Cloud Arrangers / Music photography book by Ziga Koritnik

My jazz / music Photography from 1986-2018, 278 black and white pictures with a few color exceptions, 379 pages, format 25x30cm,

“Žiga is a “Muse-ician,” one who make magic with the muses. With his mind’s eye, he has the ability, to move faster than the speed of light, to capture moments in time and through his photographs, share those moments with the world. The camera in his hands, transforms shadow and light from the common place into truly extraordinary human experiences. He is an improviser, a chronicler of life in real time, a poet, a philosopher, a free spirit, a song in anticipation of being sung. These are the very disciplines which are the essence of my musical world.” 
Joe McPhee (excerpt from the text, featured in the book)

Book specification: 

- 376 pages printed in a combination of duotone and full color on Garda Premium Natural paper

- Sewn-bound in hardcover

- Printed in Slovenia- Size in cm: 25x30 (spine cca. 3.2) in one of best European printing houses Gorenjski Tisk

- Weight in kg: cca 2.6

- The book is practically ready for production!(some minor deviations are possible) 

Miles Davis, Belgrade, Serbia

Everything started in 1986 at a Miles Davis concert in Belgrade. 

I decided, then and there, I would explore the world of music and photograph its details. I also took a picture which appears on the cover of the Slovenian edition of Miles Davis’s autobiography.  

“Cloud Arrangers” is the destination of my 33 years on the road as a music photographer. This book is for music, which is so important to me. But it is a book for the new generation, a shout out to everybody involved in music. We need to proceed on our mission, we need to continue with our work. We need to help the scene stay alive. “Cloud Arrangers” is the work of my lifetime.

It is also my first sole publication after “Jazzy-ga!”, a catalogue which accompanied my first international exhibition at the 1996 Saalfelden Jazz Festival in Austria, one of the most important festivals in Europe.

Now that 22 years have passed since I last published a book of music photography – the most recent eight of them spent on planning “Cloud Arrangers” – it is finally time to release my work into the open. On 376 pages, the book depicts almost all musical genres, from the mainstream all the way to free improvised music. Different genres of photography are also on display, from reportage-style catching-the-moment, both onstage and behind the scenes, to portraits of individuals or groups.

The legends Mats Gustafsson, Joëlle Léandre, Joe McPhee, Ken Vandermark, and John Kelman have all contributed forewords.

It was hell to make a selection out of a huge archive. In the end I decided on those images I felt were the most vibrating, which recalled unforgettable memories, or those in which I had managed to transfer the deepest feelings of the event. I didn't want to include any picture in which the people depicted would not have liked themselves. The book presents the work closest to me, my best pictures, mostly shot in black-and-white with a few exceptions in color. Some of the earliest photos are right from the beginning of my path – like the 1986 Miles Davis concert in Belgrade. I started out working with analog cameras and have only recently switched to digital. But I still take the occasional portrait with an analog 6x7 medium-format camera.

Schedule: 

-beginning of  october, after campaign or immediately, after we get over the pledged amount, we finish design and start print preparations 

-beginning or middle of november 

- printing-beginning of december 2018, january 2019 - distributing

I hope, will do my best, that book will be ready at the beginning of december. In case something goes wrong, supporters will get it latest at the end of January 2019.

The risks and challenges when publishing a photo book include the possibility of delay, however my collaborators are very experienced at dealing with the production and printing challenges involved in making exceptional photography books. If this campaign is successful, I will do everything possible to make sure the book is published and shipped by the end of January 2019. Everybody involved is informed about my plans, waiting for the green light, to go on with the work. After pledging your support, please help spread the word about this project by sharing this page with your friends. Thank you for your help in making this book possible!