin Sokolsky
Chet Baker & Rosemary “Wally” Coover, New York, 1959
I haven’t seen this photo before. Sokolsky did a fair amount of musical portraiture, especially in jazz. I’ll put together a thread of his album covers Real Soon Now.
One of Melvin Sokolsky's most famous photos:
"Lip Streaks", New York, 1967
The model is Donna Mitchell
It was this Blue Mitchell album cover that got me thinking about Melvin Sokolsky. Blue Soul is a wonderful disc from 1959. I love his classic pose!
Another wonderful Melvin Sokolsky portrait on an album cover: Big Miller, from 1959. All-star musicians & Langston Hughes lyrics!
Big Miller moved to Edmonton in 1973, bringing his Kansas City blues to the Great White North. #YEG
Yet another jazz album from 1959 with a Melvin Sokolsky portrait on the cover: Cannonball Takes Charge. And he really does take charge in this shot, which suggests the power of his personality & his music.
This cover shows another side of Melvin Sokolsky: his advertising chops are on display in a slick presentation of Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges suite, as played by David Oistrakh in 1960. Misspelled name, or is this just a different transliteration?
Yet another side of Melvin Sokolsky: his fashion photography! The fine print credit on this 1960 album says "courtesy of Harper's Bazaar". Unfortunately, I don't know the name of the model. Another credit - "collage by Sigrid Spaeth" - I assume refers to the photo's background.
*Digression alert*: Sigrid Spaeth was Saul Steinberg's girl-friend from 1960 until her suicide in 1995. Here's a wonderful shot the two of them by Jill Krementz, from 1994.
Back to Melvin Sokolsky: this is one of my favourite jazz albums: Bill Evans Trio's Portrait in Jazz from 1960. I didn't know this portrait was his.
With Scott LaFaro & Paul Motian; recorded on Dec. 28, 1959
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