Today’s edition is entirely dedicated to Jean Marie Périer. Here is the second part that looks back to the 1950’s of the French photographer.
Daniel Filipacchi hired me in three minutes and changed my life forever. At this time, he was making fashion pictures for Marie-Claire magazine, but I understood very quickly that he was less interested in the dresses than by the models. But if he had lots of success with women, Daniel’s passion was jazz music.
(Photo No 1)
He already had a magazine about jazz called Jazz magazine with his friend Frank Tenot.
(Photo No 2)
I couldn’t imagine that this man would be my second chance in life. He adopted me instantly and from then on treated me as a family member.
(Photo No 3, Me and his wife Sondra)
In the Marie-Claire studio, there was also a marvelous man who took care of the place, a very nice man, but nobody paid attention to him, his name was Maurice Tabart. At the back of the studio he had a small laboratory, and every night he used to clean the mess left by other photographers. I’ve seen many important people never talking to him then, but after he died, suddenly they became aware of his talent and bought his pictures at a very high price. If Daniel taught me how to live my life, Tabart gave me a gift, love for photography. I want to thank him today.
(Photo No 4)
Soon, Daniel sent me on tours to make pictures of jazz musicians. There was a lot of trust in him, especially when you see my face at this time.
(Photo No 5)
Life really has an odd sense of humor. Just when I had closed my piano for good, I found myself next to the greatest musicians in the world.
(Jazz Portfolio)
And there was the hectic life at 51 rue Pierre Charron, the building of the Jean-Prouvost group.
At this time, the photographers of Paris-Match were the kings of the world. They used to cover wars, run after princesses and drive Ferraris.
(Photo No 6)
The office atmosphere was highly exciting. I still see the journalists playing cards as they were waiting to run for a scoop, and the sudden silence when Prouvost arrived for one of the meetings with the board of directors, Roger Thérond, Walter Carone, Hervé Mille, Gaston Bonheur, and others that I don’t remember. On the floor above were the offices of Marie-Claire, we used to run from one floor to the other Daniel and I. There, the atmosphere was hushed, with elegant ladies slightly roughed up by the sense of humor of the art director Régis Pagniez. Most of all, I remember the kindness toward me of Jean Demachy, the chief editor and his wife Claude.
(Photo No 7)
And in the basement, I still see the laboratory assistants with their fingers yellowed by the chemical products, having lunch in the pizzeria in the courtyard. I’ve been lucky enough to live this period that will never come back, the times when the newspapers were handmade by people loving their job and laughing all the time about everything.
Jean-Marie Périer
