FLANAGAN, Tommy.

Description

Early 1980s Japanese Enja Records/Pablo Records/Polydor KK promo poster (Katsuji Abé)

Original first printing Tommy Flanagan promotional poster issued by Enja Records/Pablo Records/Polydor KK in Japan in the early 1980s, presumably 1980 or 1982. Flanagan recorded a number of albums for Enja Records, including Ballads & Blues (1978), Eclypso (1980), Confirmation (1982), Super-Session (1982), Giant Steps (1982), Thelonica (1983), and Let’s Plays the Music of Thad Jones (1993). Founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971, Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich. The label’s first release was by pianist Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Japanese avant-garde artists such as Alexander von Schlippenbach, Terumasa Hino, Albert Mangelsdorff, and Yosuke Yamashita, along with newer American jazz musicians like Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor, and Leroy Jenkins, and straight-ahead musicians like Tommy Flanagan, McCoy Tyner, Chet Baker, Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones, and Kenny Barron. The poster features a photo of Flanagan credited to legendary Japanese photographer and master graphic designer Katsuji Abé (1929–2008), with his imprint (K. Abe) to the bottom left corner. Abé’s career in jazz photography lasted for over 50 years. His photography has been the subject of multiple international exhibitions, and has been used for record covers for countless jazz musicians, including John Coltrane, Count Basie, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Charles Mingus, and Oscar Peterson, among others. His photographs have graced many jazz record covers and he has six published books, among them ” Jazz Giants – Vision of the Great American Legends”, “50 Jazz Greats”, and “Parker’s Lullaby”. Abé’s Jazz Giants remains the greatest compilation of jazz photographs ever assembled and is continually sought after by collectors. In 1986, the U.S. Postal Service honored Abé by using his photograph of Duke Ellington taken during a performance in Tokyo, for a commemorative 22 cent stamp. The poster was for promotional purposes only, and was never made commercially available.

The poster measures 51.3 x 72.7 cm (approx. 20.2″ by 28.6″ inches) and is beautifully printed on thin, dull-coated paper stock. In excellent condition, clean and unfolded. Feel free to email us with any questions you may have concerning this item. Additional images of the poster available on request.