--- title: Photos of Jazz Legends Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Dizzy and More description: Photos of Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie and other jazz legends playing at photographer Gjon Mili's studio in the 1940s. canonical: https://time.com/3689431/giants-at-play-life-with-jazz-legends/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-02-12T15:23:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:57.059Z og:title: Photos of Jazz Legends Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Dizzy and More og:description: Photos of Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie and other jazz legends playing at photographer Gjon Mili's studio in the 1940s. og:url: https://time.com/3689431/giants-at-play-life-with-jazz-legends/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6f4e105de1e3665/69877ccf06f2c166e3333b63/150130-jazz-giants-03.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Billie Holiday 1943 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Photos of Jazz Legends Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Dizzy and More twitter:description: Photos of Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie and other jazz legends playing at photographer Gjon Mili's studio in the 1940s. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6f4e105de1e3665/69877ccf06f2c166e3333b63/150130-jazz-giants-03.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Giants at Play: LIFE With Jazz Legends by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Feb 12, 2012 3:23 PM UTC  Billie Holiday sings her standard, "Fine and Mellow," accompanied by James P. Johnson on piano and others, New York, 1943. Billie Holiday sings her standard, "Fine and Mellow," accompanied by James P. Johnson on piano and others, New York, 1943.Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Feb 12, 2012 3:23 PM UTC LIFE photographer Gjon Mili (who also directed the classic 1944 short film, _Jammin’ the Blues_) often hosted jam sessions at his photography studio in New York during the 1940s. The pictures in this gallery testify to the talent on hand — both musical and photographic—at those all-night parties. Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Cozy Cole, Gene Krupa . . . like the jam sessions themselves, the names of the greats who played at Mili’s studio go on and on and on. Born in Albania, raised in Romania, Mili emigrated to America to study electrical engineering at M.I.T. Inspired, in 1937, by M.I.T.’s Harold Edgerton’s development of the stroboscopic light, Mili went on to experiment with strobes, film speeds, unusual compositions and subjects—in short, he applied his prodigious technical prowess and dedicated his artist’s eye to new ways of seeing. Time, he realized, “could truly be made to stand still. Texture could be retained despite sudden violent movement.” These insights, combined with his love of jazz, helped him create some of the most intimate, unique portraits of jazz legends ever made by any photographer—all in what LIFE magazine called his “smoky sweaty barn of a studio.” As for the jam sessions themselves, LIFE (helpfully) wrote in its Oct. 11, 1943, issue in which some of these pictures first appeared: --- > “” --- --- > “” ---  A Bush of Hydrangea in Flower, salt print from a calotype negative, UK, c1842 Willim Henry Fox Talbot—©Archive of Modern Conflict _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Duke Ellington, New York, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Pearl Primus performs to "Honeysuckle Rose" as played by an all-star group consisting of Teddy Wilson (piano), Lou McGarity (trombone), Sidney Catlett (drums), Bobby Hackett (trumpet) and John Simons (bass). Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Billie Holiday sings her standard, "Fine and Mellow," accompanied by James P. Johnson on piano and others, New York, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Duke Ellington at the piano as Dizzy Gillespie (seated behind Ellington) and others swing, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Edward Kennedy ('Duke') Ellington, who leads what is unquestionably the world's most exciting dance band, plays 'Don't Get Around Much Any More,' his own current best-selling composition. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Duke Ellington, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Vocalist Lee Wiley sings, accompanied by her husband, pianist Jess Stacy, with Eddie Condon on guitar, Sid Weiss on bass and the great Cozy Cole on drums, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Vocalist Lee Wiley sings, accompanied by her husband, pianist Jess Stacy, with Eddie Condon on guitar, Sid Weiss on bass and the great Cozy Cole on drums, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Lee Wiley, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Conde Nast president Iva Patcevitch (in striped suit), Vogue editor-in-chief Edna Woolman Chase (far right, in hat) and other media types hang out at Gjon Mili's studio during a jam session, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Unidentified jazz musicians, New York, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Josh White sings and plays on guitar his 'Hard Time Blues.' Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Milfred 'Miff' Mole takes a chorus on 'Royal Garden Blues,' a jam session perennial. Mole, at 45, is acknowledged father of modern, hot trombone style, is widely copied. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  J.C. Heard Orchestra, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Duke Ellington and friends, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Billie Holiday sings 'Fine and Mellow,' a blues recorded for Commodore Label. She has most distinctive style of any popular vocalist, is imitated by other vocalists. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Franz Jackson on saxophone, accompanied by James P. Johnson at piano, Wilbur De Paris on trombone, Irving Fazola (fifth from left) on clarinet, Al Mott on bass and Cozy Cole on drums. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gene Krupa. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Eddie Heywood's hands, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  An unidentified bass player's fingers, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Count Basie, Lester Young, and other jazz greats at Gjon Mili's Studio in New York, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  James P. Johnson (piano) and friends, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jazz jam session, including Lester Young (standing, in hat) on saxophone and Count Basie at the piano, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  James P. Johnson, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Cozy Cole on drums, Al Mott on bass and Irving Fazola, taking a break from his clarinet, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  The one and only Roy Eldridge plays trumpet during drummer Gene Krupa's jam session at Gjon Mili's studio, 1940s. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Mary Lou Williams (who arranged for Ellington's band) jams in Gjon Mili's studio, New York, 1943. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gjon Mili's cat Blackie steps gingerly among empty glasses left on top of the piano after an all-night jam session at his (Mili's, not the cat's) studio, 1942. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. The next morning, Gjon Mili's studio was littered with cigaret stubs, broken glasses, spilled liquor. Many jazz musicians eat scrambled eggs and benzedrine for breakfast. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3689431/giants-at-play-life-with-jazz-legends/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3689431/giants-at-play-life-with-jazz-legends/"},"headline":"Giants at Play: LIFE With Jazz Legends","datePublished":"2012-02-12T15:23:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:57.059Z","description":"Rare and classic photos of Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young and other jazz legends playing at photographer Gjon Mili's \"smoky sweaty barn of a studio\" in the 1940s.","url":"https://time.com/3689431/giants-at-play-life-with-jazz-legends/","keywords":["Music","photography","LIFE Magazine","Jazz","Gjon Mili"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6f4e105de1e3665/69877ccf06f2c166e3333b63/150130-jazz-giants-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Cosgrove","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6f4e105de1e3665/69877ccf06f2c166e3333b63/150130-jazz-giants-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Billie Holiday 1943","caption":"Billie Holiday sings her standard, \"Fine and Mellow,\" accompanied by James P. Johnson on piano and others, New York, 1943.","creditText":"Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3689431/giants-at-play-life-with-jazz-legends/","name":"Giants at Play: LIFE With Jazz Legends"}}]}] ```