RIP Michael Oletta, a Man of Many Talents

San Diego resident Michael Oletta was the archetypal autodidact. His childhood passion for photography led to a career as a professional image catcher. He specialized in capturing musicians and bands in performance, particularly jazz. Inspired by the music, Oletta learned to play electric bass and became proficient enough to gig around town and form his own band, the Now Time Quartet.

Oletta died May 4, after a battle with liver cancer. He was 70 years old.

“Michael was a great guy,” said close friend and artistic collaborator Chet Wooding. “I considered him my best friend.”

Longtime acquaintance, bassist Gunnar Biggs, recalled that Oletta volunteered to be the photographer in the 1980s at his marriage ceremony with Bonnie Biggs. The couple have been together since, now residing in Carlsbad.

“He shot our wedding 42 years ago on the campus at San Diego State,” said Gunnar Biggs, who was an instructor at the university then. “He was a real selfless guy. He helped people out.”

The event was unforgettable to attendees, including Wooding, in part because Biggs’ fellow teacher and musical ally, pianist Butch Lacy, showed up to play at the reception disguised in a bunny costume.

Oletta’s willingness to immerse himself in the San Diego musical community made him a well-known figure around town for decades. Even in the last few years, Oletta could be seen showing up to photograph the Biggs’ “porchella” home veranda concerts during the pandemic era and later at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church’s ongoing Jazz Evensong concerts in downtown Carlsbad.

Biggs and four other stellar musicians—reed player Keith Bishop, pianist Leonard Thompson, guitarist Joey Carano, and drummer Bob Weller—perform notable jazz and standard compositions and occasionally their own material.

“I was just kind of doing it because it was a passion,” Oletta said of his affinity for picture-taking. “I’ve kind of made it a point in my whole career not to make money off of people in any way. But I loved the music too, so I just shot it, especially a lot of the local stuff.”

Eventually, he established a studio on India Street and did a lot of work for the San Diego Reader.

“Almost everybody on the jazz scene here came through that studio at one time or another,” he said.

Oletta also amassed a collection of images that he shot of internationally renowned musicians at various jazz concerts and festivals. The fruit of that is a coffee-table style tome titled In the Moment.

Acclaimed saxophonist Charles McPherson, a San Diego resident, is quoted in promoting the book: “Michael Oletta’s work is compelling, beautiful, and spot on. His photos capture the mood, vibe, and ambiance of the jazz moment.”

Photography was something Oletta took up as a child. He never went through much former training. He started shooting rock bands through an act of adolescent bravado.

“I was into music and photography but wasn’t playing,” he said. “I was kind of the guy with the camera in high school. I had a fake ID that said I was a photographer for the Rolling Stone magazine with my picture on it and everything. I would go to a concert and flash that. Hardly anybody had a nice camera. Mine wasn’t that great. It was just that I looked official.”

Though he explored the idea of getting into film, he eventually stuck primarily with still photography. “To make a long story short, I had to learn on my own,” he said.

He grew up in Modesto before moving down to this region with the idea of taking some classes at San Diego State. Oletta said that though his dad had been a clarinet player and jazz fan, the son did not gravitate toward playing an instrument. Yet the music was engrained in him.

“When I got down here, the first thing I did was try to find some jazz,” Oletta said.

He befriended the outstanding sax player and concert promoter Joe Marillo, a mainstay of the San Diego scene for years.

“Joe and I met and we just bonded immediately. I started following him around and, of course, he was connected to everybody on the scene. I was always shooting him. I did his album cover. He recorded a live album at Elario’s (in La Jolla) and I did the photography for that.”

It was Marillo who encouraged Oletta to buy a bass and try his hand at music

“I guess in the early 2000s, I finally went and bought a bass,” Oletta said. “But I was working so much doing my photography and everything, I just noodled around on it. I didn’t really know what I was doing. And there was no YouTube at that time that I had access to look up stuff.”

Marillo invited Oletta to play with him while the maestro was experimenting with piano. Biggs, who is also accomplished on electric bass, recalled that Oletta took some lessons from him for a couple of years.

Eventually, Oletta said he began to get the hang of accompanying jazz compositions. According to Oletta, Marillo recognized that his disciple had an ear for the music.

“He’d say, ‘Don’t you dare ever stop playing.’ He’d say, ‘I can’t teach you what you know. I can teach people how to play and the mechanics and the chords and how to go through the chord changes. I cannot teach what you have in your head. You cannot stop playing.”

Michael Oletta’s friends share some thoughts.

Charles McPherson, jazz saxophonist extraordinaire: I’ve known known Michael for a very long time. He was the photographer for my wedding in 1986, so I knew him before that. Through the years he’s gotten many shots of me and other people, including internationally renowned artists. One time he needed to take a shot of me at my house…just from the waist up. For some reason, I didn’t have pants on. Michael said I don’t need them anyway. I had the top half ready to go… jacket on, hair combed, tie straightened… so I don’t have pants on… Here we are in the middle of my living room and here come some Jehovah’s Witnesses knockin’ at the door. It was summertime, so the door was open. I just thought about how that might look to them if they actually could see in. And I thought about it… what do they see? This black guy and this white guy… so did they think they came across some lewd activity going on? That was hilarious.

Michael got into playing music himself, playing bass later on. He had the music thing going and, of course, the photography. A snapshot became a piece of art to him. He was excellent. More important than anything, he just was truly just a beautiful soul. Not one ounce of ego, arrogance, or entitlement. The real deal. What you saw was what you got. He was a bright and beautiful soul. Very helpful and giving.

 

Adam Wolff, jazz pianist: I met Michael around 15 years ago, playing music at the now-shuttered Turquoise Restaurant in Pacific Beach. There was a time when the restaurant had three music slots on some nights, and Michael and I started hanging out and playing in some of the bands together. I learned of his deep connection to jazz and his love of photographing those who play jazz. We shared a love of cinema as well and enjoyed classics like 2001, A Space Oddysey, Blade Runner, or Bullitt whenever they were up on the big screen. We also enjoyed leisurely bicycling through the neighborhoods, such as Mission Hills—where he had lived for many years—or the back roads of La Jolla. One of the greatest adventures I had with him was staying at a B&B in a lighthouse in the San Francisco Bay (East Brother Lighthouse). He brought together some friends and we spent a couple of amazing days on the tiny island.

His jazz photography was pure art form—he loved the pursuit of a good shot, capturing the musician in action, like a safari photographer. He attended dozens of Monterey Jazz Festivals over the years, and it’s likely that his archives documenting local San Diego player is by far the most comprehensive, dating back to the ’70s up until this year.

 

Lori Bell, jazz flautist: Michael Oletta, photographer extraordinaire, captured hundreds of great jazz moments. He literally documented the jazz scene in San Diego from the ’80s on.  One of the greats for sure. He will be sorely missed.

 

Gunnar Biggs, jazz bassist:: MMichael was a gifted photographer; the moments he caught on camera defined his brilliance. I met him in the late ’70s-early ’80s, so, when my wife, Bonnie, and I got married, we invited him to our “wedding/jam session” in 1984.  Michael photographed dozens of San Diego’s best jazz musicians at that event (Charles McPherson was my best man!). He caught that magic moment when Butch Lacy (who had flown in from Denmark) was revealed as the guy in the bunny suit!  He was our wedding gift from my parents. Michael’s photographs were always “well seen,” as defined by Ansel Adams’ famous student, John Sexton.  He will be sorely missed.

 

Liz Abbott, editor-publisher of the San Diego Troubadour: Michael was a treasure. He knew everyone in the jazz community and I was proud to be his friend. Everyone loved Michael. Not only did he shoot numerous cover shots for the Troubadour, he was my jazz buddy. We went out a lot to see shows around town. He was a wonderful companion—and really fun and funny—to hang out with. AND smart. His photos will live on…

A memorial service is being planned for Michael sometime in July. We are still nailing down the details. An announcement will be made so everyone who knew and loved him can attend.