Ru
EnV. Pigulevskiy
Jazz: aspects of graphic representation
The design of music albums and posters is endowed with marketing and aesthetic functions. That is why the specificity of differentiated design of the said projects, belonging to the spheres of academic music, rock and jazz, has historically developed. Understanding the most important features of the graphic representation of jazz is the purpose of this article. The main method of designing covers for albums and posters in the sphere of academic music is the international Swiss style, interacting with black and white glamour and acquiring a sublime intellectual character. The design of vinyl envelopes and rock music posters is carried out by combining psychedelic technologies and punk graphics, which gives the said projects a socially aggressive, grotesque appearance. Famous designers of jazz vinyl covers include Alex Steinweiss, Reed Miles, Jim Flora, Neil Fujita, David Stone Martin, Burt Goldblatt, Kevin Reagan, Paul Bacon, Tom Hannan. The design of appropriate projects was initially determined by variable combinations of graphic experimentalism, artistic photo portrait and various typographic elements (1939–1957). In the second half of the 20th century, posters and playbills for jazz festivals in Montreux and Willisau attracted attention. The features of the visual design of jazz records, concerts and festivals are improvising tendency, polyrhythmic structure and experimental typographics, determined by the influence of various artistic styles. The projects of the covers of music albums and festival posters also imply certain semantics connected with wind, string and keyboard instruments, playing with the term jazz, dance allusions, the thematic focus of a specific festival, the name of an album or concert, as well as with an artistic photo portrait of the performer. The intimate and psychological intention, and the playful focus inherent in the specified projects are shaded by puns, plastic metaphors and humorous motives that attract the listener.
Key words
visual design of music projects, art of jazz, audio album cover, concert poster, improvisation.
For citation
Pigulevskiy V. Jazz: aspects of graphic representation. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2025. No. 2. Pp. 104–113.
