1947 Jim Flora print

By Mark Frauenfelder at 3:33 pm Friday, Jan 23

Irwin says:

Jim Flora Art LLC kicks off 2009 with a limited-edition, archival-quality fine art print of a 1947 Jim Flora Columbia Records album cover, Kid Ory and His Creole Jazz Band.

Kid Ory and His Creole Jazz Band was released in 1947 as a 78 rpm four-disc set, as part of Columbia's Hot Jazz series. Trombonist Edward "Kid" Ory (1886-1973) was a legendary pioneer in the development of New Orleans jazz stylings of the early 20th century. As a bandleader he hired a number of players who later achieved great prominence, including Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, and King Oliver.

Does the Flora caricature on the cover resemble Ory? No way. "I could never do likeness," Flora once admitted. The cover figure looks like … something Jim Flora would do.

Only twenty (20) prints of Kid Ory were produced for this edition. Prices will increase for subsequent prints as the edition depletes.

Produced by Flora archivist Barbara Economon, the oversized print (larger then the album cover) was meticulously and painstakingly crafted from a mint-condition artist's proof sheet of the Ory cover in the Flora collection. It is the seventh iconic Flora cover to be issued as a limited edition fine art print.

Fine art print of a 1947 Jim Flora Columbia Records album cover, Kid Ory and His Creole Jazz Band: $200