[78-L] [Fwd: The Clef Label Icon]

[Julian Vein]

I'm forwarding this on because of the problems Geoffrey Wheeler refers to.

      Julian Vein

Sorry, gentlemen, thanks to my current server, I am not able to post 
items on 78-List, but I did want to respond to your questions about the 
icon on the Clef record label. I think it highly unlikely that it 
represents Dizzy Gillespie. Gillespie did not begin to record for Clef 
until around 1954, and was also issued on 78s on Clef and Norgran that 
were also issued in LP albums. The illustration for the icon was done by 
David Stone Martin. The first use I am aware of is as part of a cover 
illustration on 12-inch three-record Asch album 453. The trumpet-playing 
icon wears a red jacket. In the background is an abstract illustration 
of Carnegie Hall.

The dark-red spine has the album title and Asch printed in gold. In the 
upper right corner of the front cover is “Stinson Records, produced by 
Norman Granz.” Title of the album is “Jazz at the Philharmonic (Vol. 
1).” This is a somewhat typical Stinson hybrid: Two of the three records 
in my copy have Stinson labels; the third has an Asch label. I have 
another non-JATP Stinson album that has one Stinson label, one Asch 
label, and one Asch International label. The album contains multi-part 
performances of two tunes: “How High the Moon” and “Lady Be Good.” 
Trumpet players on the two performances are Howard McGhee and Joe Guy. 
The icon by itself appears on page 31 of a 48-page Asch-Disc catalog 
issued in 1946. The catalog is filled with David Stone Martin 
illustrations, some of which were later used for album-cover art. A 
later, undated “Disc Record List” does not list the album, but does list 
vol. 2 of the JATP series of album releases. The Asch album itself is 
listed on 78 Online Discographical Project but no date is given. It 
falls, however, within a block of recordings made in 1944. Album retail 
was $3.50 for three 12-inch records but my copy is price-marked $4.72.
Best regards,
Geoffrey