With this book, Jérôme Brunet becomes a member of an elite group of music photographers. It has been quite a while since the pantheon days of Jim Marshall, Lynn Goldsmith, Baron Wolman, and a select handful of others.

“Into the Light (right),” captures contemporary musicians in a variety of venues from France to Boston to San Francisco, and just about everywhere in-between. More than 200 pages of compelling and intimate, mostly black-and-white images capture music’s luminaries, as well as those who are just making their names in the industry.

In the Foreword, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member (2016), Steve Miller writes, “… I’m referring to Herman Leonard and Francis Wolf who spent their entire lives photographing the essence of jazz and Baron Wolman and Jim Marshall who documented the musical revolution of the ‘60s with photographs that capture the truth in powerful, unforgettable pictures. Jérôme Brunet a newly-arrived member of this exclusive group of artists.”

As I first flipped through this book, I was immediately captivated by the raw energy of work and the seemingly tireless dedication to the craft Brunet put into each-and-every image. As a concert photograph myself in the latter part of the twentieth-century, I can attest to the effort the work demands of you: passion, patience, and perseverance. You cannot succeed in this genre unless you possess all three. Money is not the end; it’s the magic in the image that counts night after night.

Jazz great Al Di Meola, Eddie Van Halen, The Edge and Bono, Derek Trucks, Joss Stone, and many others are captured in performance. Aretha Franklin, Tom Petty (left), Etta James, and B.B. King are captured eloquently in the fading days of incredible careers. Many others grace the pages of “Into the Light,” that enable us to realize, maybe once and for all that music does matter.
The images in this portfolio only scratch the surface of a book that will be a lasting tribute to those who have passed, and to those whom we are still able to experience live or through many other media. A wide range of music is featured: blues, jazz, rock and roll, Americana, heavy metal, roots, etc.
In his Introduction, Brunet mentions Yousuf Karsh, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Jim Marshall, and a handful of other legends and photographic luminaries as early inspirations.

“I’m known to shoot what is referred to in French as shooting in contre-jour or “into the light,” where the camera is pointed directly toward a source of light,” he writes. “After twenty years into my journey as a music photographer I thought it was time to put my work into the light and share this collection with music lovers everywhere.”

Signed copies only available at: www.intothelight.photo/

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A portion of the proceeds from this book will go to the Pinetop Perkins Foundation, providing encouragement and support for young people at the beginning of their musical career and helping provide care and safety for elderly musicians at the twilight of their career.

For more information please visit: www.pinetopperkinsfoundation.org