Before he became one of the most famous Pop artists in the world in the 1960s, Andy Warhol made a living as a graphic designer. We’ve just stumbled across this brilliant collection of his early jazz album covers...
You wouldn’t immediately associate Warhol with jazz and its traditions, but these covers capture the cool American music scene perfectly! For most of these albums, Andy Warhol was responsible for the drawings, if not the layout. Apparently, he would often enlist his mum to write the scrawled text. Her handwriting was his signature style until the silkscreen became his medium of choice. You can also see the evolution of his ‘blotted ink’ technique, which would become a hallmark of his later work.
Warhol’s album sleeves include: Count Basie,’ s/t’ (1955), Kenny Burrell, ‘Volume 2’ (1956), Artie Shaw and His Orchestra, ‘Both Feet in the Groove’ (1956), Jay Jay Johnson, Kai Winding, and Bennie Green, ‘Trombone by Three’ (1956), Various artists, ‘Progressive Piano’ (1952), and The Joe Newman Octet, ‘I’m Still Swinging’ (1956).
