Amid All That Jazz, Herb Snitzer Took Pictures of Pioneers

By JON WILSON, Times Staff Writer
Published October 19, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - Herb Snitzer played ping-pong with jazz piano great Thelonious Monk. He knew Louis Armstrong well enough to know friends didn't call the trumpet star “Satchmo," but “Pops."

Snitzer, a St. Petersburg-based fine arts photographer, has chronicled the jazz world since 1958, when he captured a moody image of saxophonist Lester Young outside the Five Spot Cafe in Manhattan's East Village.

The photo is among many pieces of Snitzer's work on display through Dec. 9 at the Royal Theater, 1011 22nd St. S.

A reception honoring the artist, free and open to everyone, will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at the theater, which is home to the south branch of the Boys and Girls Club.

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