My first show of the new decade brought me back to Tango Del Rey, where I'll be giving a photo presentation on jazz photography in a couple weeks. I'm working on editing down the images I want to use and what my talking points will be at the moment, and I think this set from Jeff Miles's quartet will make the cut.



This is a lovely space to have a Polish beer and then tango to some jazz.



This is my third time shooting Jeff's show, and each time has been at a different venue. I'm not sure how the performers feel about playing on the different stages around town, but I like the challenge of trying to make them look good at different places.



Although he may be a San Diego native, Jeff is NY jazz guy now, and he's constantly improving. They started with a Brian Blade tune, which suited the drummer, Devin Drobka, perfectly.



Devin has a light touch and paints with subtle colors, much like Brian Blade. His glasses kept sliding down his nose, though, which made it a fun little challenge to get a shot that had them perched just at the end before falling off.



I really had to work to get clear shots of the band since they were reading off charts. Music stands are the bane of my existence.



I did finally get a shot of Joshua White that I'm truly proud of, thanks to being able to shoot down from a balcony. Joshua's face doesn't convey a lot of emotion while he plays, so I had to find a way to shoot his most expressive feature- his hands.



The music had elements of funk in places which was a interesting contrast to the Metheny-esque sound that Jeff has cultivated.