Eyd Kazery, Photographer of Blues Legends

Eyd is a native of Jackson, Mississippi where he attended St. Joseph High School and Belhaven College. He has participated in numerous exhibitions and workshops throughout the southeast.

Excerpt from: Photographic memories Lucas Sherry
By Sherry Lucas/Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer

Eyd Kazery's photographs of Blues musicians were taken mostly at the Delta Blues Festival, 1979-84. "I used to go every year. My favorite ones died in the early '80s - Big Joe Williams, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Sam Chatmon, some they used to call the elder statesmen of blues," Kazery said.
Muddy Waters is there in a closeup, eyes closed and seeming to savor the beat.
Chronicling that generation of blues heroes wasn't his intent. "At the time, I didn't think I was qualified to document them. This was personal. This was strictly for me."
Kazery's photos carry the gritty authenticity of the music, whether taken on- or off-stage at the festival or, in the case of Boll Weevil, in front of his rural Hinds County home. A photograph of a young, lanky Robert Cray from the early '80s, stands out, too Kazery's image was used in a songbook by the musician.