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PHOTO BY BOB COKE

PHOTO BY BOB COKE

PHOTO BY BOB COKE

PHOTO BY BOB COKE

PHOTO BY BOB COKE

PHOTO BY BOB COKE

PHOTO BY BOB COKE

By J. Kim Sessums

A collection of photographic portraits and studies of the Preservation Hall musicians of New Orleans, captured in their heyday through the 1960s, are part of the life and work of Bob Coke, the accomplished Mississippi photographer who lived the last years of his life in relative obscurity in Brookhaven, Mississippi.

Preservation Hall, the institution so integral to the American cultural and musical heritage we now know, stands on St. Peter Street in the heart of the French Quarter. The people revealed and preserved in these wonderful black and white photographs were the unique musicians who shared their passion, their vision, and their hearts for years in the old historic building, the quaint venue where jazz musicians and listeners were welcome, but photographers and cameras were not. As such, this collection of photographs is historically and culturally unique and precious.

Born in Brookhaven in 1920, Bob Coke was the son of a minister. When his father became disabled as a young man from a severe mastoid infection, Coke found himself leaving school early to help support the family. In 1932, he went to work with the WPA delivering work cards that revealed assignments to hungry prospective workers. He later went to work for a local grocery store making $4.50 each week. As a teenager, Coke developed two passions — photography and the girls of Whitworth College, the students at the all-girls school easier to date for a young lad strapped for cash.  He could walk his date downtown from the campus to Hoffman’s Drug Store for conversation and two soda drinks … the total date price — 25 cents.

Although Coke had access to a box camera as early as 1935, it was not until 1947 that he bought his first camera from Floyd and Billy East at the East Drug Store in Brookhaven. Through various jobs and locations over the coming years, one thing remained constant for the young man with only seven years of formal education — he continued a life of learning as he viewed the world around him through the view-finder of a camera lens.

Part of that world involved the opportunity to be the still photographer for Globe Photos of New York. He migrated to New Orleans in 1951, never straying too far from his camera. He worked as an aerial photographer for Photo Maps Inc. and did some freelance work, primarily black and white prints. In 1952, he went to work for Bennett’s Camera Store in New Orleans, where he continued his own passion of capturing images through the eye of his lens and doing consultant photography for the pathology department of the LSU medical school.

During his 12 years at Bennett’s, Coke met quite a few New Orleans characters, including Johnny Lagattuta, a local small-time banker, shaker and mover. It was Lagattuta’s relationship with Larry Borenstein, the entrepreneur art dealer with a love for jazz, that gave Coke his photographic crack through the Preservation Hall door. Borenstein was the practical founder of the Hall, and as one writer noted he “loved the thrill of finding a nugget among the slag,” whether it be merchandise or man, then showing it off to raise its value.

Though most of the jazzmen, independent spirits though they were, praised Borenstein, others called him a benevolent dictator. After stints as a traveling carnival sideshow lecturer, a peddler of magazine subscriptions, and a marketer of winter tourism in the South for the American Vacation Association, Borenstein landed in New Orleans in 1941. Thirteen years later, after making and losing tremendous amounts of money in the stamp, coin, and foreign currency business, Borenstein found himself running Mr. Larry’s Art Store in a leased building at 726 St. Peter St.  By that time, Bob Coke, still at Bennett’s, was shooting everything from prostitutes to parades.

Within a year, spiritual, blues, and jazz musicians were frequenting Borenstein’s art gallery for casual sessions. The players in these photographs were playing the local jazz clubs till the early morning hours, while Borenstein kept his art gallery open for the night time French Quarter traffic. Despite his love for the New Orleans jazz, his gallery hours interfered with his ability to go and hear the music.

Always the entrepreneur, he bought an old piano, invited the musicians to the gallery, and with only friends and serious jazz listeners initially invited, Borenstein would pass the hat during the “rehearsal sessions,” as they were called to avoid union troubles. As other bands got wind of some easy cash and a music lover’s atmosphere at Mr. Larry’s, it became a swinging Sunday afternoon jazz spot.

By 1957, according to Borenstein, the changing times in New Orleans were reflected in the local night courts. One judge, outraged by any racial mixing, delivered a lecture one night to a group of musicians arrested for violating a law that prohibited blacks and whites from entertaining together. He informed the court, “We don’t want Yankees coming to New Orleans mixing cream with our coffee.” He went on the tell Kid Thomas Valentine he would let him go this time since he was appreciated over on the West Bank (of the Mississippi) for giving cornet lessons to the young kids. But he was to remember his place in the future and not get “uppity.”

In 1961, Mr. Larry’s was turned over to Ken Mills, a young Californian who began, in collaboration with Borenstein and recording pioneer William Russell, to develop the business idea of recording the jazzmen. As the performances progressed and became a calling card for jazz lovers from across the country, the building on St. Peter Street, though briefly known by other names, was eventually dubbed, “Preservation Hall,” dedicated to the preservation of New Orleans jazz. June 10, 1961, was the official opening night.

At the encouragement of his friend, Johnny Lagattuta, Bob Coke was charged to photograph the jazzmen. Lagattuta, who was financially and otherwise tied to Borenstein, obtained free passage for Coke and his camera into the inner circle. Many times over the next several years, Bob Coke blended into the Preservation Hall atmosphere to record a visual image of these ground breaking jazz performers and composers, whose sounds would become integrated into much of the contemporary music we hear today.

This collection of portraits was printed by Coke in his photography studio in Brookhaven, and was purchased as part of the holdings of the Brookhaven Trust for the Preservation of history, culture and the arts. The collection was subsequently donated to the permanent collection of art at the Lincoln County Public Library.

An exhibition opening and reception will take place at the Lincoln County Public Library at 5:30 p.m. in the lobby gallery space on Nov. 14, 2024.

David Kunian, curator of the New Orlean Jazz Museum, will be the guest speaker. Kunian is also an award-winning documentarian of New Orleans music and culture and has been a radio personality for the past 20 years. He is particularly well equipped to give some historical context for the exhibition and the photographs and personalities presented.

Special music will be presented by saxophonist Dr. Jessie Primer, chair of the Humanities and Performing Arts at Tougaloo College.

The public is invited.

“The reception is generously being sponsored by BankPlus,” said Lincoln-Lawrence-Franklin Regional Library Director Ryda Worthy. “The Lincoln County Library also received grant funding

from the Mississippi Humanities Council, through the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), to support The Jazzmen: Preservation Hall Portraits in Black and White, the photographs of Bob Coke. The Mississippi Humanities Council grant empowers the Lincoln Lawrence Franklin Regional Library to develop innovative projects and programs that encourage critical thinking, cultural exchange, and community participation.

“In addition to the presentation by David Kunian and the musical accompaniment by Dr. Jessie Primer, refreshments will be served. We hope that members of the public have the opportunity to experience this unique evening of information and entertainment.”

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