On Internet since 1999

The Birka Jazz Archive
Records we have bought and sold over the years - the rare and the beautiful!

Please note!
Birka Jazz record store is closed but Birka Jazz Archive is still available. Scroll down and use the links to browse this comprehensive archive of rare jazz album covers

AMERICAN LABELS

COLUMBIA RECORDS
The pioneers of album cover design

CLEF, NORGRAN, VERVE (1)
David Stone Martin

CLEF, NORGRAN, VERVE (2)
The photographic covers

BLUE NOTE 10" LPs
Searching for a modern jazz identity

BLUE NOTE 1500 series
Defining the hard bop style

BLUE NOTE 4000 series
Masterpieces of Reid Miles

PRESTIGE RECORDS
Images of East Coast jazz

RIVERSIDE RECORDS
Street cred with Thelonious Monk

PACIFIC JAZZ
Moods of Chet and Claxton

CONTEMPORARY
Cool West Coast, great Sound

SAVOY RECORDS
Masterworks by Charlie Parker

DIAL RECORDS
Small label, big Bird sound

ATLANTIC RECORDS
Bold and striking albums

EMARCY RECORDS
The classic drummer logo label

BETHLEHEM RECORDS
The beautiful design of Burt Goldblatt

DEBUT RECORDS
Artist-operated jazz label with Mingus & Roach

CANDID RECORDS
Legendary, early 1960s LPs

ESP-DISK
Free jazz and silk screened covers

IMPULSE RECORDS
Edgy and experimental

RCA VICTOR
The high spirit of Jim Flora

VARIOUS US labels (1)
ABC-Paramount, Aladdin, Argo, Capitol, Coral, Dawn, Decca,
and more

VARIOUS US labels (2)
Epic, Fantasy, HiFi, Imperial, Jazzland, Jazz West, Jubilee, Mercury, Mode, and more

VARIOUS US labels (3)
Roost, Signal, Storyville, Tampa, Transition, United Artists, Vee Jay, and more

EUROPEAN LABELS

SWEDEN (1)
The EP era and Metronome Records in 1950s

SWEDEN (2)
The LPs in the 1950s, and Swedish jazz abroad

SWEDEN (3)
Changing times in the 1960s

SWEDEN (4)
New energy to Swedish jazz in the 1970s

DENMARK
Montmartre, Debut Records and the heydays in Danish jazz

NORWAY
Krog and Garbarek, greats in Norwegian jazz

FINLAND
Plenty of merged styles in Finnish jazz

FRANCE
Americans in Paris, force in French jazz

ENGLAND
Esquire and Tempo, classic labels in British jazz

GERMANY
Jazz labels with strong identity

ITALY
Rare Italian jazz covers

HOLLAND
From Diamonds to ICP in
Dutch jazz

POLAND
Unique series of Polish jazz on Muza

OTHER COUNTRIES
Jazz labels around the world

Bethlehem Records

The beautiful design of
Burt Goldblatt

BURT GOLDBLATT began his long association with Bethlehem Records in 1953. He was a versatile genius and one of the most prolific designers in the record business. Some of his best covers are for Bethlehem Records. They are masterpieces and beautiful timeless designs with minimized text and strong visual and graphic impact.

BETHLEHEM was a New York based record label founded by Gus Wildi in 1953. Wildi was a young man, born and raised in Switzerland, who had the ambition to issue high quality jazz records, both concerning the music and the package.

He had recognized that the importance of the cover quality was underrated by other companies. So Bethlehm was one of the first company to create LP covers which could match the artistic merit of the music.

The covers were heavily laminated and the design was modern and sophisticated, giving off a feeling of quality and substance. From the beginning it was Burt Goldblatt who designed the covers.

One of the first producers was Creed Taylor, who later created the Impulse label. He stayed at Bethlehem into 1956. In 1958 King Record acquired a 50% interest in the company, and then taking it over in 1962 and let it fade out.

All 10" albums designed by Goldblatt

Bethlehems strongest impact on jazz was the 10" LPs. About 40 albums were issued between 1953 and 1955. All of them were designed by Burt Goldblatt. He also designed many of the about 160 LPs in the 12" format which followed into 1962.

Burt Goldblatt was born in Boston in 1924 and moved to New York in the early 1950s. Up to the 1970s, he produced more than 3000 covers for labels such as Roost, Savoy, Atlantic, Emarcy and Bethlehem.

He was at home with photography, drawing, painting and typography. He utilized a vast range of methods and styles, including collage, montage, even x-rays.

In an interview with Angelynn Grant in 1998 he said:

- When I started to do covers, a lot of these people had no budget for photographs, no budget for illustrations. It means that I have to do everything my self. But I was glad for it, because it was all mine.

Master of photographic effects

Burt Goldblatt was an outstanding photographer and also a master of using photographic effects. About his liner drawings, it is the use of unusual perpectives, above all, that distinguishes him from others of the same period.

He always created images that were inspired by the music, and he could easly find the relationsship between the experimental fields of graphic and jazz.

He was closely involved in the album productions and always present in the recording studio. He told about it in the interview with Angelynn Grant:

- I liked the music and I got to know the musicans. No one paid me to go to those reharsals or recording sessions. But I enjoyed it and felt like I was a part of what was being put together.

- Sometimes they would give me a tape or a dub. And while I was designing the thing, I was actually listening to the music. I was not just a grahic designer trying to outshine anybody or anything. I wanted to get a feeling for what was taking place at this recording session.

Burt Covers Bud

One of Burt Goldblatt´s covers for the Roost label was the album in 1953 with Bud Powell trio. The fact that Bud named a tune after Goldblatt says something about his present in the studio and his friendship with the musicians. The tune is "Burt Covers Bud".

See the Burt Goldblatt Roost covers at Various US labels, part 2. There are aslo Goldblatt covers on the Savoy, Atlantic and EmArcy pages among others.

Burt Goldblatt continued doing cover designs in the 1960s for Columbia and RCA before he gave up the record business in the 1970s. He went to a writing career, co-authoring and publishing several books in various topics. He passed away in 2006.

Burt Goldblatt in 1950s

LINKS

Bethlehem Discography
jazzdiscorg.com

Interview BURT GOLDBLATT
Angelynnn Grant

Interview GUS WILDI a.o.
Bethlehem Interviews

Charlie Mariano Label: Bethlehem BCP 1022 10" LP 1954
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Bethlehem Records

The first LP of Bethlehem Records was the 1954 10" album Chris Connor Sings Lullabys of Birdland (Bethlehm BCP 1001). Design and photo by Burt Goldblatt. Also the second Bethlehem LP was by Chris Connor (below)

Chris Connor Sings Lullabys for Lovers Label: Bethlehem BCP 1002 10" LP 1954
Design and photo: Burt Goldblatt

Oscar Pettiford Label: Bethlehem BCP 1003 10" LP 1954
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Charlie Shavers: Horn O' Plenty Label: Bethlehem BCP 1007 10" LP 1954
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Joe Puma: East Coast Jazz 3 Label: Bethlehem BCP 1012 10" LP 1954
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Eddie Shu: I only have eyes for Shu Label: Bethlehem BCP 1013 10" LP 1954
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Jonah Jones Label: Bethlehem BCP 1014 10" LP 1954
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Conte Candoli: Sincerely, Conte Label: Bethlehem BCP 1016 10" LP 1954
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Oscar Pettiford: Basically Duke Label: Bethlehem BCP 1019 10" LP 1954
Design and photo: Burt Goldblatt

Carmen McRae Label: Bethlehem BCP 1023 10" LP 1954
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Stu Williamson: Sapphire Label: Bethlehem BCP 1024 10" LP 1954
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Max Bennett Quintet with Charlie Mariano Label: Bethlehem BCP 1028 10" LP 1954
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Red Mitchell: Happy Minors Label: Bethlehem BCP 1033 10" LP 1955
Design: Burt Goldblatt

J.J. Johnson - Kai Winding: K + J.J. Label: Bethlehem BCP 13 12" LP 1955
Design and photo: Burt Goldblatt

Hal McKusick: East Coast Jazz 8 Label: Bethlehem BCP 16 12" LP 1955
Design and photo: Burt Goldblatt

Henry Red Allen: Jazz at the Metropole Label: Bethlehem BCP 21 12" LP 1955
Design and photo: Burt Goldblatt

Charlie Mariano Label: Bethlehem BCP 25 12" LP 1955
Design and photo: Burt Goldblatt

Charlie Shavers: Gershwin, Shavers and Strings Label: Bethlehem BCP 27 12" LP 1955
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Stu Williamson Plays Label: Bethlehem BCP 31 12" LP 1955
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Dexter Gordon: Daddy Plays The Horn Label: Bethlehem BCP 36 12" LP 1955
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Ralph Sharon Trio Label: Bethlehem BCP 41 12" LP 1956
Design and photo: Burt Goldblatt

The Return of Howard McGhee Label: Bethlehem BCP 42 12" LP 1956
Design and photo: Burt Goldblatt

Johnny Hartman: Songs From The Heart Label: Bethlehem BCP 43 12" LP 1956
Design and photo: Burt Goldblatt

Charlie Mariano Plays Label: Bethlehem BCP 49 12" LP 1956
Design and photo: Burt Goldblatt

Max Bennett Plays Label: Bethlehem BCP 50 12" LP 1956
Design and photo: Burt Goldblatt

Mel Tormé Label: Bethlehem BCP 52 12" LP 1956
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Peggy Connelly Label: Bethlehem BCP 53 12" LP 1956
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Claude Williamson Label: Bethlehem BCP 54 12" LP 1956
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Stu Williamson with Charlie Mariano Label: Bethlehem BCP 55 12" LP 1956
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Chris Connor: Chris Label: Bethlehem BCP 56 12" LP 1956
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Sal Salvador: Frivolous Sal Label: Bethlehem BCP 59 12" LP 1956
Design and foto: Burt Goldblatt

Duke Ellington: Historically Speaking Label: Bethlehem BCP 60 12" LP 1956
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Relaxin´ with Frances Faye Label: Bethlehem BCP 62 12" LP 1957
Design: Burt Goldblatt

Betty Roché: Take the A Trane Label: Bethlehem BCP 64 12" LP 1957
Design and photo: Burt Goldblatt

Herbie Nichols: Love, Gloom, Cash, Love Label: Bethlehem BCP 81 12" LP 1957

Charlie Rouse / Paul Quinichette: The Chase Is On Label: Bethlehem BCP 6021 12" LP 1959

Art Blakey Big Band Label: Bethlehem BCP 6027 12" LP 1959

Nina Simone and Her Friends Label: Bethlehem BCP 6041 12" LP 1959

Mal Waldron: Left Alone Label: Bethlehem BCP 6045 12" LP 1959

Howard McGhee: Dusty Blue Label: Bethlehem BCP 6055 12" LP 1961

Pepper Adams: Motor City Scene Label: Bethlehem BCP 6056 12" LP 1961

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