Ascension

I love this Coltrane album cover my father designed. It's sitting at home on our piano where I look at it every day. In fact, my mother recently tried to take the cover to have it photographed with her other Impulse album covers, but I put up such a big fuss she gave up. I love it, and I don't want to let it go. I'm not like that about many things, but this is one of them.

My father died 39 years ago this past Sunday. I bet he would be surprised to know his work is referenced in yet another blog so many years later (thanks, Sarah, for pointing me to it!). When he died in 1970 he was only in his early forties, and he didn't leave a lot written behind. There aren't even many photographs of him. Being the readerly type, I've always regretted not having a letter from him, and part of why I blog now is to establish a written history for my children. But I see now that what my father left behind was a visual history. He's still speaking through it, all these years later.