This week I published my annual gift guide—an eclectic selection of box sets designed to appeal to the most finicky of listeners. I always have to leave a few worthy gifts out, so I’ve decided to address a few of them in a handful of blog posts—beginning with this one and continuing with a couple more next week. Today I want to mention two stunning 2017 photo books focusing on music.
The bulk of the book features photographs Duvelle took during his sojourns across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He not only shot musicians performing for his portable tape machine but also the locals taking in the performances, relaxing, and dancing—he was excellent at avoiding posed portraits. Those images would end up accompanying the crucial albums he produced for Ocora—some of the rawest, most thrilling, and most spiritual recordings of traditional music ever made. As thoroughly researched and academically rigorous as the liner notes for these albums were, Duvelle’s photos elevated the packaging into the transcendental.
