James Knox is music reviewer/photographer for www.j-notes.com and www.pixelbarry.com. He has been photographing and writing about the San Francisco Bay Area jazz scene since 2002. His writing has been featured in Jazz Review and Blogcritics. His photographs have been featured in the SF Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition, and on the album covers for Clairdee, Adam Shulman, and Nicolas Bearde.
James has photographed Monterey Jazz Festival, SFJAZZ, Vallejo Jazz Festival, The Jazzschool in Berkeley, Yoshi's Jazz Club, Berkeley Jazz Festival, Jazz at Pearl's, San Jose Jazz Festival, Malcolm X Jazz Arts Festival, Fillmore Jazz Festival, Art and Soul Oakland Festival, Healdsburg Jazz Festival, Anna's Jazz Island, Jazz on the River/Russian River Jazz Festival and countless music concerts. He also enjoys photographing nature, architecture, food, classic cars, and neon signage.
His jazz photography has been exhibited at the San Francisco Main Public Library (2007) and The Jazzschool in Berkeley (2008). He is currently working on a new exhibit for Jazz Appreciation Month (April 2010) with the San Jose Jazz Festival.
"James Knox is a great Bay Area ambassador for Jazz. His photographs are vibrant and beautiful and capture the true spirit and soul of the AT&T San Jose Jazz Festival. It is a pleasure working with him every year." - Geoff Roach, Executive Director, San Jose Jazz
James credits his passion for photography and jazz to his parents, Ritson and Elizabeth Knox.
Patti Austin – Yoshi’s San Francisco
I have loved Patti Austin for as long as I can remember. It was an honor to photograph her shows. I saw her three times during her run and each show was amazing. You can see more photos from her show here.
Ernestine told her band, “Play like you had the blues last night.” That is exactly what they did.
The Fillmore Jazz Festival was held July 4 and 5 on Fillmore Street running from Eddy Street up to Jackson Street. There were three different performance stages featuring jazz, blues, latin and soul music. There were even swing dancing lessons.
My photo highlights include the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra f/t Faye Carol, Marcus Shelby & Friends...
Jeremy Pelt – trumpet/flugelhorn
Danny Grissett – piano
J. D. Allen – tenor saxaphone
Dwayne Burno – acoustic bass
Darrell Green – drums
Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and his band played two great sets at Yoshi’s Oakland on January 15, 2009.
I was recently asked to select 8-10 jazz photos that I would submit for an exhibit. Where does one begin? Which photos to select? Where is that photo that I thought was supercool?
The 10 images selected were taken at Bay Area music events and festivals over the past four years.
Update: I have been selected to be...
