On the way home from work the other day, I got to thinking about what my answer would be if I were asked what was my all-time favorite album cover. The first one that popped into my head was Chick Corea's Tones for Joan's Bones on Vortex.  I bought this album purely on aesthetic from the Princeton Record Exchange years ago. It was and is still sealed. At the time, I wasn't a big Corea fan, but have since come around some, and listen to his Innerspace album on occasion. Innerspace also happens to have the all of the "Tones..." tracks on it. Allmusic.com likes the album quite a bit.

So when I got home, I pulled out the Lp along with Dave Pikes Doors of Perception which is also on Vortex, an Atlantic subsidiary. Doors is a rather interesting album, and literally could be labeled as jazz psychedelia with fuzzed out vibraphones, echo chambers and piped-in recordings. Allmusic also gives it a pretty strong review.  Check out an audio sample of the title track below. I had pulled Pike's Lp along with Corea's because I was certain that the artwork was created by the same artist, and that turned out to be true. The illustration credit is given to Dick Luppi on both albums, and Roy Ayers' Virgo Vibes (also pictured above). All three albums were under the art direction of Atlantic's go-to guy, Haig Adishian.

While the psychedelic style suits the time period (late 60's), it was an unusual, and rarely utilized medium for jazz. Luppi's work was well-chosen for these three albums; it very-much compliments the sound pocketed inside. I wanted to see more albums and art by Luppi, and figured the internet would be fruitful. However, even creative searches came up short. These three Lp's are the only I could find, and there was no information on the man himself. I'm guessing and hoping he did more than these albums. If anyone knows more about this talent or other Lp's inked by him, please let me know.

Labels: art, design, music