Belgian born, Jos L. Knaepen, more commonly referred to as "The Jazzman," became interested in jazz at the age of seventeen, after purchasing his first LPs of Django Reinhart and Sidney Bechet in 1961.
By the time he was 18, he was a regular attendee at the infamous Comblain La Tour where many jazz giants performed during their European tours. It was also during this period that his interest in photography began.
Not having the money to purchase sophisticated photo equipment, it took several years of dedicated saving to be able to call himself a serious photographer. His professional photographic career began in the early seventies.
Jos' photographic work continued during the early 1980s and his award-winning action photography was exhibited regularly throughout Belgium.
By 1985, his professional photography career took a hiatus until 1990 when he began again, this time limiting his photography strictly to jazz, one of the great loves of his life.
Covers for Downbeat, nominee 2008 for The Lona Foote/ Bob Parent
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