Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker - Freedom Rhythm & Sound Chapter Two: Journeys To Enlightenment [BOOK]

‘Freedom, Rhythm and Sound’ showcases the stunning graphic works of independently published jazz record cover designs in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and beyond, from radical jazz musicians such as Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, The Art Ensemble of Chicago and others.

This second ‘Freedom, Rhythm and Sound’ book is a new chapter, featuring hundreds more unique, rare and beautiful jazz record cover designs. This book documents the continued development in jazz as African-American artists set out on new journeys to enlightenment, heading out into Europe at the end of the 1960s.

The artwork of these (often self-produced) record cover designs during this era reflected their radical agenda, spiritual awareness and singular search for musical and personal freedoms. From raw, DIY aesthetics to lyrical and poetic illustrations, sometimes containing futuristic worlds and ancient landscapes, the designs are always bold, strikingly graphic, and most importantly capture the spirit of the music, giving them a unique beauty.

The book also includes sections on African-American poets and writers, Civil Rights and Black Power Movement leaders (Martin Luther King, Malcolm X) and early musical pioneers (Yusef Lateef, Max Roach, Art Blakey and others), all of which helped influence and shape the world of radical and spiritual jazz from the 1960s and onwards to its rebirth today.

Since the 1980s, Gilles Peterson has been a pivotal figure in the club scene, renowned for his genre-defying approach to music with jazz at its core. As one of the UK’s most iconic DJs, he has spent over 40 years shaping music trends as a radio presenter, club DJ, producer and festival curator. He hosts a flagship show on BBC Radio 6 Music and, in 2016, launched Worldwide FM. He is founder of the Worldwide Festival in the South of France and We Out Here festival in the UK. He runs the label Brownswood Recordings, dedicated to discovering and promoting new talent and bringing fresh voices to the global stage.

Stuart Baker founded Soul Jazz Records in 1992. For more than 30 years the record company has released over 500 records covering a genre-defying array of non-mainstream musical worlds - Jazz, Reggae, Punk, Latin, Brazilian, Disco, African, Gospel, Acid House and more. In 2017, part of Stuart Baker’s jazz record collection (much of which appears in ‘Freedom, Rhythm & Sound’) was featured and displayed as part of the Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power exhibition at Tate Modern in London and subsequently at The Broad in Los Angeles (2019) and Brooklyn Museum (2019).

Soul Jazz Books launched in 2007, a similarly diverse and critically acclaimed publishing house with graphic art, culture and photography titles that include ‘Voguing and The House Ballroom Scene of New York’, ‘Dancehall - The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture’, ‘Yo! The Early Days of Hip-Hop’, ‘Freedom, Rhythm & Sound - Revolutionary Jazz Cover Art 1965-83’, ‘Punk 45 - The Singles Cover Art of Punk 1976-80’ and others.

PRODUCT DETAILS

Author:  Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker
Publisher:  Soul Jazz Books
Format: Hardback
Released:  2025

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