JMNJ, Ed Berger, November 23, 2019
Jazz Photographer
On Sunday November 3, 2019 the Jewish Museum of New Jersey will hold the opening reception for Ed Berger, Jazz Photographer – in conjunction with NJPAC’s TD James Moody Jazz Festival and “Celebrating WBGO 40 Years of Jazz in Newark and Beyond.” The exhibit will continue through Sunday, January 12, 2020.
About Ed Berger, (1951-2017) was the former Associate Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey. In addition he was an award-winning author, jazz record producer and label owner, discographer, editor, historian, photographer, and educator. Ed was a co-host of WBGO radio station’s Jazz from the Archives program from 1979 to 2014. He co-hosted and produced over 200 programs.
One of his biggest passions was photography. He was a consummate in this field, starting from in his mid-teens. His Flickr stream [https://www.flickr.com/photos/eebeephoto] contains over 9,000 photos. Many of these were of jazz musicians including Benny Carter, Joe Wilder, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Warren Vaché, Benny Powell, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Phil Woods, Ruby Braff, and Cootie Williams.
Berger photographed events including jazz rehearsals and concerts, memorials and tributes, festivals, museum openings and gallery exhibitions, and a variety of lectures and educational events. The photographs were taken on stage, in offices and classrooms, and at homes, representing an extensive range of venues associated with a life in jazz. – [Summary, Ed Berger Photographic Collection, 1928-2016 and undated, Oberlin College Conservatory Library, http://www2.oberlin.edu/library/cons/special/berger.html#donor]
Since 2017, Ed’s photos have comprised the Ed Berger Photographic Collection at the Oberlin College Conservatory Library in Oberlin, Ohio. The 30 photos in our exhibit represent only a tip of the iceberg of Ed’s magnificent talent.
This exhibit is the product of a joint effort among the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), WBGO Radio Jazz Radio 88.3, the Rutgers University Institute of Jazz Studies, Congregation Ahavas Sholom and the Jewish Museum of New Jersey.
The museum would like to thank the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), WBGO Radio Jazz Radio 88.3, and the Rutgers University Institute of Jazz Studies for their generous support.
