Khruangbin at South by San José

JZ March 21, 2017

Another March, another SXSW come and gone. The highlight was seeing Khruangbin close a busy week by performing to a packed house at South by San José. The band, which fuses 60's Thai funk with surf and psych rock, would be equally at home on a Tarantino soundtrack as on a Glastonbury Music Festival stage. Experiencing the performance was a special treat for this Houstonian, as I first watched this Houston-bred band perform in 2011 at Cactus Music, Houston's oldest indie music store and my home away from home. That was shortly after the band had formed. It was great having them back in Texas, after touring in Europe and headlining in the US (including Houston's new White Oak Music Hall). After you take a moment to view the photos of their performance, please check out Khruangbin on Twitter, Facebook, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp. I am already looking forward to seeing them perform in June at Eleanor Tinsley Park for Free Press Summer Festival

Arthur Yoria portrait sessions for Splice Records

JZ February 22, 2017

For the past couple of years, I've had the pleasure of working with the artists of Houston-based Splice Records. Recently, I collaborated with singer/songwriter Arthur Yoria, creating portraits for his upcoming album. In addition to shooting in the portrait studio, we had the good fortune to shoot in historic Studio A at SugarHill Recording Studios. A huge thank you to Dan Workman for allowing us to stick around after Arthur's recording session at The Treehouse at SugarHill had wrapped! Arthur's latest single, "Shake," is available on Splice Records. Expect more from him on that label later this year. Here are a few photos from those photo sessions. I hope you enjoy them. Cheers.

Janelle MonáE

Day for Night Music Festival, Houston, TX

Janelle Monáe at Day for Night Music and Art Festival

JZ October 18, 2016

All the recent buzz surrounding this year's Day for Night music and art festival has me nostalgic for last year's show. I revisited the photos of one of my favorite acts of that festival: Janelle Monáe . That weekend I discovered the secret to photographing Miss Monáe:

attend a concert where she is performing,
point your camera in her direction, and
press the largest button on your camera.

Seriously. She is such an amazing and expressive performer that it is tough to take a bad photo of her. Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy.

Dollie Barnes in studio

The Tree House at SugarHill

Dollie Barnes in the recording studio

JZ January 4, 2016

The new Dollie Barnes album is one of my most anticipated upcoming Houston releases. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time with the band while they were recording with Steve Christensen at The Treehouse at SugarHill Recording Studios. Spending time in the studio, watching these songs evolve, while surrounded by so many talented friends was an honor and a pleasure. I hope you enjoy peaking behind the curtain as much as I enjoyed experiencing the moment.

St. Vincent

Free Press Summer Festival 2015

St. Vincent at Free Press Summer Festival

JZ June 16, 2015

I had the pleasure of photographing St. Vincent for the Houston Chronicle during Free Press Summer Festival this year. You can read Craig's coverage HERE and Joey's coverage HERE. I hope the photos speak for themselves. I found her to be one of the most photogenic artists who I have shot it a very long time. The camera absolutely adores her.