Reid Miles (July 4, 1927 – February 2, 1993) was an American graphic designer and photographer best known for his work for
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...
in the 1950s and 1960s.
Biography
Miles was born in
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, on July 4, 1927, but, following the
Stock Market Crash
A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a major cross-section of a stock market, resulting in a significant loss of paper wealth. Crashes are driven by panic selling and underlying economic factors. They often fol ...
and the separation of his parents, moved with his mother to
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, in 1929.
[The Cover Art Of Blue Note Records by Graham Marsh and Glyn Callingham ]
After high school Miles joined the Navy and, following his discharge, moved to Los Angeles to enroll at
Chouinard Art Institute
The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 by Nelbert Chouinard, Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (1879–1969) in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1961, Walt Disney, Walt and ...
.
After working in New York City in the early 1950s for
John Hermansader and ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' magazine
[Richard Cook ''Blue Note Records The Biography'', ] and
Margaret Hockaday's advertising firm, Miles was hired in his own right around 1955 by
Francis Wolff
Francis Wolff (April 5, 1907 – March 8, 1971) was a record company executive, photographer and record producer. Wolff's skills, as an executive and a photographer, were important contributions to the success of the Blue Note record label.
Car ...
of the jazz record label
Blue Note
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...
to design album covers when the label began releasing their recordings on 12" LPs. Miles designed over five hundred covers,
frequently incorporating the session photographs of Francis Wolff and, later, his own photographs, although many of his later designs dispensed entirely with photographs.
Miles wasn't particularly interested in jazz, professing to have much more of an interest in classical music; he received several copies of each Blue Note album he designed but gave most of them to friends or sold them to used record shops.
Miles used the descriptions of the sessions relayed to him by producer
Alfred Lion to create the artwork.
Lion's retirement as a record producer in 1967 coincided with the end of Miles' connection with Blue Note. "Fifty Bucks an album...they loved it, thought it was modern, they thought it went with the music...one or two colors to work with at that time and some outrageous graphics!"
As a photographer, Miles moved to Hollywood, California in 1971 and operated a studio under the name Reid Miles Inc.
He later directed television commercials, which garnered him a
Clio Award
The Clio Awards, also simply known as The Clios, is an annual award program that recognizes innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication, as judged by an international panel of advertising professionals. The awar ...
in 1976.
Select discography
Blue Note Records
*''
Bud! The Amazing Bud Powell (Vol. 3)''
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Cool Struttin'''
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Doin' the Thing''
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Hustlin'''
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Hub-Tones''
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Midnight Blue
Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue named for its resemblance to the apparently blue color of a moonlit night sky around a full moon. Midnight blue is identifiably blue to the eye in sunlight
Sunlight is the portion of the electromag ...
''
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A Night at Birdland Vol. 1''
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The Scene Changes: The Amazing Bud Powell (Vol. 5)''
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Serenade to a Soul Sister''
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Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet''
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The Sidewinder
''The Sidewinder'' is a 1964 album by the jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, U.S. It was released on the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label as BLP 4157 (Monaural, mono) and BST 84157 ( ...
''
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Out to Lunch!
''Out to Lunch!'' is a 1964 album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. His only recording on Blue Note as a leader, it was issued as BLP 4163 and BST 84163. Featuring Dolphy in a quintet with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, vibraphonist Bo ...
''
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Empyrean Isles
''Empyrean Isles'' is the fourth studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released on Blue Note Records in November 1964. The album features Hancock alongside trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony William ...
''
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Our Man in Paris''
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No Room for Squares''
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Blue Train''
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Go (Dexter Gordon album)
''Go!'' is a studio album by jazz musician Dexter Gordon featuring Sonny Clark, Butch Warren and Billy Higgins, recorded on August 27, 1962 and released in the same year on Blue Note. According to the liner notes by Ira Gitler, this session wa ...
''
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A New Perspective''
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In 'n Out''
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Judgment!
''Judgment!'' is a studio album by American jazz pianist Andrew Hill, recorded and released in 1964 on Blue Note Records. Accompanied by drummer Elvin Jones, bassist Richard Davis and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson - Hill weaves his music arou ...
''
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It's Time! (album)''
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Into Somethin'''
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The Sermon (Jimmy Smith album)''
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Midnight Special (Jimmy Smith album)''
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Good Move!''
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Moanin'''
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Speak No Evil''
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Out of This World (The Three Sounds album)''
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Midnight Creeper''
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Joyride (Stanley Turrentine album)''
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Trompeta Toccata
''Trompeta Toccata'' is a 1964 album by jazz trumpeter Kenny Dorham. It was released by Blue Note Records in 1965 as BST 84181. It was remastered by original recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder in 2006. ''Trompeta Toccata'', as with Dorham's pr ...
''
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Una Mas''
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The Rumproller
''The Rumproller'' is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded mainly on April 21, 1965 and features performances by Morgan with Joe Henderson, Ronnie Mathews, Victor Sproles, and Billy Higgins.
R ...
''
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Stick-Up!
''Stick-Up!'' is an album by the jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, released on the Blue Note label in 1968. The album is Hutcherson's first without drummer Joe Chambers. Billy Higgins took over on drums on the recording session. It also feature ...
''
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Maiden Voyage (Herbie Hancock album)''
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Dippin'''
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Soul Station''
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Quartet/Quintet/Sextet''
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Gettin' Around''
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Speakin' My Piece''
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Hank Mobley (album)''
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Night Dreamer''
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Gravy Train (Lou Donaldson album)''
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Takin' Off
''Takin' Off'' is the debut album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock released in 1962 by Blue Note Records. The album features veteran tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Butch Warren and drummer Billy Higgins. The a ...
''
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Speak Like a Child (album)''
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Dialogue (Bobby Hutcherson album)''
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Jutta Hipp with Zoot Sims''
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Happy Frame of Mind''
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Sonny Rollins, Volume 1''
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Lee-Way''
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Mode for Joe''
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A Swingin' Affair
''A Swingin' Affair'' is an album recorded in 1962 by saxophonist Dexter Gordon, recorded two days after '' Go!'' with the same line-up, but not released for two years.
Recording and music
The album was recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood ...
''
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Open Sesame (Freddie Hubbard album)''
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Introducing Kenny Burrell''
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Let Freedom Ring''
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Blues Walk''
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Free Form (Donald Byrd album)''
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''Basra''
Others
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Chicago IX: Chicago's Greatest Hits''
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The Basement Tapes''
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Goin' Places''
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The Gambler''
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Underground (Thelonious Monk album)
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''Cookin' with The Miles Davis Quintette''
See also
*
Album covers of Blue Note Records
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Reid
1927 births
1993 deaths
Photographers from Chicago
People from Long Beach, California
Chouinard Art Institute alumni
American album-cover and concert-poster artists
American graphic designers
20th-century American photographers
Artists from California