Abstract ah um

In an idle moment, probably in the early hours whilst trying to get baby Betsy to sleep, I was pondering what the first work of abstract art that I remember seeing was, and in a flash it came to me: the cover artwork of my father's copy of Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet (left).

In fact, further pondering led me to the conclusion that my recent series of Jazz inspired prints have their ultimate roots in this very piece of work. Further investigation revealed that the man responsible for this whole chain of events is a S. Neil Fujita.

It seems that Fujita got the gig of producing the cover art through being the Director of Design and Packaging at Columbia Records between 1952 and 1957 (Time Out was released in 1959). Fujita is also responsible for the cover art of Mingus Ah Um, (also released 1959), (right). Incidentally, Fujita also designed the original 1969 cover for The Godfather by Mario Puzo, a typeface that is reflected in the design for his own autobiography, Mouth of Reddish Water. Read an excellent interview with the man himself at Waxing Chromatic.