Pierre Merlin (1918 – 2000) was a French artist and jazz musician known for designing the cover art of over 150 albums.[1]
Life and career
Merlin was born in
Bordeaux in 1918.[2] He studied at the École Municipale des Beaux Arts before receiving a scholarship to study fine art in Paris in 1942. It was there that Merlin began performing
New Orleans style jazz eventually playing with
Claude Luter and
Sidney Bechet.[3][4] Merlin alternated between the cornet and the trumpet.[4]
In the 1940s, Merlin did graphic design work for
Hot Club de France.[4] His first sketches of jazz musicians were done at the 1948 Festival of Nice.[4] From 1950 to 1953 Merlin worked designing the album art work for the
Vogue and Swing record labels.[4] The record labels would give Merlin very little information about the album he was working on. This was often just the title of the record, song title and photographs.[3] His work was influenced by the designer
David Stone Martin.[4]
^
abMoore, Celeste Day (2021). Soundscapes of Liberation: African American Music in Postwar France. Duke University Press. pp. 87–91.
doi:
10.2307/j.ctv1w7v2f7.
Ferrer, Pascal (2020). The 10' French jazz design records, 1952-1962: Tribute to Pierre Merlin. Bordeaux: Éditions Amalia.
ISBN979-10-699-4130-4.
OCLC1236008343.