The Cover Art of Blue Note Records: The Collection Hardcover – February 1, 2011

This is a must for anyone who loves the stunning and historical cover art of one of jazz' most legendary labels, Blue Note.There are literally hundreds of covers from some of the most acclaimed albums Blue Note ever released, and if you're anything like me you'll spend hours just flicking through it and feasting your eyes on the work of seminal designer Reid Miles, Blue Note stalwart and budding photgrapher Francis Wolff, and the many other famous or less well-known figures who played a part in creating the label's unique visual legacy, which is arguably just as important as its musical one.The beautiful full-colour photos of the covers range from 8.5" square, full-page shots, down to 3.25" squares arranged four to a page. Each album cover has its title and original catalogue number alongside, as well as the artist's name, the recording or release date, and the names of the cover designers or cover photographers. The covers are often arranged to highlight certain themes or styles that popped up over the course of the label's long historyThere are some short but informative essays at the beginning of the book on the label's founding, its major achievements and players, as well as its continuing influence today, written by the authors as well as those who were along on the ride such as Alfred Lion's wife, Ruth. There are a couple of small typos in the text, as on page 7 where it says Blue Note was founded in 1959, but in general they are very well written and lots of fun to read. At the end of the book there are also some rare and stunning black and white pictures (naturally!) of some of the artists who made Blue Note so famous.This is a book all jazz and cover art lovers will treasure forever.

This book contains over 400 Blue Note album covers from the late 40's through the early 70's. The graphic design work is iconic, with the sweet spot being Reid Miles's tenure as chief graphic designer from 1956 to the mid 60's. These covers are especially important in an era when albums are distributed piecemeal and digitally, without cover art or liner notes.Much of the Blue Note catalog has passed into the public domain in the last few years, which has enabled the recent release of incredibly inexpensive multi-CD sets of "Eight Classic Albums" by Real Gone Jazz and other other labels. Since these CD sets are very bare-bones in their packaging and presentation, it's great to be able to view the original album covers.For someone like myself, who bought many of these albums when they came out, the book generates a flood of memories. For younger folks who may be new to the music, the book evokes the time and culture of jazz in the 50's and 60's and amply displays the true definition of "cool".

This was a gift for a jazz loving friend. He is constantly saying how much he loves the book. So, I guess it’s good!

This was a gift for my son who is a big fan of Blue Note records. I knew I had made a good purchase when he opened it and said, "This may have been a mistake!" He pored over the pages, pointing out the albums he had, the ones he wanted, and the ones he had been unaware of. This is a must for anyone that is a jazz fan!

The book presents a number of photographic images of album covers from an equally large number of Blue Note recording artists; many of whom are not immediately familiar to me. Some of the artwork and photographs from that era are quite striking.Although the authors clearly state that the book was not intended to be a discography, it would be nice to have more background information on the recordings, and the artists, to provide greater context.

If you love great jazz, breathtaking photography amazing design and exquisite typography. This is the book for you.

Love this book. Perfect “coffee table” book. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Blue Note album art, particularly from the ‘60s. Well worth the price.

Exceeded my expectations! Perfect visual representation of America's original musical art form era of Jazz! Blue Note artwork and graphics should be a touring exhibit...or museum!

Great music

O livro é belíssimo. Uma grande viagem visual pela história da gravadora Blue Note. Impressão de ótima qualidade. Apenas uma reclamação: a capa veio levemente danificada. O vendedor deveria ter mais cuidado ao embalar o produto pois a capa é dura. Que tal usar plástico bolha? Fica a dica.

Tudo perfeito 👌

superbe

I bought this as a birthday gift for a friend of mind who in his youth had met many of the American jazz players when they visited England in the 50's and 60's. He was absolutely delighted with this present.