This series examines the photographers who exhibited at the Leica Galerie at photokina 2014. The focus of this year’s exhibition concept was on impressive photography from the world of music. It embraced all facets of music photography, and today we’re featuring Michael Agel who captured Jamie Cullum on tour. Jamie’s new album “Interlude” is on sale today and will be released in Canada and the U.S. later this winter. Read on for more information about Michael’s work and exhibit and insight from Jamie Cullum whose photographs were also featured at photokina.

When asked about the future of jazz, Jamie Cullum believes it “has a future as long as people are playing and listening. As far as I can see both are happening.” So when it came time for creating artwork for his album “Interlude,” on sale today, Jamie turned to Michael Agel for help.
During Jamie’s recent U.S. tour, Michael used the Leica T Camera System and Leica S-System to take shots of Jamie, both off and on stage. Images from both Michael and Jamie can be found on the front cover of  “Interlude” and in an exclusive photo booklet included in the deluxe version of the album. On the connection between Leica Camera and music, Jamie has said, “one’s a camera – a tool that inspires creativity, the other is an entire art form! My uncle has had Leicas since I was a boy, and I’ve been mucking around since.”
 

Q: Michael, what image is your favorite in this gallery and why?
A: My favorite image shows Jamie during a session, totally deep in his music after a “wild” moment. So, he is out of breath and totally emotional.
Q: What, if anything, do you hope the viewer sees or gains when looking at these images?
A: I try to show something of the power and emotion during a live concert. The other images are a making of from Jamie’s photography. It was a great time and we had a lot of fun and interesting encounters.
Thank you for your time, Michael!
– Leica Internet Team
Connect with Michael on his website. For more information on Jamie, visit his website, Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, Instagram, G+ and YouTube. See #DasWesentliche impressions from photokina here.