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There’s only one weekend left to see the colorful metal murals and large-scale prints by music photographers George Wirt and Tony Graves on display at Where Music Lives on Cookman Avenue.

Where Music Lives, 708 Cookman Ave., is the performance and exhibition space of the Asbury Park Musical Heritage Foundation.

The show, dubbed “Asbury Park: Jazz and Blues Mecca,” runs through Sunday, June 30. It features photos of jazz and blues artists as they perform in venues and festivals in Asbury Park, according to a press release from the foundation. 

Some of the musical artists photographed include Dave Valentine, Tony Bennett, Stanley Jordan, B.B. King, Mindi Abair, Lonnie Liston Smith, the Dirty Dozen Jazz Band, Jimmy Health, Nelson Rangel and others, the release said.

Wirt and Graves photographed the iconic singers and songwriters at local landmark venues like the Paramount Theater, Convention Hall and the Stone Pony, and newer clubs like Tim McLoone’s and the Urban Nest, as well as at past Asbury Park Jazz Festivals throughout the years, the release said.

“We’re constantly looking for that gesture or expression that will make for unique images of the performances we’re covering,” said Wirt.

The exhibit includes three colorful metal murals as well as more than two dozen large format prints, according to the release.

“We’ve been fortunate to be present at some memorable Jazz and Blues performances,” said Graves, an artist in residence at Essex County Community College.

When describing Asbury Park and the jazz and blues connection, jazz bassist and music historian Christian McBride calls it the “Jazz pipeline,” the release said.

“The corridor between Philadelphia and New York City is home to some of the best Jazz and Blues musicians in the world, and Asbury Park is right at the center of it all,” McBride said.

The Grammy Award-wining big band leader and artistic advisor for the James Moody Democracy of Jazz Festival at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center says Asbury Park has been a Mecca for touring Jazz and Blues players for years, the release said.

“They would play gigs or jam at some of the historic clubs of the past,” said McBride. “Today there is resurgence with many homegrown players and new venues in the mix.”

“Asbury Park: Jazz and Blues Mecca” can be viewed Saturday, June 29 from noon to 7 p.m and Sunday, June 30 from noon to 6 p.m.

[Photo at top: George Wirt’s colorful murals feature portraits of many jazz greats including Wynton Marsalis, Chick Corea and Chris Botti.]

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