In his brief but prolific career as rock ‘n’ roll’s preeminent photographer,伊桑罗素toured with theRolling Stones, shot album covers for the Who and captured iconic images of everyone from Linda Ronstadt to Jim Morrison of the Doors. And, yes, that was him clicking away in the background ofPeter Jackson’sBeatles documentary “Get Back” on Disney+.
Russell, who grew up in San Francisco and lives in Marin County, will revisit these incredible experiences as part of his upcoming appearance atMontalvo Arts Centerin Saratoga on Saturday, March 19. The show is called — what else? — “The Best Seat in the House.” The 76-year-old photographer says it will be one of his last public outings of its kind, a contractual obligation from before the coronavirus pandemic.
“The evening is 400 photographs, and the story’s not so much behind the photographs, but behind my travels,” Russell told The Chronicle by phone. “I think it’s a great story.”
To hear him tell it, Russell fell into his photography career by accident.
Back in the late ’60s, hewas a recent大学graduate who moved to London to become a writer. He was working as a volunteer at a school for children with autism and taking pictures on the side. A friend who was visiting from Berkeley introduced him to Jonathan Cott, a writer for Rolling Stone magazine, with an assignment to interview Mick Jagger. Russell was recruited to shoot the piece.
“I mean, it’s a fairy tale,” said Russell. “There’s no other way to put it.”
Two months later, he got a call to join the Rolling Stones as the official photographer for their 1969 tour of the United States — the one that ended with the disastrous free concert at Altamont Speedway.
为下一个few years, Russell was the band’s go-to photographer.He took some of the last photos ever of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones and the band’s free concert in Hyde Park that served as his memorial. He photographed the band through their 1972 tour, capturing some of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll photos of all time, including the shot of Keith Richards reposing in customs in front of a sign reading “Patience Please … A Drug Free America Comes First!”
“We trusted Ethan as an artist, which made him invisible to us,” Jagger says in a testimonial on Russell’s website, “and which allowed his photographs to capture our most intimate moments.”
During the same era, he was invited to Twickenham Studios to document the Beatles’ making of “Let It Be,” his photographs ending up on the cover of the group’s last release. Russell was also among the handful of photographers at the Beatles’ final photo session on Aug. 22, 1969. But he continued to work with John Lennon for years.
He also did the cover photograph for the Who’s 1971 LP, “Who’s Next,” and the book accompanying the band’s 1973 film, “Quadrophenia.” The band’s guitarist, Pete Townshend, once reckoned that Russell’s photographs “look ready to put up in the National Gallery. Ethan is the civilized eye of an uncivilized art form: rock ‘n’ roll.”
Before that, Russell’s only experience with rock photography was a handful of shots he did for his brother’s Haight-Ashbury band, Blue Cheer. The bands, he said, were attracted to him for his candid, unobtrusive style.
“My parents had a big ranch in Carmel Valley when I was like 10 years old. I had a .22 rifle, and my grandmother wanted me to hunt blue jays for some reason. To do that, you got to be careful. You got to be quiet. You got to figure out what you want to aim at and shoot. You get one shot,” Russell said. “And that’s exactly how I photograph. I stood on the edge. I didn’t change anything. I didn’t tell anybody what to do. If you look at my contact sheets, you’re not going to see 36 shots of the same thing. They are all different.”
By the time he returned to America, Russell was an in-demand rock photographer, recruited to shoot a diverse list of acts, including Ronstadt, the Doors, Rickie Lee Jones, Rosanne Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Traffic and others.
His works are collected in the 248-page fine art book “伊桑罗素Photographs,” which is available on his website for $130.
He said he put his camera down sometime in the early ’80s when record companies edged their way in, restricting access to the artists and demanding to own the rights to the images. Russell shifted to producing and directing films for musicians like Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon.
His nephew recently went to photography school against Russell’s advice. “I kept saying, ‘Don’t do it.’ It’s gone. It’s not a career anymore. First of all, there’s a technology component to it because cameras do 80% of the work now.” He also thinks social media apps like Instagram and Facebook have devalued the art form.
“Photography is a commodity now,” he said. “It’s as if somebody threw a s—load of confetti in the air and it’s all just floating down over you.”
伊桑罗素:“The Best Seat in the House”:7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 19. $48-$52. Carriage House Theater, Montalvo Arts Center, 15400 Montalvo Road, Saratoga.montalvoarts.org
