AJHF: Artists: Hall of Fame: 2002: Al White

Artists

Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame - 2002 Candidates

[Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame: 2014 | 2012 | 2010 | 2008 | 2006 | 2004 | 2002 | 2000 | 1998 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994]

Al White

The 2002 achievement award recipient has been responsible for more people in Arkansas being exposed to good jazz music than anyone in our fair state. As a child he was influenced by his mother, Mary Nell White, who was a jazz fan, jazz record collector and pianist. At the age of eight, Al started playing drums but received no encouragement from his family or friends to make that his life long career. Instead, he followed in his father's footsteps and became a cotton broker in his hometown, Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He began collecting jazz records and became a staunch fan of traditional jazz music. As a youth he was a fan of the Eddie Condon Dixieland Jazz Band.

When Al enrolled as a student at the University of Arkansas in 1946, his parents gave him a camera, and photography was to become a major part of his photo studio in his basement and taught Al how to be a photographer from shooting pictures to developing his film and printing his pictures. This and his love of music led to Al's producing a fine photo book of jazz musicians playing at various engagements.

The best place to hear music played by the world's greatest jazz musicians is at various jazz parties underwritten by fans who select and hire the best of jazz musicians to play at various sites across the country playing in groups of various sizes from duos to big band size. Al and Ann White attended many of these "jazz parties" and Al always took pictures of these artists playing their music.

About 30 years ago Al decided to bring some of the best of jazz to Arkansas. He started booking world-class musicians to play at events across the state, and as a result thousands of fans have been able to hear the best jazz in the world here at home.

For the last 32 years Al and Ann have attended nearly all the jazz parties across the country and have become acquainted with all the jazz greats. The musicians have learned to respect Al as a learned jazz booker and a superb jazz photographer. As a result in the year 2000 Al published a beautiful book of his pictures titled Jazz Party" which is selling well from coast to coast. Al's "Jazz Party" was published by August House publishers in Little Rock, AR, and is the finest photo collection of jazz musicians on the market today.

Al is a tribute to Arkansas and highly respected by world-class jazzmen in America.

[Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame: 2014 | 2012 | 2010 | 2008 | 2006 | 2004 | 2002 | 2000 | 1998 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994]

Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation · PO Box 251187 · Little Rock, AR 72225-1187 US · info@arjazz.org

Copyright © Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation. All rights reserved.
Information on AJHF and Jazz:
Comments on web site:
About this site. We appreciate those who have helped create this site.

URL: https://www.arjazz.org