Steve McQueen's jazz record collection

[Dmitry]

Which other photo shows the records?

[DaveO]

6 hours ago, Dmitry said:

Which other photo shows the records?

Photo of Steve dancing with his wife by John Dominis, documentary photographer, war photographer and photojournalist. McQueen wanted Dominis to document his life. Dominis snapped 40 rolls of film while hanging out with McQueen.

[DaveO]

Can anyone identify the two albums shown here? Presumably a front cover at top left, and back cover, bottom right.

[Dmitry]

Ahem...it's a pretty obscure record, but I'll take a guess.

[DaveO]

On January 26, 2016 at 10:14 AM, Dmitry said:

Which other photo shows the records?

Ok, thx. How about this one?

Edited January 30, 2016 by DaveO

[JSngry]

It's on Roulette, I can tell you that much.

[DaveO]

25 minutes ago, JSngry said:

It's on Roulette, I can tell you that much.

A reasonable surmise, as most of the open LPs seem to be resting on their respective covers in the photos.  I am drilling through Roulette covers on Google as we speak. I hope that isn't the back of the jacket!

[Kevin Bresnahan]

For some reason, I thought it looked like an Atlantic cover but I searched all over and couldn't find it.

[DaveO]

17 minutes ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

For some reason, I thought it looked like an Atlantic cover but I searched all over and couldn't find it.

Kevin, still searching myself and no luck yet.  However, I believe I have identified another one, and it is a Roulette LP: 

The Best of Basie Vol 2

[paul secor]

Someone had pretty good taste - whether it was McQueen, the photographer, or whoever.

[DaveO]

The artwork could be front or back jacket, not sure, but it does appear to be a "Live" album, pressed no later than `63.

[JSngry]

Where are you seeing "live" on that cover...it's all a blur to me, so I'm asking as a guide, not as a doubt.

Based on the Roulettes I know, though, I'd say that the odds of it being a back cover are pretty good.

[DaveO]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Where are you seeing "live" on that cover...it's all a blur to me, so I'm asking as a guide, not as a doubt.

Based on the Roulettes I know, though, I'd say that the odds of it being a back cover are pretty good.

To the right of the mans face in profile, there is a name, and below that, what looks like the word "Live". 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

16 minutes ago, DaveO said:

To the right of the mans face in profile, there is a name, and below that, what looks like the word "Live". 

It almost looks like:

WILSON

LIVE

[DaveO]

26 minutes ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

It almost looks like:

WILSON

LIVE

Agreed! I just can't find it.

[Jim R]

I've been thinking about this too, since yesterday.  I also considered "Wilson", but hadn't thought about "Live".

1 hour ago, DaveO said:

To the right of the mans face in profile

I've imagined a number of possibilities for what the artwork represents, but I'm not sure I'm seeing what you're seeing.  To me, it almost looks like a sort of collage, with multiple subjects.

I also have some doubts about it being a Roulette album (despite the Roulette disc resting on it).  What's up with the lighter rectangular shape at the upper right, and what symbols/letters are within that?

Edited February 1, 2016 by Jim R

[DaveO]

55 minutes ago, Jim R said:

I've been thinking about this too, since yesterday.  I also considered "Wilson", but hadn't thought about "Live".

I've imagined a number of possibilities for what the artwork represents, but I'm not sure I'm seeing what you're seeing.  To me, it almost looks like a sort of collage, with multiple subjects.

I also have some doubts about it being a Roulette album (despite the Roulette disc resting on it).  What's up with the lighter rectangular shape at the upper right, and what symbols/letters are within that?

What I see is a collage of what I assume are jazz musicians rising out of what looks like a horn. There is a large cameo of a man, and either the title or a back cover statement to his right.  The box upper right is probably a label identifier. The Roulette LP may not belong to the jacket. This LP jacket appears in the photo of Steve dancing with his wife.

[Jim R]

1 hour ago, DaveO said:

There is a large cameo of a man

Still not sure I'm seeing that.  Can you describe the location?  Is the man looking to the right or the left?

We seem to agree about the collage design.  At the upper left (comprising about half of the artwork's vertical space) I'm seeing what appears to be the shape of a man (head to around the knee area), perhaps in a dark suit with a light shirt or tie.

[DaveO]

30 minutes ago, Jim R said:

Still not sure I'm seeing that.  Can you describe the location?  Is the man looking to the right or the left?

We seem to agree about the collage design.  At the upper left (comprising about half of the artwork's vertical space) I'm seeing what appears to be the shape of a man (head to around the knee area), perhaps in a dark suit with a light shirt or tie.

The man's head is facing to the right on the jacket. We only see the right side of his face. His nose is aligned with the word that may or may not be "Live." I agree with your observations about the collage. I see the man top-left in the image, visible from head to knees. They appear to be popping out of a vertically positioned horn.

[Jim R]

Thanks Dave.  I can see that possibility now.  If that is indeed a facial profile, it strikes me as perhaps African/tribal in nature.

The first time I looked at the photo yesterday, I had the sense that there might be a "world music" element.  I considered Brazil (there was a popular singer named Wilson Simonal around that time), but so far I still haven't found anything.  I also haven't found anything that would clue me in to what label it was on, or who did the graphics.  I enjoy these kind of riddles, though, and I'm not ready to give up.

[JSngry]

Wow, it looks to me like a bunch of 19th century people standing around chatting.

Also, the upper right struck me as being some kind of biggish price tag. When did they start shrink-wrapping as a standard thing?

Real possibility that the Roulette LP on the floor is the Basie, and that this cover is something else altogether.

 

[DaveO]

Recapping, the LPs shown in the "needle drop" photo are: Meet the Jazztet - Genny Golson; The Atomic Mr. Basie; The Best of Basie Vol 2; Sinatra-basie: An Historic Musical First;  My Favorite Things - John Coltrane; The Golden Striker - John Lewis; A Leadbelly Memorial Vol IV; Kind of Blue - Miles Davis; Miles Ahead - Miles Davis; Sketches of Spain - Miles Davis; The Ballad Artistry of Milt Jackson; Profile of a Musician - Paul Horn; The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn - Sonny Rollins & The Modern Jazz Quartet.   I have checked the backs of each of these jackets without success. The album art in question is evidently unique to the "dancing" photo.  

One more thought. I have searched an awful lot of backs of jackets and they tend to be black and white.  The Jacket in question seems to have contrast between the artwork with the text, and that box in the upper right, suggesting that it may be a front cover.  On the other hand, I haven't seen a box like that on jazz Lps from the mid to late 50s and early 60s on the front of a jacket.

Edited February 2, 2016 by DaveO

[Jim R]

I wonder whether this question deserves its own thread topic, where perhaps more eyes will see it.  After all, we do have a lot of album cover-obsessed people on this forum.

[sidewinder]

Looking at that blurred cover I was wondering if it could be the other side of Gerald Wilson's 'Alive and Swinging' LP on World Pacific so have pulled that one out for a check - the back is completely different. Doesn't look like any of the Jack Wilson albums either that I'm familiar with.

[DaveO]

Revisiting the needle drop photo in this thread, "Bags & Trane" / Stereo by Milt Jackson & John Coltrane appears to be sandwiched between John Coltrane / My Favorite Things and Sinatra-Basie.