Photograph of Billy Eckstine conducting his band: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white photograph of Billy Eckstine conducting his band on stage at the Aragon Ballroom in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Charlie Parker plays the saxophone (third from the left) in the first row of seated musicians. Art Blakey is on drums while Tommy Potter is on bass; Dizzy Gillespie and Howard McGhee are also pictured. Sarah Vaughan stands at the microphone in front of the band. The back of the photograph has six stickers with barcode, numbers, reproduction information, caption information and a handwritten inscription of numbers.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: August 1944
• Photograph by: Charles "Teenie" Harris, American, 1908 - 1998
• Subject of: Billy Eckstine, American, 1914 - 1993
• Subject of: Charlie Parker, American, 1920 - 1955
• Subject of: Dizzy Gillespie, American, 1917 - 1993
• Subject of: Art Blakey, American, 1919 - 1990
• Subject of: Sarah Vaughan, American, 1924 - 1990
• Subject of: Howard McGhee, American, 1918 - 1987
• Subject of: Tommy Potter, American, 1918 - 1988
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm)
• Place depicted: Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Black Press
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: U.S. History, 1933-1945
• Object number: 2014.302.49
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from Charles A. Harris and Beatrice Harris in memory of Charles "Teenie" Harris
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Carnegie Museum of Art, Charles "Teenie" Harris Archive Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.