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Garland Hancock

About Me

Garland Hancock, 3 days out of the week I'm a chef at a retirement facility, I enjoy cooking but love photography especially photographing jazz events.

I was born in Washington, DC where I received my education and my love of music at an early age. When my uncle returned from Vietnam, he was armed with a music collection of everything from Sly Stone, Motown and various jazz artists, which began my introduction to music followed by someone gifting me a camera when I got older. As time went on, I was always at free concerts at Fort Dupont Park in Washington, DC photographing such artists as Noel Pointer, Roy Ayers, Phyllis Hyman and so many others every summer to where people would see me and yell hey picture man you taking pictures this year. As I fell deeper in love with both jazz and photography naturally my equipment had to be better. My choice of cameras are Nikon and Fuji to which I still shoot with today. My son who's a jazz head to which I must say he got it honestly and a pretty good trumpet player would always travel with me to various concerts and eventually I let him photograph the late Pharoah Sanders, Clifford Adams, Tom Browne and a few others as he loved the traveling and backstage until he attended college. I enjoy what I do behind the camera when I'm in the pit at venues. The question was asked by another photographer, Garland what goes through your mind when you photograph the musicians? I told him that I know the artists music and that I know when they hit certain notes or sing a lyric or make facial expressions or how they respond to the audience and I become one with them and press the shutter. When it's all said and done, I would like to be remembered as one who gave it his all and left nothing behind that's in life and behind the camera.

Favorite Musicians / Bands

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because... I was first exposed to jazz as a young man by my aunt as well as my love of photography, so I just combined the 2 and became a jazz photographer. I've traveled with many jazz artists and covered many festivals I met [musician name]. Roy Ayers, Pharoah Sanders, Mark Adams, Kirk Whalum, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Brian Jackson, Norman Brown, Earl Klugh, George Duke, Gregory Porter, Bob James, Harvey Mason, Lalah Hathaway, Marcus Miller, Jeff Watts, Branford Marsalis, Najee, Bob Baldwin, Ramsey Lewis, Dee-Dee Bridgewater, Jazzmeia Horn. The best show I ever attended was... The Jacksonville Jazz Festival where I ended up backstage with Monty Alexander to speak on jazz along with photographing Stanley Clarke, Charles Lloyd and Theo Croker, followed by the last known performance in Charleston, SC of Freddie Cole as I was the only photographer in attendance. There are many shows that are my favorite such as the backstage conversations in Richmond, VA with Roy Ayers, Mark Adams and Gregory Porter. The first jazz record I bought was... Miles Davis Bitches Brew My advice to new listeners... If you are a jazz listener my advice would be soak up as much as you can from all facets of it whether it's acid, hard bop, new age, fusion, smooth or be bop . In the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Music Is The Universal Language Of Mankind. Or whatever else you have in mind.

My House Concert Story

I've attended too many concerts with great success; I never hosted but always backstage on-stage. I retired from cooking and even when I was a chef, I had photography on my mind of what concerts to attend or editing images from previous jazz concerts, my favorite festival was the MCJF in Tennessee where I bumped into Roy Ayers but wasn't allowed due to my pass was media and not all access. Mark Adams who was Roy's MD sees me and tells Roy there's Garland, Roy tells event staff hey he's with us let him through. I end up backstage hanging out with Roy and 4Play.

Favorite Places to See Jazz

John Coltrane International Jazz & Blues Festival

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