Freedom, Rhythm and Sound: Revolutionary Jazz Original Cover Art 1965-83

Author: Stuart Baker (Compiler), Gilles Peterson (Editor) 
Publisher: Soul Jazz Books
Year: 2009
Pages: 180
ISBN: 978-0955481727

The momentum of the 1960s civil rights movement and the explosion of Rock music and the underground press in that decade impacted Jazz in amazing ways, both musically and culturally. Years before Punk, musicians like John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra, Don Cherry, The Art Ensemble of Chicago and others took control of their work by recording, releasing and distributing their music themselves, often in runs as low as 500 copies. As a result, Jazz music got a whole new look. The record sleeves of this era (roughly 1965-1983) are as iconic and historically unique as the music itself, which, in the wake of innovations by Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, boldly abandoned tonal anchors for the wilder shores of improvisation, incorporating Gospel, Asian, Rock and electronic influences.