Comments on: Rare Jazz Vinyl, Some With Autographs

By: Mattyman

Mattyman — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 10:09:58 +0000

Thanks. And I, too, have to agree. I don’t think it’s a bad cover at all, but she has a point. I think it’s only a matter of time before someone spoofs the Hodges cover with photoshop into something for adults only.

Last but not least: given the $1,000 bin status of the Open Sesame, I guess I have to hold on to my Japanese pressing a bit longer 😉

By: Al

Al — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 14:10:47 +0000

Mattyman — your wife sounds cool, and perceptive. I agree with her point of view.

By: Mattyman

Mattyman — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 13:08:23 +0000

My wife had an interesting view on the Johnny Hodges cover, as she thinks it could easily be seen as a, quote,“chauvinist setting of the proverbial blonde Marilyn Monroe style woman obviously on her knees, with a male hand on the back of her head, urging her towards his zipper and, inherently, ding dong.”

Never thought of that, really, but I have to say it’s an interesting idea 😉

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 30 May 2012 19:04:53 +0000

There was a time when having a black artist on the cover was very socially controversial at the time. Blue Note was one the few exceptions for a while.

The label’s goal was to appeal to the broadest commercial market possible. Case in point, The Chantels. When their hit “Maybe” went national the label took the group of four black women off the cover and replaced them with white teenagers.

By: elix

elix — Wed, 30 May 2012 05:25:32 +0000

Plus, Frances was super cute. “Someday…” is a great cover, and so is “E.S.P.”!

By: don-lucky

don-lucky — Tue, 29 May 2012 21:58:04 +0000

Here’s a direct quote on the subject from Miles Davis himself in his infamous Playboy interview from September 1962:

“…Look, man, right in music you got the same thing happening. I got this album, “Someday My Prince Will Come,” and you know who’s on the jacket cover? My wife — Frances. I just got to thinking that as many record albums as Negroes buy, I hadn’t ever seen a Negro girl on a major album cover unless she was the artist. There wasn’t any harm meant — they just automatically thought about a white model and ordered one. It was my album and I’m Frances’ prince, so I suggested they use her for a model, and they did it.”

By: Rudolf

Rudolf — Tue, 29 May 2012 19:34:29 +0000

Lander: I can only name one, Miles Ahead on Columbia, pretty soon to be replaced by a picture of Miles himself.
I picked out at random some more examples of this strange habit of female pictures totally dissociated from the music.
-Clef MGC 690 Billie Holiday “Solitude”. A De Paoloa picture of a brunette hanging against a curtain and -Ventura’s “In a jazz mood” with a blonde, again by de Paola.
Absolutely dated stuff, but the music is good.
(and, I always loved the yellow/black Norgran labels, super cool)

By: Lander

Lander — Tue, 29 May 2012 19:13:21 +0000

Ha, wasn’t it Miles Davis who once said that people used to think that he was a white chick, as that was what they put on his album covers?

By: don-lucky

don-lucky — Tue, 29 May 2012 16:43:23 +0000

The Johnny Hodges LP above definitely seems reminiscent of the Marilyn-esque style cover photos so prevalent on the albums of this era. Even the Blossom Dearie catalogue seems to play up on this theme, but at least it was Blossom herself on them ! Personally, I think Norman Granz had a thing for blondes… He always looked a bit creepy looming behind Blossom in those classic Verve session photos…

By: Rudolf

Rudolf — Tue, 29 May 2012 12:43:28 +0000

Al: there is so much valuable Norgran/Clef stuff. I share your appreciation of the various commercial presentations. The absolute top for me is, of course, any DSM cover, followed by one of the gorgeous Herman Leonard or Phil Stern picture covers, sometimes covering the whole front, without any text. The very last choice is the stereotyped blonde, who at the time, even could not be ssen with the performing artists, at the risk of serious problems for both. So the “blonde approach” was a perfidious sales ploy of MR Granz.