Visual artist Robert Andrew Parker died on December 27th at age 96. Among an extensive body of work he painted record covers for labels including Columbia, which often focused on jazz. Subjects included Jelly Roll Morton, George Wallington, Duke Ellington, the Newport International Youth Band, Mahalia Jackson, Dave Brubeck, Billy Butterfield, Art Tatum, Hubert Laws, Gunther Schuller and Thelonious Monk. He also published illustrations in many magazines,and illustrated a literary series of classics by figures like Franz Kafka. In 2008 he wrote and published the children’s book Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum, which won several awards. He was also a drummer with Jive by Five, playing the jump blues style of the 1940s.
