Woman At The Bar, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1955

There is a print of this image in MOMA’s collection of contemporary photo art object number 382.1992.

All silver gelatin prints are printed and signed by the photographer George Zimbel.  The posters are signed by  George

The picture was taken while George was on an assignment in New Orleans in 1955. The photograph is part of the Bourbon Street Portfolio  and can be seen in George’s Book Bourbon Street, published by Les Editions du Passage

When I first visited New Orleans in 1950, I remember seeing a very old man shuffling down Bourbon Street, carrying a beat-up instrument case. Behind him was a group of kids, dancing, laughing and chanting “Papa, Papa”. It was Oscar “Papa” Celestin, the legendary New Orleans cornetist on his way to a club gig. In 1910, he had founded the “Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra” in which a young Louis Armstrong played. When I returned in 1955, Celestin had been dead for a year, but the jazz he loved was everywhere, a part of life in that city. Photography and jazz are close relatives. When you press the shutter button, you had better be in rhythm with the scene in front of the camera.

George S. Zimbel – extract from the Book Bourbon Street.

©George Zimbel Photography 2021