Irving Penn (1917-2009) was a US photographer known for his iconic fashion, portrait and still-life images. Widely regarded as one of the most important photographers of the 20th century, Penn had a long association with Vogue magazine, and also shot advertising work for major clients. Much of his work is held in the Smithsonian American Art Museum; www.irvingpenn.org
In 1986 the trailblazing jazz trumpeter and bandleader Miles Davis brought his music kicking and screaming into the modern age – using synthesizers, sampling and drum machines – with his first ever album for Warner Bros, Tutu. Aside from his music, the LP boasted an iconic black & white album cover shot by the legendary fashion, advertising and fine art photographer, Irving Penn.
Despite the newly found creative modernity of Davis’s music, the album’s artistic packaging was a hark back to the classic jazz album covers of the 1950s – a black & white portrait of the musician, their name, the LP’s title onalbum was recorded, Davis was 60 years old and had sold his publishing rights to Warner Bros a year earlier – that’s why it was the first Miles Davis album release on Warner after Davis’s 30-year association with Columbia Records.
