#2 - Sharon Jones: Soul of a Woman
All Access with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Madison Square Garden, 2/19/2016
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Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
Madison Square Garden, 2/19/2016
Long-term relationships with artists are really important to me and how I like to work. A lot of photographers seem happy with three songs-worth of proximity to the artists they love. But since the very beginning, I’ve preferred to develop relationships that allow me to work hours, days, or even years at a time.
My work with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings remains the longest and most productive photographic relationship I’ve had—seven and a half years—so I wanted to honor them with this first post from the archives documenting a special evening in 2016 when they played Madison Square Garden opening for Daryl Hall & John Oates.
Sharon and the Dap-Kings (and Dapettes) symbiotically brought out the best in each other and together could take soul music to a sublime level. Via the band, Sharon had the machinery behind her to go fully into herself and direct that energy back to the audience. In-turn, her absolute commitment to the performance inspired the band as a unit to rise to meet her. If you’ve seen them live—the Dap-Kings and Dapettes locked in sync and Sharon in full command of the stage—you know.
While my relationship with Daptone led to several commissioned projects and album covers, at least 75% of the images created with them were as a privileged, independent observer. I wasn’t there all the time, but when I sensed that something important might be happening—I’d check in and see if they’d mind if I came to hang out. We were close to figuring out a way for me to be the ‘Official Daptone Photographer’ but complications and uncertainty about Sharon’s health kept us from formalizing it.
Given the venue’s legendary status, I thought it was a special opportunity to document the band at Madison Square Garden (although they had played there once before, opening for Prince in 2011). The Dap-Kings tend to downplay these things, but I remember Binky ripping a few Led Zeppelin riffs into the empty room at soundcheck to mark the occasion.
Sharon had gone through an extraordinary fight against pancreatic cancer a few years prior, returning to the stage in 2014 in a triumphant and emotional show at the Beacon Theatre. Two years later, Sharon was looking healthy; some hair had grown back and she had put a little weight back on. But in July, she would announce publicly that the cancer had returned while she continued performing as much as she could.
But in this moment in time, things felt somewhat back to normal and optimistic. I’ll let the photos and captions tell the rest of the story.
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