Cover Stories with Paul Morris, Vol. 3

December 22nd, 2013


Paul Morris is a graphic designer and writer who collects album art of the 1940’s and 1950’s. He finds his examples of influential mid-century design in the used record stores of Portland, Oregon.

In this edition, Paul features jazz illustrations from the early years of the record album

 

 

 

 

 

__________

 

 

 

Jazz is what’s on my turntable most often, and for this edition I’ve brought some jazz album covers from the early years of the record album. The art created for jazz tended to be more informal and bright than the work for classical music.

  In the early 1940s at Columbia, Alex Steinweiss was doing both. The 1942 anthology of boogie woogie music featured both black and white artists, and the illustration reflects that. “Frankie Carle at the Piano” is from 1940.

1-paul-boogiewoogie

2-paul

_____

  This Frankie Carle cover by Steinweiss uses the theme of songs with girls’ names, a scheme to be used many more times. Frankie Carle (born Carlone) is rightly classified as easy listening, rather than jazz. The typeface is a condensed version of Trade Gothic, very popular in these decades.

3-paul

_____

  This last Steinweiss is also from the periphery of jazz. The origin of “Rhapsody in Blue” in the composer’s New York apartment is juxtaposed with the performance in the symphony hall. More Trade Gothic, I believe. I like to try to recreate Steinweiss’s type using contemporary digital versions of these 1940s typefaces.

4-paul

 

_____

Jim Flora became the jazz specialist at Columbia in the 1940s, and his early creations are knockouts. They’re also hard to find for us collectors, so these first two covers are images found online. Columbia had an excellent reissue program for jazz classics that had been out of print for years. These Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong sides have rarely been out of print since they reappeared on 78-rpm albums in 1942.

5-paul

6-paul

_____

This Flora cover is from the 1950s, when he moved to RCA. Numerous live albums came out of the Embers nightclub in this decade. This and the other Flora covers made jazz seem like a lot of fun.

7-paul

_____

The covers below are nice but not spectacular, all uncredited, from about 1950. All of these are recordings released on 78 rpm originally, then repackaged in the new LP format. The Nat Cole cover is the most inventive.

8-paul

9-paul

10-paul

 

_____

This Armstrong image is a bit clumsy by today’s standards, but I like the spirit. In what they called a musical autobiography, Louis rerecorded his early hits, interspersing commentary about his life.

11-paul

_____

An unnamed artist at the Monogram studio produced this cover for Columbia. The informal pen-and-ink sketch has the feel of a small studio rather than the corporate ad agency.

12-paul

_____

In the 1950s, small labels began to proliferate, and as Eric Kohler wrote in his excellent In the Groove: Vintage Record Graphics 1940-1960, the jazz labels came up with some of the most interesting illustrations. David Stone Martin worked extensively for the Norman Granz labels, Verve and Clef. His style ranged widely. I like the quickly sketched look of the Lester Young and Dizzy Gillespie covers. The Young album is from my collection; it has to be said that the draftsmanship wasn’t the best on this one, whereas the Lionel Hampton cover is deftly drawn and very funny.

13-paul

14-paul

15-paul
16-paul

_____

This David Stone Martin drawing of clarinets is a favorite. The hanging light bulbs are an unexpected but very effective touch. Buddy DeFranco was the definitive bebop clarinet player, and is still with us at the age of 90.

17-paul

_____

Another prominent jazz illustrator was Burt Goldblatt. Here he makes the most of the square format all the artists had to deal with. Goldblatt also made a name as a photographer and designer.

18-paul

_____

This last cover is from 1959, designed by Paul Bacon, who became a prominent book-cover designer. He also was a jazz fan, creating covers for Thelonious Monk and others. The theme of this Benny Carter album was the months of the year (“September Song,” “I’ll Remember April.”). Bacon used the signs of the zodiac along with his hand lettering. I’d highly recommend this recording, which featured top L.A. studio players and the superior drumming of Shelly Manne. Benny Carter is a special favorite of mine. I like him so much, my daughter’s middle name is Carter.

19-paul

 

 

___________________________________________

In Volume 1 of “Cover Stories,” Paul shared his collection of covers by Alex Steinweiss, known as the father of the record album cover, and for many years in charge of Columbia Records’ art department.

Volume 2 focused on Columbia covers

Share this:

4 comments on “Cover Stories with Paul Morris, Vol. 3”

  1. Nice covers. Jazz covers are the best. Jim Flora’s covers remind me of the style of Cliff Roberts who illustrated a book I grew up with, The First Book of Jazz, with text by Langston Hughes, 1951.

  2. Paul, enjoyed the covers some of which I can remember from my own early days of buying albums. Interesting commentary. This is a whole new area I know nothing about.
    A few of my poems will be on this site sometime fairly soon. Thanks for turning me on to it.
    regards, Lou

  3. Thanks for some fascinating insights into designers of these early covers. I love Steinweiss’ early designs (as you show in Vol 1). He had excellent taste in employing the likes of Daryll Connelly, Jim Flora and Andy Warhol to do cover art for Columbia. Many of Steinweiss’ Decca covers are fabulous, too.
    I think Columbia Records set a standard for record cover art. I even love many of John Berg’s covers from the 70s and 80s.
    Great posts. I hope to read more!

Comment on this article:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

A Letter From the Publisher

An appeal for contributions to support the ongoing publishing efforts of Jerry Jazz Musician

In This Issue

The Modern Jazz Quintet by Everett Spruill
A Collection of Jazz Poetry — Summer, 2023 Edition

A wide range of topics are found in this collection. Tributes are paid to Tony Bennett and Ahmad Jamal and to the abstract worlds of musicians like Ornette Coleman and Pharoah Sanders; the complex lives of Chet Baker and Nina Simone are considered; devotions to Ellington and Basie are revealed; and personal solace is found in the music of Tommy Flanagan and Quartet West. These are poems of peace, reflection, time, venue and humor – all with jazz at their core. (Featuring the art of Everett Spruill)

The Sunday Poem

photo by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
“Fledging” by John L. Stanizzi

Interview

photo courtesy of Henry Threadgill
Interview with Brent Hayes Edwards, co-author (with Henry Threadgill) of Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music...The author discusses his work co-written with Threadgill, the composer and multi-instrumentalist widely recognized as one of the most original and innovative voices in contemporary music, and the winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Music.

Poetry

painting by Henry Denander
A collection of jazz haiku...This collection, featuring 22 poets, is an example of how much love, humor, sentimentality, reverence, joy and sorrow poets can fit into their haiku devoted to jazz.

In Memoriam

Fotograaf Onbekend / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
A thought or two about Tony Bennett

Podcast

"BG Boogie’s musical tour of indictment season"...The podcaster “BG Boogie” has weaponized the most recent drama facing The Former Guy, creating a 30 minute playlist “with all the latest up-to-date-est musical indictments of political ineptitude.”

Interview

Chick Webb/photographer unknown
Interview with Stephanie Stein Crease, author of Rhythm Man: Chick Webb and the Beat That Changed America...The author talks about her book and Chick Webb, once at the center of America’s popular music, and among the most influential musicians in jazz history.

Community

FOTO:FORTEPAN / Kölcsey Ferenc Dunakeszi Városi Könyvtár / Petanovics fényképek, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
.“Community Bookshelf, #1"...a twice-yearly space where writers who have been published on Jerry Jazz Musician can share news about their recently authored books. This edition includes information about books published within the last six months or so…

Short Fiction

photo vi Wallpaper Flare
Short Fiction Contest-winning story #63 — “Company” by Anastasia Jill...Twenty-year-old Priscilla Habel lives with her wannabe flapper mother who remains stuck in the jazz age 40 years later. Life is monotonous and sad until Cil meets Willie Flasterstain, a beatnik lesbian who offers an escape from her mother's ever-imposing shadow.

Poetry

Trading Fours, with Douglas Cole, No. 16: “Little Waltz” and “Summertime”...Trading Fours with Douglas Cole is an occasional series of the writer’s poetic interpretations of jazz recordings and film. In this edition, he connects the recordings of Jessica Williams' "Little Waltz" and Gene Harris' "Summertime."

Playlist

photo by Bob Hecht
This 28-song Spotify playlist, curated by Jerry Jazz Musician contributing writer Bob Hecht, features great tunes performed by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, Lester Young, Stan Getz, and…well, you get the idea.

Poetry

photo of Wolfman Jack via Wikimedia Commons
“Wolfman and The Righteous Brothers” – a poem by John Briscoe

Jazz History Quiz #167

GuardianH, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Before becoming one of television’s biggest stars, he was a competent ragtime and jazz piano player greatly influenced by Scott Joplin (pictured), and employed a band of New Orleans musicians similar to the Original Dixieland Jazz Band to play during his vaudeville revue. Who was he?

Short Fiction

photo via PIXNIO/CC0
“The Sound Barrier” – a short story by Bex Hansen

Short Fiction

back cover of Diana Krall's album "The Girl in the Other Room" [Verve]
“Improvised: A life in 7ths, 9ths and Suspended 4ths” – a short story by Vikki C.

Interview

photo by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
Long regarded as jazz music’s most eminent baritone saxophonist, Gerry Mulligan was a central figure in “cool” jazz whose contributions to it also included his important work as a composer and arranger. Noted jazz scholar Alyn Shipton, author of The Gerry Mulligan 1950s Quartets, and Jerry Jazz Musician contributing writer Bob Hecht discuss Mulligan’s unique contributions to modern jazz.

Photography

photo by Giovanni Piesco
Giovanni Piesco’s photographs of Tristan Honsinger

Poetry

Maurice Mickle considers jazz venues, in two poems

In Memoriam

David Becker, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
“Tony Bennett, In Memoriam” – a poem by Erren Kelly

Poetry

IISG, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ella Fitzgerald, in poems by Claire Andreani and Michael L. Newell

Book Excerpt

“Chick” Webb was one of the first virtuoso drummers in jazz and an innovative bandleader dubbed the “Savoy King,” who reigned at Harlem’s world-famous Savoy Ballroom. Stephanie Stein Crease is the first to fully tell Webb’s story in her biography, Rhythm Man: Chick Webb and the Beat that Changed America…The book’s entire introduction is excerpted here.

Feature

Hans Christian Hagedorn, professor for German and Comparative Literature at the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Ciudad Real (Spain) reveals the remarkable presence of Miguel de Cervantes’ classic Don Quixote in the history of jazz.

Short Fiction

Dmitry Rozhkov, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
“A Skull on the Moscow Leningrad Sleeper” – a short story by Robert Kibble...A story revolving around a jazz record which means so much to a couple that they risk being discovered while attempting to escape the Soviet Union

Book Excerpt

Book excerpt from Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music, by Henry Threadgill and Brent Hayes Edwards

Short Fiction

photo via Appletreeauction.com
“Streamline Moderne” – a short story by Amadea Tanner

Publisher’s Notes

“C’est Si Bon” – at trip's end, a D-Day experience, and an abundance of gratitude

Poetry

photo by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
A Charlie Parker Poetry Collection...Nine poets, nine poems on the leading figure in the development of bebop…

Contributing Writers

Click the image to view the writers, poets and artists whose work has been published on Jerry Jazz Musician, and find links to their work

Interview

Photo of Stanley Crouch by Michael Jackson
Interview with Glenn Mott, editor of Victory is Assured: The Uncollected Writings of Stanley Crouch (photo of Stanley Crouch by Michael Jackson)

Interview

photo of Sonny Rollins by Brian McMillen
Interview with Aidan Levy, author of Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins...The author discusses his book about the iconic tenor saxophonist who is one of the greatest jazz improvisers of all time – a lasting link to the golden age of jazz

Art

Designed for Dancing: How Midcentury Records Taught America to Dance: “Outtakes” — Vol. 2...In this edition, the authors Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder share examples of Cha Cha Cha record album covers that didn't make the final cut in their book

Pressed for All Time

“Pressed For All Time,” Vol. 17 — producer Joel Dorn on Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s 1967 album, The Inflated Tear

Photography

© Veryl Oakland
John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana are featured in this edition of photographs and stories from Veryl Oakland’s book, Jazz in Available Light

Coming Soon

An interview with Judith Tick, author of Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song; A new collection of jazz poetry; a new Jazz History Quiz; short fiction; poetry; photography; interviews; playlists; and lots more in the works...

Interview Archive

Eubie Blake
Click to view the complete 22 year archive of Jerry Jazz Musician interviews, including those recently published with Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom on Eubie Blake (pictured); Richard Brent Turner on jazz and Islam; Alyn Shipton on the art of jazz; Shawn Levy on the original queens of standup comedy; Travis Atria on the expatriate trumpeter Arthur Briggs; Kitt Shapiro on her life with her mother, Eartha Kitt; Will Friedwald on Nat King Cole; Wayne Enstice on the drummer Dottie Dodgion; the drummer Joe La Barbera on Bill Evans; Philip Clark on Dave Brubeck; Nicholas Buccola on James Baldwin and William F. Buckley; Ricky Riccardi on Louis Armstrong; Dan Morgenstern and Christian Sands on Erroll Garner; Maria Golia on Ornette Coleman.

Site Archive