Combining various passions into one career was Herman Leonard's
luxury when he began photographing jazz musicians. He went to nightclubs in New
York where he could study the musicians and singers for his work. To further
hone his skills, he studied photography at Ohio University, receiving a
master's degree. In 1948, after a year's apprenticeship with master portraitist
Yousuf Karsh, Leonard returned to New York and continued developing his style
by shooting album covers for record companies. In 1956, he served as a personal
photographer to Marlon Branda during a trip to the Far East. After returning
from his trip with Branda, Leonard moved to Paris where he worked for the next
twenty years as a photojournalist, in addition to a jazz portraitist.

Edward "Duke" Ellington is one of the most
important figures in jazz music. He began studying piano at age 7 and made his
professional debut by age 17. Ellington composed over six thousand songs
including many multimovement suites and liturgical music. He wrote many of his best-known
works, including Mood Indigo (1930), It Don't Mean a Thing 0932),
and Reminiscing in Tempo 0935), before he was 40 years old. Just as
Ellington elaborated on the simplest compositions, Leonard took a simple
moment, silhouetting Ellington with his piano, and created a beautifully
descriptive image of Ellington's life in the spotlight.