Iconic Spotlight : Harry Carney, by Ted Williams

Harry Carney’s baritone saxophone was the anchor in Duke Ellington’s band from the age of sixteen until his death forty-eight years later. I had been doing a series of photo sessions in a studio near the Blue Note and I invited Harry to come in sometime so we could experiment visually with him and his horn. He accepted immediately and we spent a fascinating afternoon discussing photography (he was a fan), politics and the state of music as I moved my camera around Harry and his big horn. He explained the theory of circular breathing and how it enabled him to execute long passages or hold that long note that Duke often has the baritone sax perform.

- Ted Williams, taken from "Jazz by Ted Williams"