Tea Break
A series where musicians and others stop by for an imaginary Tea Break to talk about their music and projects.
Brian O'Connor
It was towards the end of the afternoon when I arrived at Café Le Rêve to meet with photographer Brian O’Connor. Brian had been taking photographs at a gig in East Grinstead the evening before.
The café was quiet. Ferdinand, the owner was at his laptop ordering something tasty. Natalie, the French waitress was sitting listening to Joe the chef who was clearly trying to explain something with not much success. I joined them.
“What’s up, Joe?”
“Oh nothing really important.”
“Joe did a gig yesterday,” said Natalie. “A duet with a pianist and with Joe on keyboards. It didn’t quite work out.”
“We were just trying to work out why it felt off,” Joe said. “I guess I wasn’t quite sure of my part. The piano was dominant and I was trying to use the keyboard to complement and develop what he was playing. It was OK, I think, but I didn’t really get the chance to open out and that was quite frustrating. It was what it was.”
“It must be tough as a duet,” I added. “There is no room to spread the music out as there would be with other instruments."
“I think your interview has arrived, Ian,” Natalie said, getting up and greeting Brian O’Connor. His camera bag slung over his shoulder gave the game away.
I joined them at my usual reserved booth at the back of the cafe and introduced Brian to Natalie.
Hi Brian, let me get you a tea or coffee – what do you fancy?
Hi Ian, I’ll take a coffee please. The usual, black, no sugar, and strong. Really need the caffeine. Any chance of a doughnut?
Ah! So you have heard about the café’s speciality doughnuts then. Natalie, please could you ask Joe to prepare a few of his new lemon creams with sides and we’ll see if Brian approves. How did that gig at East Grinstead Jazz Club with Charlotte Glasson go, Brian?
It went very well. I've seen and heard Charlotte several times, usually as a group member. This was the first time as leader of the 'house' band. Vince Dunn on drums, Paul Whitten on bass, and standing in for Adrian York, Harry Bolt on keyboard. A very pleasant surprise, good with the audience, amusing anecdotes, and excellent multi instrument playing of the standards. I can’t even play the spoons, and she is more than competent on the sax, violin, flute and even the saw. Interesting version of Caravan on the saw.
Have you got one of the pictures you took?
Yes, there's this one, perhaps, with Charlotte on flute:
Charlotte Glasson
image courtesy of Brian O'Connor
That’s nice. I was thinking, you must have taken hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures of jazz musicians over the years. How did it all start? How did you become interested in photography? What was your first camera – can you remember?
I was always interested in cameras, and yes, I started off with a Box Brownie. Didn’t have the money to pursue it in any depth until I started work. My first decent camera was a used Ilford Sportsman at £6. More than a week’s pay. That taught me a lot as it was completely manual. Coffee’s delicious by the way. Any luck with the doughnut?
The doughnuts take a few minutes to prepare. They are all made fresh and I doubt if you will have tasted anything quite like them.
I can’t wait! Anyway, I then spent two week’s wages on a Weston Master lightmeter. Next I chose to take holiday photos etc. on slide film. Very little latitude in getting the correct exposure, so in order not to waste too much money it taught me all about getting the correct exposure, and the relationship between shutter speeds and apertures.
You even have letters after your name! LRPS – that’s a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society. I understand that to receive the award you had to submit 10 images that demonstrate a high standard of technical competence, visual awareness, and cohesive overall presentation to a panel from the Royal Photographic Society – can you remember what any of the pictures were?
Yes, it’s the first of three qualifications offered by the Royal Photographic Society, the top being ‘Fellow’. Although I submitted all jazz photographs, there had to be variations in angles, settings, lighting etc. I think two of my submissions were Dexter Gordon and Miles Davis. Quite chuffed to get the award and perhaps I should have tried to progress to the next level, but for many reasons I didn’t. One slight surprise and I’m not sure I should mention it, but amazingly it appeared to me that the panel tended to be swayed slightly by not just the quality of the image, but whether or not they liked the subject. Despite that I still succeeded with jazz images! Ah, the doughnut has arrived. Wow! Is that a doughnut! What do I do with it?
It is Joe’s latest creation. It is filled with lemon curd but there are other ingredients that take the sharpness of the lemon away and enhance the flavour. It comes with Joe’s special sauce – again secret ingredients that do the same with the filling. You pour some of the sauce into a bowl, dip the doughnut and sprinkle more sugar on if you want to ....... You told me once how you got into taking jazz photographs through your meeting reporter Stan Britt?
Ah, Stan! Sinatra has always been a favourite of mine so in the late ‘60s I joined the Sinatra Music Appreciation Society and met co-founder Stan Britt. We struck up a friendship that lasted a lifetime. He had a never ending knowledge of jazz and wrote extensively about it. By this time I had a reasonable reflex camera and soon began to go with Stan on many of his interviews and to gigs. This enabled me to meet many of artists who were quickly becoming my heroes and I was dragged, willingly, into the world of jazz.
I also remember you telling me about meeting and picturing Count Basie – remind me about that.
Yes, that was amazing. You never think that stars are in many ways just normal people with so-called normal lives. Who’d have thought Queen Elizabeth still used Tupperware? Stan was interviewing the Count in his hotel room. There he was, surrounded by some of his team calmly eating a large breakfast. I forget if it was a Full English, I was in awe at just being in his presence. The Count was vague on names, and one of Stan’s many gifts was that he could supply this information. The two were soon deeply involved in a conversation about jazz. Just one of many great memories.
Count Basie
image courtesy of Brian O'Connor
One thing about your photographs is that they must remind you of the circumstances when some of them were taken. Do you have a favourite picture with a memory attached?
Let me just give the grey cells a stir. Maybe a bite of this doughnut will help. It’s worked! Oscar Peterson at Ronnie Scott’s. Stan, Oscar, and myself were in one of the miniscule changing rooms at the back of the stage. Oscar was a large man and we only just fitted in. He gave an amazing interview and didn’t mind at all that I was taking photos practically sitting on his lap. Lovely man.
Is there someone you always wished you could have photographed?
All photographers have memories of the shot or shots that got away. Knowing my luck I’d be looking the wrong way when the Yeti passes by. There was Emily Remler at the Bull’s Head in Barnes. It was an awkward journey for me and I thought, she’s young, bound to make an appearance at a more convenient venue at some time. Silly me, it was not to be! Then there was Norah Jones. I was photographing a gig at the Pizza Express in Dean Street and saw a notice advertising her appearance the following week. Who’s she? I thought. Well we certainly found out within the year. And Amy Whitehouse at Brecon. Again, Who is she? I went and photographed another ‘proper’ jazz gig. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Since then I’ve tried to photograph newcomers wherever possible as they will become the next standard bearers. Still kicking myself though. Bing Crosby. Don’t ask. I could go on, but you get the picture!
Over the years you have heard so many different styles of jazz, has your appreciation of the music changed or do you still have a preference?
Yes, several, but to keep the list viable, Tubby Hayes. He was active when I started getting into jazz and photography but I never got to see him, let allow take the photos. Ben Webster, Duke Ellington, Nina Simone, plus many others from that time If only I’d started 10 years earlier. Life is full of ‘if only’. I’m a great fan of melody and tune and rhythm. I’m not a musician so not qualified to talk technically, but if I can recognise a tune at the beginning and at the end, then I’m happy with what goes on in between. My one slight criticism of some of today’s performers is, to me, a lack of this vital component in their compositions.
How about another coffee, Brian?
Excellent idea. Yes please, and any chance of another doughnut?
Why not. I’ll get Natalie to bring them over. It is not only styles of jazz that have changed, but photography too. Digital cameras and working with images on the computer. How have you found that?
To me, digital finally came of age for the average punter in about 2006. The quality and the price finally began to equal that of 35mm. That’s when I made the change and never regretted it. I always suffered the darkroom, never really enjoyed it, and as for developing negatives, a chore. My final update in digital cameras came in about 2014 when I purchased the Pentax K-3. Since then improvements in that price range have been minimal and I’ll keep that camera and see who lasts the longest.
I also know that at many gigs there are audience members who take pictures or videos on their mobile phones. Does that cause you problems, and do the musicians comment on that to you? I remember once going to a Chris Barber concert where there must have been around eight or ten photographers moving about directly in front of the stage, getting close up pictures of Chris and the band playing. I found it distracting and I don’t know what the musicians felt. Perhaps they were used to it. Is it difficult to take pictures unnoticed?
I still, after all these years, consider it a privilege to be able to take the photos that I do and still live in absolute fear of being a nuisance. Only a couple of times have I had undue problems, but I’m always wary and careful. I always make sure I have permission and it does annoy me that mobile phone owners have rarely even asked and just assumed it’s ok. It’s a problem for the management and the artist, and in many instances they don’t seem to mind. Oh yes, it is difficult to be unnoticed, especially as I can’t grovel around on the floor any more. By the time I get down, it’s time to get up, if I can.
I have come across a few gigs where they ask for photographs to be taken either just during the first number or the last. Have you come across that?
Yes I have come across it a few times, and have absolutely no problems with it, providing during those numbers I’m at least in a good position. I also want the restriction applied to mobiles.
One great outcome of your massive portfolio is your link to the National Jazz Archive. How is that working? It is such a valuable resource for them to have.
Yes, I’m pleased to be associated with the National Jazz Archive. It does a lot to promote jazz and is run mainly by volunteers. It is also archiving a lot of jazz history, and fingers crossed a pantechnicon will transport at least half the contents of my house to their warehouse when either I retire or join the happy band of snappers in the sky.
Similarly you have started sharing a series of ‘Then and (Almost) Now’ photographs. What was the idea there and how has it been received?
When about ten years ago I started editing photos for my forthcoming book, available now in all good charity shops, I noticed that I’d photographed a lot of artists over many years. Then I had the idea for the series. I’m now up to about 108. Some people change a lot, others don’t. To me at least it’s interesting. It has been well received although one critic did have a problem understanding the word ’Almost’ in the title. One main rule, there has to be at least 20 years between the two images.
As you say, find it fascinating to see how some musicians have changed and others don't! Thanks for dropping by for a chat Brian, it has been good to catch up. I’m sure there are many, many jazz musicians who appreciate the pictures you have taken of them and the publicity that has given them. I must also thank you for letting me have some of those pictures for my magazine page each month. Long may it continue!
Thank you Ian. It was a pleasure, and long may you continue with your magazine. Just one thing, any chance of another cuppa and a doughnut.
Sadly, Brian, I think they are getting ready to close, but the bill is on me, and … Natalie … please can you put the two remaining doughnuts in a box for Brian to take home? Come again Brian and we’ll see what new creations Joe has come up with.
Oscar Peterson
image courtesy of Brian O'Connor
Brian O'Connor's website, Images of Jazz, is here where you will find a catalogue with many of his pictures, and he is on Facebook here. Brian has a marketing arrangement with 'Heritage Images' in this country, and through them pictures are supplied to Getty Images, Alamy, and many more. They can be purchased from Heritage here.
© Sandy Brown Jazz 2026.8