A Great Day in Harlem

Published as the centerfold of the January 1959 ("Golden Age of Jazz") issue of Esquire,[4] the image was captured with a Hasselblad camera, and earned Kane his first Art Directors Club of New York gold medal for photography.

[6] The scene portrayed is something of an anachronism, as by 1957 Harlem was no longer the "hotbed" of jazz it had been in the 1940s, and had "forfeited its place in sun" to 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan.

[8] Kane himself was not that certain who would turn up on the day, as Esquire staff had merely issued a general invitation through the local musicians' union, recording studios, music writers, and nightclub owners.

[9] In 2018, a book was published to mark the 60th anniversary of the event, with forewords by Quincy Jones and Benny Golson,[b] and an introduction by Kane's son, Jonathan.

[15] Notable absentees were Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis (all touring), Duke Ellington (in Milwaukee), Benny Goodman (in Los Angeles), and Ella Fitzgerald (recording in Chicago).

[16][17] Ronnie Free, Mose Allison and Charlie Rouse arrived too late to participate in the Esquire shoot, but they were photographed by Dizzy Gillespie alongside Mary Lou Williams, Lester Young and Oscar Pettiford.

[18][19] Jean Bach, a radio producer of New York, recounted the story behind the photograph in her 1994 documentary film, A Great Day in Harlem.