About Michael Henniger and the story behind ‘We Had Jazz’
The We Had Jazz archive of Carl Henniger’s Photographs was “rediscovered” by his son Michael while looking for a very special photograph. In 1954 at the age of ten, Carl took Michael trout fishing for the first time. On a large rock overhanging a deep pool on the Nehalem River, Michael patiently dangled single salmon eggs from an 9 ft. bamboo fly rod while Carl worked his way up-stream through dense coast range streamside brush.
Over and over trout would nibble and Mike would try to set the hook with no luck. Then, finally a strong hit and the hook was set! A 12” cutthroat trout had swallowed the hook so deeply that Michael could not unhook it. Struggling with a wiggly trout attached to a 9’ pole Michael struggled to catch up to his dad who unhooked the fish and placed it in his creel on a bed of ferns. Michael caught a second trout that day, but dad came up empty.
On the way home, Card stopped and photographed a tired but very happy Michael with his two trout in front of a large cider log. A very special day and a very special photo.
About Carl Henniger
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Carl moved to Portland, Oregon in his early teens. In high school he joined the photography club and at Oregon State College he took undergraduate photography courses, becoming a staff photographer for the student newspaper and the principal photographer for the OSC yearbook, "the 1942 Beaver."
With the outbreak of WWII, Carl joined the Army Air Corps, earned his wings and became a flight instructor, returning to Portland at the end of the war to take a job with "The Oregonian." He continued to pursue his life long passion of photography, purchased a 4x5 Speed Graphic and joined the Oregon Camera Club for access to darkroom equipment and facilities.
During the 1950s Portland became a major stop for jazz tours on the national and west coast tour circuit thanks to it’s high amount bars, ballrooms and dance clubs. Between 1953 and 1955, Carl took pictures of every major jazz artist or band playing in Portland with his 4x5 Speed Graphic, attending concerts before, during and after performances, developing and printing the images the same night and transmitting them via "The Oregonian" wire photo equipment to New York. He continued this until the end of 1955 when he moved his family of six to Beaverton, Oregon.
Carl died in 2009. In 2016 his oldest son Michael discovered the jazz negatives while searching for an early family photo, purchased a scanner and revealed a stunning archive of jazz history. In all a total of 385 images were scanned over four months, and Michael has exhibited some of these images at several venues after receiving a grant from the Regional Art and Culture Council of Oregon to cover printing and exhibit expenses.