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Coast to Coast Album Covers

Classic Record Art from New York to LA
by Glyn Callingham
Marsh, Graham & Glyn Callingham. Coast to Coast Album Covers: Classic Record Art from New York to LA. Collins & Brown, dist. by Sterling. 2011. 240p. illus. ISBN 9781907554353. $19.95. GRAPHIC ARTS
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Pulling together two earlier titles, California Cool and East Coasting, this excellent survey of the cover art of the classic jazz labels of the 1950s and 1960s, along with Marsh and Callingham's reissued The Cover Art of Blue Note Records, keeps this aspect of jazz's history readily available and affordable. Succinct essays give important context and lead into the body of the book, which consists of page after page of lovingly reproduced examples of the adventurous and still compelling album art from such labels as Riverside, Atlantic Records, Prestige, and Pacific Jazz. These bold graphic concepts coupled with now-classic photographs and the innovative use of color and art reveal the degree to which these designs were more than just packages for the music; they served, along with jazz itself, to help create and convey the feel of an era.
VERDICT An essential title for jazz fans and, at this price, a good choice for most readers with even a passing interest in the cultural history of the mid-20th century.
Reviewed by Mark Woodhouse, Elmira Coll., NY , Oct 15, 2011
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