Burt Goldblatt often drew on photography and line drawings for his covers of cool-jazz Lps. In the early 1950’s after the introduction of the Lp, the most progressive American cover designs were created for jazz albums, and Mr. Goldblatt was among the pioneers in establishing the cool-jazz style. It encompassed black and white portraits and studio photographs, including expressionistic line drawings of performers in action. He alternated between using photography and drawings and his distinctive covers show close ups of musicians blowing their instruments at the same time striving for visual simplicity.
Mr. Goldblatt was born in Dorcester, MA and after serving in the Army in the Pacific during World War II, he studied at the Massachusetts College of Art. After graduation, he worked in a printing plant where he learned the craft, from stripping negatives to plate-making. He taught himself photography.
After freelancing as a commercial artist in Boston, he moved to New York and from 1953-1955, he worked for CBS Television designing promotions and credit crawls for Red Skelton, Edward R. Murrow and Jack Benny as well as for hit shows “Rawhide” and “Bachelor Father”. He also began specializing in album cover design and created about 200 covers in 1955 alone.
Although Mr. Goldblatt worked for Decca and Atlantic Records, he designed most prodigiously for small labels, including Savoy, Jolly Roger and Bethlehem. He became known for abstracted caricatures and distorted portraits, but his photographic cover designs for Bethlehem helped define the genre by combining evocative photos with restrained yet lyrical typography.
Burt Goldblatt was a denizen of recording studios and nightclubs where he shot untold numbers of images, some of which he later used for cover designs. He continued designing covers, including some for gospel and pop albums, into the 1960’s. He also co-authored 17 books including his highly collectible and acclaimed out of print jazz books, “Jazz Gallery”, and “Newport Jazz Festival”.
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