Jim Flora | Illustrator

The Outrageously Cool Jim Flora Modern, youthful, sinister at times, but distinctive, with a “go-lucky I’m free” and “I dance a quick jive”—this is Jim Flora’s work to me. My initial exposure to Flora’s art was on the Columbia (1940s) and RCA Victor (1950s) album covers of the original jazz pressings I collected during my teen years in the 70s. Seeing new album covers with his illustrations would be like moments jiving to a hip beat through a maze of lindy hop routines with so many lines, angles and distinctive motifs. First glance might seem like crammed discordant imagery. But, . . .