Exposition « Portrait(s) d’un festival – 40 ans de Jazz à Tourcoing »

A photographic retrospective by Jacques Grossemy.

Jacques Grossemy is a professional photographer specialising in portraiture since 1987, based in Roncq. Trained alongside major names in photography such as Christian Chamourat, Andréa Westelynck, Paolo Roversi and Fernande Kuypers...

Alongside this, he is passionate about music, and more specifically jazz ever since discovering Miles Davis. He is also an amateur musician and, from 1986 to 2006, hosted the show "Jazz Toxique" on Radio Boomerang in Roubaix.

In 1989, he discovered the TJF and was entrusted with the role of official festival photographer. Since then, he has combined his two passions, music and photography, travelling across venues and festivals to capture over the years the faces of musicians, mostly on film.

His work has been published in the specialist press, on CD covers and booklets, and in concert programmes. He has been present at almost every edition of the festival since its very beginnings.

Through his gaze, the portrait becomes a suspended moment: expressions, light and space combine to create images where one can sense the intensity of the musical performance.

Whether capturing a look in search of the blue note or an inspired gesture, he seizes the power of the moment.

Drawing on a selection from over 3,700 musicians catalogued in his photographic library, in both colour and black and white, he has put together a true visual archive, paying tribute to the female and male musicians who have brought these 40 years of Jazz à Tourcoing to life!

Exhibition produced in partnership with the association Hélio - Centre de promotion et de création photographique, and the network of media libraries in Tourcoing.

Vernissage – Meet Quintet Saturday 10 October – 11:00 am As part of the Tourcoing Jazz Festival, students from the Conservatoire's jazz department perform on the occasion of the opening of the photographic exhibition "Portrait(s) d’un festival – 40 ans de Jazz à Tourcoing".

An encounter between live music and photographic memory.