William Claxton
[Photographer, b. 1927, Pasadena, California, d. 2008, Los Angeles.]

 … jazz and photography have always come together for me. They’re alike in their improvisation and their spontaneousness. 
 Photography is jazz for the eyes. All I ask you to do is to listen with your eyes. 
 For the photographer, the camera is like a jazz musician’s ax. It’s the tool that you would like to be able to ignore, but you have to have it to convey your thoughts and whatever you want to express through it. 
 Was I going to let my wife show her breasts in public? We hassled about it for a long time. Finally, we decided to employ nepotism. Only I could photograph it, we would have control of the pictures and Peggy would never model the suit in public. And it worked out okay. The pictures were tasteful, I thought, Peggy looked great, and it was historically a breakthrough for women, that they could feel free enough to show the beauty of their breasts. (On making the famous photograph of his wife Peggy Moffitt wearing Rudi Gernreich’s topless bathing suit.) 
 The international language of jazz and photography need no special education or sophistication to be enjoyed. All that I ask is that you listen with your eyes.