Jimmy Katz

Jimmy Katz was born in New York, USA, in 1957 and studied photography with John McKee at Bowdoin College. Over the past 30 years, Katz has worked on nearly 580 recording projects, more than 200 magazine covers and hundreds of articles – more than any modern photographer documenting jazz.

In 2018, Katz founded Giant Step Arts, a nonprofit organization that documents some of the most important jazz musicians of this era. Katz designs projects and does photography and design with his wife Dena; musicians retain ownership of the recordings and can sell their music.

Katz received the Jazz Journalists Association Excellence in Photography Award in 2006 and 2011. He has worked with many luminaries, including Ray Charles, BB King, Quincy Jones, Sonny Rollins, Keith Jarrett, Ornette Coleman, Chris Potter, Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett and Tito Puente.