Herman Leonard (b. 1923) is an American photographer who loves jazz. In the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, he took his camera to the New York City jazz clubs and captured unforgettable black-and-white images of yesterday's music giants Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Duke Ellington. Many of these photographs are highly prized by collectors, and his work is now archived at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.
In 2005, Leonard was living and working in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck. All his work was ruined or lost, but his staff was able to save most of his negatives. He now lives and works in Studio City, California.
