Richard Mantel is alive and well in New York

June 13th, 2008 in Guns, Jazz, Photography by lpcoverlover | 9 Comments

Richard Mantel, the bandit on the lower right, and I had lunch last week. Richard is an artist and a designer who spent years as an art director with Columbia Records in the sixties and seventies. We’ve been friends for many years. Around the time I met Richard, I was working with George Wein, who had this record over the fireplace behind his desk. Richard has also been the designer of all the beautiful Mosaic Records sets since that company began reissuing those amazing box sets of Blue Note, Commodore, Keynote and other label’s back catalogs. One of Richard’s most famous covers is Thelonious Monk “Underground” for which he won a Grammy award for best record cover design in 1969.

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9 Comments

1. #1 dk says:
   June 13th, 2008 at 10:23 pm

   Is this the same George Wein who founded the Newport Jazz Festival??

   Just curious…

2. #2 lpcoverlover says:
   June 13th, 2008 at 10:28 pm

   You bet!

3. #3 glauberovsky says:
   June 14th, 2008 at 8:51 am

   wow, he’s the man! by the way, i’m alive an’ well here in brazil too

4. #4 gbcleve says:
   August 23rd, 2010 at 12:06 pm

   He’s now alive and well and living in cleveland.

5. #5 Richard Mantel says:
   June 8th, 2012 at 9:59 am

   Thanks for the posting! It looks terrific. The George Wein cover, like the Frito bandito, isn’t exactly politically correct. It was a different time. To whom am I writing? Lunch(?).–Regards, Richard

6. #6 lpcoverlover says:
   June 8th, 2012 at 10:26 am

   Richard, it’s taken you almost four years to the day to appreciate this post! It’s Matthew. Lunch any time. Maybe in Cleveland next time I’m home.

7. #7 otis says:
   May 17th, 2013 at 10:52 pm

   Richard produced one of my all time favorite record covers.

   The one I’m referring to is the 1st album by Peter Ivers with Yolande Bavan called KNIGHT OF THE BLUE COMMUNION.

   It alludes to the Elusian mysteries and the mythos that Jesus is the Holy sacrament called Psilocybe Cubenis – or Liberty Cap mushroom. Juxtaposed on the cover is a Christ figure with Liberty Cap for halo and he is coming out of a woman who appears to be in a trance / dead state with a huge piece of Bread (body) for her body and surrounded by Lights from Motorcycles (illumination) . It’s fabulous and subtle.

8. #8 lpcoverlover says:
   May 19th, 2013 at 10:10 am

   Thanks for the appreciation Otis. New to me, I wonder what Richard might say about it.

9. #9 Ron Coro says:
   October 12th, 2013 at 6:17 am

   Richard, Hey Mr. Frito Bandito, How about a re-connect soon?