Worst 32 jazz cover

[catesta]

Captures the era of the recording well, no?

In a Gabe Kotter kind of way.

[DrJ]

In a Gabe Kotter kind of way.

"OHH, OOHH, Mis-ter Kot-ter...my name...is Bah-ry AltschUWAL...snort...heh, heh, heh, heh..."

Edited July 7, 2003 by DrJ

[The Mule]

This one is okay, although the people reflected in his glasses reminds me of something Terry Gilliam would have done in his animations on "Monty Python."

[JSngry]

Clearly the cover created with the free Photoshop filter wins.  HORRENDOUS.

I actually passed on this great album a few times based on cover art alone:

Uh...that's actually BETTER than the original Muse cover, believe it or not...

Talk about using whatever's handy!

No, Jim, the Muse cover is better.

Er, are you okay, Jim?

Sorry, I'm not a fan of the "up close and personal, count the pores on your skin" school of photography for cover art. Especially with phones on! I don't mind those type of photos, just not on the cover, ok? Guess I got traumatised by some of the Mainstream covers of the (slightly earlier) day. But this Muse cover, when seen in full LP size, which is how I've been looking at it for longer than I care to remember, is just not good, at least to my taste.

That Altschul cover is NEARLY identical to the original LP. Different type layout and stuff, but the same photo. That's a DAMN good record too!

[DrJ]

Yeah, that Altschul record is a killer. I know you know this Jim, but for those who haven't become acquainted with this excellent, rather neglecte gem: Sam Rivers, Muhal Richard Abrams, Dave Holland, and George Lewis (the modern trombone and compositional genius, not the old New Orleans clarinet master - lest there be any confusion ) round out the group...now THAT was a line-up made in heaven!

[king ubu]

My vote is for Woody Shaw's "Solid".  Thankfully I have the orignal Muse version.

That 32 Jazz "Solid" IS bad. Didn't see that one that much in the stores, so I forgot about it.

As BAD as all these were. I'm beginning to think they were bad in a "good" way. They're all so bad I actually like them sort of.

One thing's for sure. When searching the used CD bin, the 32 Jazz CD cases (thick black plastic) are by far the most recognizable of them all. So, they did do something right.

I grew to be quite fond of them, too. To have some fun, just put all those black boxes you got in a row in your CD rack, then take out any one, have a good and healtyh laugh, put it back, take out any next one... Doctor says a good laugh a day is healthy

That Altschul is a hell of a record! I picked it up only a month ago, and was really surprised!

And yes the Altschul and the Roy Brooks would be the two coming closest to an ok cover. And that La Roca is ok, too, and another very good record.

Now how's this one?

You can get it for $1000,00 at amazon.com

Then comes another favorite:

and another:

geez!

and now, ladies and gentlemen, presenting my ultimate 32jazz poll-winner:

Edited July 8, 2003 by king ubu

[mikeweil]

That's certainly the winner, and it suggests they were not taking it too seriously ...

The ones with photos are acceptable, but not brilliant in any way:

But could please someone give the name of that guy who was given that beginners' graphics software??? Avoid to hire him by any means, or pay him to stay away from his computer!

Examples of a creative mind at work...

He chased that girl around so much she needed a rest:

Edited July 8, 2003 by mikeweil

[mikeweil]

To complete the list:

My candidate for most sexist cover:

... and for the worst re-title:

But we have to give Joel Dorn some credit for investing the money he saved with cheap graphics into even more reissues .....

[John B]

I agree that the Altschul is a great disc. I love the sly Braxton joke in the title, too.

I think Woody Shaw might have the title for the most 32Jazz covers that make me go

that one is not too bad

Pirates of the Caribbean meets 1950's EC Horror Comics?

from the "high school text book" school of cover art

this one I kind of like.

[robviti]

My candidate for most sexist cover:

i think muse deserves a nomination in this cateogy too:

[htr]

My vote for worst 32 Jazz cover is the Bud Shank, "This Bud's for You". However, a new low in ugliness has been achieved by the Verve covers on the their new Ultimante Divas series, with special mention going to the Carmen McRae cover. These covers make the Cindy Blackman covers look like truly inspired art.

[alankin]

... a new low in ugliness has been achieved by the Verve covers on the their new Ultimante Divas series, with special mention going to the Carmen McRae cover.

I wish you hadn't written that - it made me look up the Carmen McRae cover.

Ouch!

[Alexander]

I hate the Grant Green, "Iron city." Such a depressing picture that it seems to carry over into the music. Of course, it doesn't but it's all psychological.

Of all the 32 covers, I think that this is one of the LEAST offensive. Especially when you compare it to the original cover! "You may call him Grant Green, but we prefer to think of him as Leadbelly."

[JSngry]

Guess I don't get as repulsed by some of these 32 covers as sumyall do.

Now THIS is a truly bad cover

Talk about "camp appeal" and other such matters all you want to. The fact remains - look up "hideuos" in the dictionary, and you should see this cover.

Edited July 12, 2003 by Use3D

[DrJ]

Jim, that one is indeed a howler. As I recall, the Penguin Guide guys said in at least one edition of their Guide to Jazz that it makes Parker look like "a hip dentist from Barksdale."

Funny that Savoy is now reissuing some of the stuff just reissued by 32 Jazz because they certainly had their share of bad covers. There's the one you reproduce, plus my personal "favorite":

Edited July 12, 2003 by DrJ

[robviti]

while we're criticizing 32jazz packaging, am i the only one who was annoyed by joel dorn's personal musings on the inside cover? often, they offered little or no information about the artist or the recording. sometimes, they sounded rather odd or bizarre, ie. self-involved ramblings about dorn himself. am i alone on this?

[king ubu]

while we're criticizing 32jazz packaging, am i the only one who was annoyed by joel dorn's personal musings on the inside cover? often, they offered little or no information about the artist or the recording. sometimes, they sounded rather odd or bizarre, ie. self-involved ramblings about dorn himself. am i alone on this?

not really, I think ! They didn't get me excited either.

but in the end: Dorn reissued that much good music (and some great, too)...

ubu

[Alexander]

I dunno. I think Dorn's liners add a bit of character to the releases.

[JSngry]

Yeah, me too. Reminds you that a lot of guys got into the business out of a true love for the music, not like today's "careerists" who think purely in terms of numbers and product. Fuck THEM!

Dorn may (or may not) be a lot of things as a businessman, but I don't think anybody questions his enthusiasm for the product that he handles so (seemingly) ineffectively, and that means SOMETHING to me.

More than a little, actually.

[mikeweil]

I dunno. I think Dorn's liners add a bit of character to the releases.

Yes, they're at least personal, often warm reminiscences. Maybe a trait of aging jazz producers reissuing some of their own work - Orrin Keepnews comes to my mind ....

[RDK]

Picked up a few 32Jazz titles over the weekend and was enjoying going over this thread again. Some horrible but funny covers here!

[Hot Ptah]

Captures the era of the recording well, no?

In a Gabe Kotter kind of way.

This particular cover is very close to the original vinyl album cover. The CD cover is tinted browner than the original. Some of the worst covers in my opinion were original "artwork", in which the LP cover was not used.

[BruceH]

Just In Case You Forgot How Loud He Could Yell

[NaturalSoul]

I found some. I leave the description to you

Terrible cover! But excellent session! Luckily i have the orig. muse.

[sheldonm]

I don't know where you start with those covers and package....not a real nice one in the bunch ....but a lot of the music is killer....so I'm good with it.

m~