No matter if you are into collecting jazz CDs or LPs: this is a real heavyweight, even if we consider the many other LP cover coffee-table books in circulation today.

And this also means the weight, since the two boxed volumes of this pretty edition come up to some 11 lbs (6 kg).

On almost 600 pages author Joaquim Paulo of Lisbon not only provides the sometimes rare LP and 10” covers of hundreds of jazz records, he also shares tons of information on the respective producers, sound engineers, musicians, record labels and the photographers and product manager involved in the very process of LP production. Starting in the late 1940s the design of record covers became an art form in its own right.

So not only will you get a beautiful collection of stunning record covers but also a good short introduction to the shifting styles of music and product design throughout the years; in German, English and French.

Since the two volumes cover the years between the 1940s and the 1990s, a lot happened; both in musical style, arrangement as well as in font evolution, graphical arrangement, design and product placement.

Even if you are not too fond of jazz by now …, well, you may easily become addicted to the covers alone.

Furthermore, here you will find the top ten albums of DJs such as King Britt, Michael McFadden, Gilles Peterson, Andre Torres and Rainer Trüby.

Since jazz after the 1940s always incorporated “Somethin’ Else” (also the name of a brilliant Julian Adderley album), part of this extra something may be hidden in the record covers we are talking about.

Editor Julius Wiedemann presents the art of a unique musical style; never before had there been a time when the sophistication of the compositions, the musicians and the record covers were so much in unison as in the 1960s, one of the peaks of cover design in my eyes.

Since the two volumes also share a light on particulars of this kind of musical document, many interviews are included here. Read statements and information on aesthetic decisions from important engineers and producer legends as Creed Taylor, Rudy Van Gelder, Michael Cuscuna, Fred Cohen and Bob Ciano. Ashley Kahn, jazz connoisseur and author of books on John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Impulse! Records also shares some insights and goes into detail on two particular albums.

This is the “25 Years Taschen” edition; a previous edition of the book was published in 2009.



Review by Dr. A. Ebert

(This review was published first on my other website www.popcultureshelf.com).

Joaquim Paulo, Julius Wiedemann. Jazz Covers. 2 Vols. Taschen Verlag, 2012, 560 Pages, Text in German, English, French. ISBN 978-3-8365-2406-3