Author: Seb Palmer

With more than 600 full colour, and over 50 monochrome illustrations, there’s masses here to enjoy.

The cover – both back and front are made to look like a groovy LP sleeve – was designed by no less a luminary of jazz photography and design than the one and only Bill Claxton!

First published in Japan, in 1993, I’ve had my bi-lingual copy (Japanese/English) for many, many years, now. Poss as far back as ‘93? I bought it for the images. And until today I’d not read much if any of the text!

So, today I’m starting to read some of it. Immediately, the foreward type bit, on the inside flap of the ‘dust jacket’, strikes a chord. Noaki Mukoda, a photographer who has compiled all the covers here, was enchanted by the Jazz On A Summer’s Day movie, as a student (as was I!).

But he also fed his love of jazz albums in those most Japanese of places, the Kissa. We didn’t have such places here. Only bookshops and record stores. Some dedicated, in whole or in part, to jazz. For more about Kissa, go here.

I started fixing a bunch of my recent art pieces, today. After a wee spot of Spring Cleaning in the home.

I had to move indoors, as it was threatening to rain. Indeed, I think it’s starting to ‘spot’ a little already.

As you can see, on the piece below, the page opposite has ‘printed’ a ghostly image down the right hand side.

I actually quite like a certain amount of this accidental evolution type randomness. So I don’t ‘fix’ the pieces immediately. I prefer to give them a bit of time, to spread their genes a little.

I quite like seeing a bunch of ideas together. It helps me get a feel for my ongoing ‘progress’, or evolution.

Bottom left of the four is the most clearly derivative (Matisse, in that case). Bottom right is Valezquez > Picasso > me. And I love it.

The top two in this group of four evolved out of studying Picasso crucifixions (and he had been looking at Grünewald’s famous Isenheim altarpiece). I don’t know what I think of these ‘uns!?

This set of four pieces is all figure based. For a long time I eschewed figuration. With my recent art works for Dan and Amy that changed.

Bottom left and right I’m recycling Picasso, again. Top two are more my own. And are supposed to evoke or pay homage to jazz flautist Herbie Mann!

I didn’t plan how these pieces/pages would be grouped. They’re just the pages I happen to be ‘fixing’ at the same time. this set is the most ‘divergent’ so far, I suppose?

The top two of this group continue the skull/moon theme. The bottom two are the only ones left of six I did for Dan and Amy. The first pencil sketch, on the left; and one of my own personal favourites, the ‘night’ version, I’m calling it, on the right.

Two rather sketchier designs were on the reverse sides of the two I cut out and gifted to Dan. I took scans of them, of course! And photos.

Having reached the end of the stuff in one pad, it’s only two pics per photo, in the remaining ‘spreads’…

And that brings things up to date, for today. I can just let them dry out now. I may do another coat… hmmm!?

I revisited this Golgotha Variation, and tried to tweak and improve it, a bit. I wasn’t happy with the ‘hands’, nor the ‘crown of thorns’, as they were before. I think I have improved the piece, somewhat. Whether it’s worth pursuing any further? I don’t as yet know…

Looking at the newest state, I think I’ll redraw it, and develop it a bit. The blue ‘window’ is also like a picture frame: I might ornament it a bit, with a scrolly pattern. And I think some kind of sun-type circular motif would be a good stand in for a head…

I’ve begun work on a revised version of this particular Golgotha design. So far it’s a lot duller, and more muted, colour wise.

I then went back to the ‘first state’ image, and added a few little white lines…

After working on these Golgotha variations, I felt I had the time and inclination to do another piece.

This one is derived from some of Picasso’s 1932 ‘cream puff’ female nudes. That description – cream puff – is my own term for them. I think it’s quite apt/accurate?

Ankh om a minute… this is amazing! The CDs (it’s a double-disc feature) arrived yesterday. I’m listening to it now for the first time. I have to say that I’m finding it mind-blowingly wonderful.

There’s a lot here that falls into areas Inwas hoping for and expecting. And I already knew a bit about Sun Ra; I’ve seen several films about him (inc Space Is The Place), and have a few of his albums. But even so, there’s plenty that surprises.

The first real surprise is the doo-wop track, ‘Dreaming’, on disc one. I really wasn’t expecting anything like that! But, given Sun Ra’s hugely diverse and prolific output, he could be said to embody the phrase ‘expect the unexpected.’

Disc 1:
01. Sun Ra And His Myth- Science Arkestra- Calling Planet Earth
02. Sun Ra- Sun Song
03. The Cosmic Rays With Sun Ra And The Arkestra - Dreaming
04. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - India
05. Sun Ra And His Myth- Science Arkestra - Space Loneliness
06. Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra - Love In Outer Space
07. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - Adventure Equation
08. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - Spontaneous Simplicity
09. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - Brazilian Sun
10. Sun Ra Quartet - When There Is No Sun
11. Sun Ra And His Astro Infinity Arkestra - My Brother The Wind
12. Sun Ra And His Astro Arkestra - Mystery, Mr. Ra
13. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - Black Sky And Blue Moon
14. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - Watusa
15. The Sun Ra Arkestra - The World Of Africa
16. Sun Ra And His Solar Arkestra - Cluster Of Galaxies
17. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - Strange Worlds (Live in France)
18. Sun Ra And His Blue Universe Arkestra - Blackman

Disc 2:
01. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - Twilight
02. Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Myth Science Solar Arkestra - Sleeping Beauty
03. Sun Ra - Moog Solo (Live in France)
04. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - They Plan To Leave
05. Sun Ra And His Solar Arkestra - Reflects Motion (Part 1)
06. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - Children Of The Sun
07. Sun Ra And His Myth-Science Arkestra - We Travel The Spaceways
08. Sun Ra And His Arkestra -Astro Black (Live in Zurich)
09. Sun Ra And His Mythic Science Arkestra - Somebody Else’s idea (Live in Paris)
10. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - I Roam The Cosmos
11. Sun Ra And His Solar Arkestra - On Jupiter
12. Sun Ra - There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)
13. Sun Ra And His Interglactic Arkestra - The All Of Everything
14. Sun Ra - Enlightenment
15. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - Make Another Mistake
16. Sun Ra And His Arkestra - Space Is The Place (Live in France)

What Gilles Peterson has done, as well as curate the terrific selection of incredible music, is to ‘mix it’, somewhat like a DJ (which he is, of course). So that the tracks run into each other in places. There’s a really good flow to it all. No mean feat, considering Sun Ra and co venture way off the map, voyaging across their idiosyncratic musical universe.

The whole crazy mystic schtick winds up being genuinely wonderful. Rather as it does – albeit in a very different manner – with John and Alice Coltrane. What could be comical winds up being sublime. At least to my ears.

One outcome of this acquisition, very much anticipated, but nota foregone delusion, was that I’d wind up wanting to get lots more Sun Ra. And of course I do! Who better to recommend which recordings than GP?

Working (outside n the garden) on a new idea today. The idea derives from a combo of Breughel’s Triumph of Death, and a Cuban record cover!

This one is intended to make the Death part of the theme more my own (as a theme, not as wish for demise!), less pinched from Breughel/Picasso, etc.

Also, partly ‘in spirit’, via the Cuban music connection (and the whole Afro-Latin-American attitude to Death), it’s intended to bring in a more positive celebratory note, of sorts. If ya’ ken wor’ I mean?

The colours are coming out a bit sharp/acid*. Poss’ more so in the photos than in ‘real life’? And I’d quite like to work more on the positions/quantities/hues of the coloured ‘spots’, to make the overall composition sing a bit more.

Also, the little moon/skulls could conceivably have their little scroll like shrouds in attendance, also? Hmmm… plenty to think and work on. That’s all to the good, methinks.

*An ochre/earth colour is coming out bright orange, for example!

Well, the day is over. More or less. I’m in bed. Having slipped in the bath, and flooded the floor. Could’ve been much worse!

The Dance of Death design has progressed a bit more. And I like it better, for it. But it’s not quite there yet. Do I work more on this version? Or do another, and add/remove, change, and so on…

We shall see, I s’pose?

Yesterday’s trip to The Fitz yielded beaucoup de inspiration, as such visits always do. This latest experiment is me riffing on a detail of Breughel’s Triumph of Death.

Most of this was done outside, in the garden. It’s gorgeous! The dappled light and shade where we’re sat – our ‘green room’ – makes for interesting effects on the sketch.

Seeing things slightly changed – in reflection, upside down, flipped, etc. – can, I find, be quite a useful thing.

I’m thinking of doing a piece called Dance of Death, with a circle of skulls and heads, in this series. This new piece, above right, was meant to be a study for the background. It’s a kind of skull/moon.

More moony-skull stuff…

LATER ON… 9/3/‘25

I’ve been working on other newer designs. Like the skull/moons, etc. but I’ve also been tweaking my Triumph of Death piece. Is it done now? Hard to say, for sure!

But, to my own surprise and delight, I like the trajectory it’s taken. I think there’s something here worth developing.

Oh dear, another one bites the dust. The legendary musical icons of my life are dying away. Only natural, I guess. But when the folk who’ve soundtracked your life shuffle off… it’s sad!

I never got to see Roy Ayers live, dammit. And he kept playing and hugging into his 80s! I did buy us tickets to see him in Cambridge, for my 50th. But it was cancelled, due to his deteriorating health. I’ve never been reimbursed.

These two arrived today. And… wow! They’re terrific. I thought I’d bought the above a while back, but it turned out I’d got the CD that goes with it. Still not listened to the latter. High time I did!

One of the dangers, but also attractions, of acquiring such books, is the way they help one learn about and explore/expand one’s own music collection.

There are a decent number of albums pictured in here I already have, in one format or another. But there’s tons I neither have, nor have I even heard of.

This is also another spur towards getting the Sun Ra/Saturn album covers book, as he and his Arkestra and affiliates are well represented here.

One very striking thing that emerges from perusing this gorgeous time is the frequent juxtaposition of incredibly boldly colourful album cover spreads with starker black and white one. This occurs a lot! And is almost a unifying theme throughout.

The record covers run a pleasing and fascinating gamut, from the artistically and aesthetically sublime, to the less slick, more DIY aesthetic. The latter prefigures the anarchic energy of punk. A parallel the book is keen to highlight.

I haven’t started digging into the text yet. I’ve just bathed in the visual glory of the photographic content. Which is a very enjoyable and rewarding thing to do. But from what I have read, it promises to be a compelling and enlightening read.

One thing that intrigues me, is how certain labels feature, some very heavily – e.g. Strata East, Muse, Flying Dutchman – whilst others that might have – I’m thinking particularly of Bob Shad’s Mainstream – don’t.

It’s also interesting that in all the Soul Jazz books on record cover artwork – they don’t continue into the age of CDs, by and large – there is a string political dimension. Brazil had the military dictatorship in the ‘70s. Cuba has been and remains under embargo, as a Communist outlier on the US doorstep, and this book and its subjects are steeped in the long running politics of race, and ‘black identity’, as they’ve persisted in America.

All in all, an absolutely wonderful book, on a fascinating subject. Well worthy of this treatment. And ripe for exploration and appreciation.

As with all the Soul Jazz titles in this line – Freedom Rhythm & Sound, Bossa Nova, etc. – this is beautifully put together and presented.

I got the hardback version, in this instance. Alas, the hardback edition of FR&S was too pricey. So I’ve only got the paperback of that one. But both editions are beautiful. A perfect size (near enough LP sized, befitting the subject), and beautifully printed.

One aspect of this book that initially bothered me, and still niggles a bit, in truth, is how specialist and niche they’ve made it, by confining it purely to Cuban indigenous releases.

I suppose opening it up to a wider base, in particular I’m thinking of US Cuban or Cuban-influenced stuff, might’ve made it too large in scale and scope? As it stands, the choice to stay ‘at home’ in Cuba makes it rather more niche, to my mind.

The result of this is that Cuban emigres often only appear here during their time in the ‘mother country’ (eg Chucho Valdez), or sometimes (Patato Valdez, for example) not at all.

This also means that a label like Fania – whose very name is taken from a ‘popular luncheonette frequented by musicians in Havana, … that [label founder] Masucci frequented when he worked for a public relations firm there during the pre-Castro era’ – is not covered here.

If I was being fussy or curmudgeonly I’d dock a star for this. But, truth be told, within the ‘Revolution’ remit the book sets for itself, this remains a wonderful and fascinating treasure trove of musical history.

It’s intriguing that once again, as with other Soul Jazz record cover art books, there’s a string political angle, to the subject. Unsurprisingly, this means there’s some ‘party lines’ type stuff that’s either a bit weird, or rather heavily programmatic. What’s more surprising, perhaps, is the overall freedom of expression within the Cuban music scene as a whole.

As befits an island known for its musical exoticism, and associated forms of hedonism popular with tourists, the album covers reflect a culture that is colourful, vibrant, diverse and highly exciting.

This is art from a decidedly Communist nation. But it’s certainly not purely the kind of dour ‘party sanctioned’ propaganda one might associate with other Communist regimes.

As with the FR&S title, at present I’m just varying in the warming glory of the visual content. Other than reading the intros, I’ve yet to dive into the textual parts. They appear on first glance to promise a fascinating and informative read.

One major difference, however, ‘twixt my experience relating to these books, is that whilst I have quite a number of CDs (and other stuff) that are illustrated in FR&S, I have closer to bone that are feature in this book.

I’ve got a little tiny bit of stuff by some of the artists who appear here – Irakere, Los Van Van, Tata Guines, Omara Portuando, for example. But the vast bulk of what’s illustrated here is music I don’t have or know.

Of the two books under review in this post, FR&S is the closer to my own musical heart, I think? Both will – indeed already do – make me want to explore the music they represent more. But that’s all to the good, excepting only potential fiscal fallout!

Flamingo, 1955
Herbie Mann/Sam Most Quintet, 1956
Plays, 1956
Love & the Weather, 1956
Yardbird Suite, 1957
Flute Fraternity, 1957
Flute Flight, 1957
Flute Soufflé, 1957

This series of three boxed sets, each comprising eight albums, whilst delivering a whopping 24 platters in toto, is far from complete. But if, like me, you want to collect as much Herbie M as you can, for as little outlay as poss’? One can always ‘fill in the gaps’, in theory.

Sultry Serenade, 1957
The Magic Flute Of…, 1957
Mann Alone, 1957
Great Ideas of Western Mann, 1957
Salute To The Flute, 1957
… With the Wessel Ilcken Trio, 1958
Just Wailin’, 1958
Mann In The Morning, 1956

Flautista, Herbie Mann plays Afro Cuban Jazz, 1960
The Common Ground, The Herbie Mann Afro Jazz Sextet + Four Trumpets, 1960
The Family of Mann, the Music of Herbie Mann, 1961
Flute Brass Vibes & Percussion, The Herbie Mann Nonet, 1961
… at The Village Gate, 1961
Brazil, Nossa Nova & Blues, 1962
Right Now, 1962
St Thomas, 1959 (aka Herbie Mann’s African Suite)

FOOTNOTE

I tried to get my flautist buddy Dan Ellis into listening to this stuff on CD; I bought him the first set, plus a little CD player. But he wasn’t having it! I wanted to then get him vols two and three. But he says there’s no point!