For album lovers everywhere, the palette format that creates for unique cover art is one of the greatest draws to the vinyl record. And album art has become more than just an industry term, but a full-fledged medium, regardless of what genre you prefer. Even though software such as Photoshop has permitted today’s designer to produce vinyl album covers that defy tradition, they owe a debt of gratitude to those that established the form.
For jazz aficionados, the parade of distinctive Blue Note Records covers remain iconic not only in the musical world, but in pop culture as well. The photographic style of Francis Wolff is maybe the important feature in creating the signature look that defines jazz vinyl art. Emigrating to the United States in 1939, Wolff promptly found his childhood friend Alfred Lion, one of the co-founders of the label. During World War II, Wolff was also instrumental in keeping the inexperienced label’s catalog in print.
In 1956, Blue Note discovered the last piece of the design puzzle. The label hired Reid Miles, an artist who was employed by Esquire Magazine, and the greatest line of jazz vinyl covers was born. The cover art produced by Miles, often featuring Wolff’s photographs of musicians in the studio, proved to be as influential in the world of graphic design as the music would be in the world of jazz. Blue Note suddenly became known for their noticeable jazz vinyl cover designs under the guiding hand and watchful eye of Miles. Key elements such as tinted black-and-white photographs, the use of sans-serif typefaces and a careful restricting of the color palette – often black and white with a single color – and the frequent use of solid rectangular bands of color or white, were directly influenced by the Bauhaus school of design. Some of Reid’s best-known work includes Sonny Clark’s “Cool Struttin,” Art Blakey’s “A Night in Tunisia,” John Coltraine’s “Blue Train,” Kenny Dorham’s “Trompeta Tocatta” and Herbie Hancock’s “My Point of View.”
Though Miles’ work is closely associated with Blue Note, in his personal tastes, Miles was only a casual jazz fan. Blue Note gave him several copies of the many dozens of jazz vinyl albums he designed, but Miles gave most to friends and sold them to second-hand record shops. Further emblematic of the influence of the Blue Note design work, a few mid-1950s jazz vinyl covers feature drawings by an as-yet-known Andy Warhol.