The Art of the Album: The Photography of Francis Wolff for Blue Note Records
The artwork that graces the covers of our favorite albums is more than just a way to tell us what we’re listening to; it’s the translation of sound and vision, music made manifest into a physical object that we can see with our eyes or even hold in our hands. The best album covers aren’t just signifiers of our favorite music, they’re striking works of art in their own right, a collaboration between musicians, the designers, and visual artists that create the packaging for their work.
One such artist is Francis Wolff, the visionary photographer and Blue Note Records co-founder. Together with graphic designer Reid Miles, he helped define the aesthetic of the label’s iconic album covers and subsequently, jazz album art at large. Wolff was a commercial photographer in his native Berlin before escaping on the last boat out of Nazi-controlled Germany bound for America in late 1939. Arriving in New York City, he joined his childhood friend and fellow jazz enthusiast Alfred Lion, who had just founded a small independent jazz label called Blue Note Records. Soon Wolff was bringing his camera to recording sessions and jazz clubs, where he’d capture intimate portraits of the musicians at work, steadily building one of the greatest collections of jazz photography of all time over the next three decades.
Francis Wolff, photographer and Blue Note Records co-founder
Blue Note jazz records line the record wall at the Wrensilva Listening Studio in LA
Wolff’s images capture these artists in the clubs where they perform and in the studios where they record, offering a glimpse of their expression that was unable to be recorded to tape. Miles’ design worked in conversation with the music and Wolff’s photos. Sometimes it was overt, like the blue filter on Wolff’s image of an introspective John Coltrane in repose that covers Blue Train (the saxophonist’s blues-inflected Blue Note debut), or the geometric wordplay of the circular latticework framing Hank Mobley’s face on the cover of No Room for Squares. With others, it’s more nuanced, like the bright yellow palette used for Herbie Hancock’s Inventions & Dimensions. Punctuated by the nimble syncopation of Willie Bobo and Chihuahua Martinez’s Latin percussion, the not-quite-Latin-jazz record is covered by Wolff’s image of Hancock straddling the lines in the street, much like he does the disparate influences that comprised his experimental take on post-bop jazz. Hancock sits at the center of Wolff’s original B&W photo, framed by the streetscape, in balance with the city; Reid’s tight crop for the album cover centers the road markings, which now appear to emanate from Hancock’s body, beaming outward towards the viewer.
It’s with this in mind that Wrensilva produced the “Art of the Album” installation, a celebration of Blue Note Records’ 85th anniversary that leads you on an exploration of sound and vision into the iconic artwork of landmark albums from the storied label. The installation at our Los Angeles listening studio juxtaposes Wolff’s photography and Reid’s artwork from Blue Train, No Room for Squares, and Inventions & Dimensions—as well as albums by Wayne Shorter and Joe Henderson—both in their original presentation on the album cover, as well as large-format prints of Wolff’s photos and contact sheets, along with a copy of the album played back by an equally stunning Wrensilva console. By examining the aesthetics and history of the art and the artists that made it, the exhibit showcases just how deeply album art can enrich the listening experience.
The exhibition of Wolff’s work—on view now through the end of October—is part of an ongoing collaboration between Blue Note Records and Wrensilva; included with each Wrensilva console is a special limited edition vinyl box set that spans multiple decades of the legendary label’s artistic explorations. Wrensilva Presents, Volume 1: Blue Note Selections includes three timeless records specially curated by Blue Note Records president and multi-Grammy Award-winning producer and musician, Don Was, that stand the test of time, featuring visually captivating album artwork and iconic tracklists ideal for your first needle drop on a Wrensilva.
