There was talk around the Rounder offices that Alison Krauss, the label’s biggest artist, was in the studio with legendary roots producer T-Bone Burnett. But the more interesting whisperings were that Robert Plant was involved in the project; that information was hard, if not impossible, to get confirmed. Still…the guess was a duets album. That made sense.

Raising Sand was, of course, the result of those sessions and the record would go on to win five Grammy Awards. It is an entirely unique collaboration and one I’m proud to have worked on as art director. The packaging, particularly the album cover that would perfectly capture the music and spirt of the record, was an interesting journey. There was some talk of hiring a freelancer for the packaging, and if Robert had really insisted, it likely would have gone that way. But I had a history of working with Alison and Union Station (Live, Lonely Runs Both Ways) and I vocally lobbied for myself! Moreover, I also had a connection to Robert’s manager, as she was a former employee at Rykodisc/Rykodisc Europe, where I also had worked for many years.

Alison’s longtime manager reached out to LA-based photographer Pamela Springsteen about the project. “I had never had the opportunity to photograph Robert before but I had worked with Alison,” explains Springsteen. “The first time I photographed Alison was with her band Union Station. It was for the album New Favorite, which was released in 2001. My assistant David and I flew out to Nashville for the shoot, and we spent a couple days location scouting and found an old diner called Elliston Place that let us shoot there at night after closing. The image used for the cover of the album was a shot of Alison and the band hanging out at the counter drinking coffee and eating pie. The album won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album in 2002.”

Robert was definitely involved in the look and direction of the album, but as Pamela recounts, “What I remember most was being asked if I could go down and meet Robert at his hotel in Santa Monica to discuss the shoot and the direction. I drove down there not knowing much about the project but very excited to be part of it. Robert came to the door and was really warm and friendly which immediately put me at ease. We talked for a couple hours and he shared his concerns about how to make what seemed like an unlikely collaboration work visually. Then he played some of the music for me which was absolutely incredible. It was a great afternoon and being a fan of Led Zeppelin and Robert Plant since I was a teenager, I couldn’t believe this was actually my job.” She’s not the only one. I vividly remember a conference call following the shoot, with Robert, Alison and Pamela and me, and thinking “damn…this is a pretty good day at work.”

As this was still very much a secretive project, there wasn’t much internal discussion about creative direction. I’m certain the powers that be figured Robert Plant would know how he — and Alison — might want this unique project visually represented. Pamela’s recollection backs that up: “I don’t believe they had the title for the album chosen yet. We decided we wanted to keep the shoot simple and relaxed. I had a friend, Peter Philbin, who had been in the music business for years signing many successful bands to Columbia Records and he owned a house on the beach right below Robert’s hotel. I knew they would be comfortable there. We rented Peter’s beach house for the day, set up a studio in the large living room and used various locations throughout the old Spanish home. Robert initially wanted the focus to be more on Alison and said he would show up for a few shots. The day of the shoot he arrived early and I shot singles of him first while Alison was getting ready. He was immediately comfortable in front of the camera and I knew we were going to have a great day. When Alison arrived on set they had great chemistry and had such a good time together. Shooting in a relaxed environment worked really well; Robert ended up staying the whole day with us. His mischievous, playful manner brought a lightness to the shoot and he and Alison played off each other so well.”

There were a couple of shots being considered for the cover shot, but one seemed to gain traction, particularly within the Plant camp. I think everything I saw was black and white. “I always loved shooting in black and white,” Springsteen recently told me. “And in those days I was still mainly shooting film. I usually shot about 50% black and white and 50% color on my jobs. The last shot of the day was going to be on the beach when the light was at its best. The day went fast and the sun was setting. I didn’t want to create an elaborate lighting set up and lose the intimacy between them so I pulled out my high speed black and white film and captured those shots using only natural light. It was cold and we were losing light quickly so I had to shoot fast. We captured the cover in probably less than 15 minutes. It just worked.”

One of the things the shoot clearly captured was the connection between Robert and Alison. They seem so comfortable and at ease with each other. Again, Pamela: “The vibe between Robert and Alison was great, they had a lot of fun together. They are both witty and have a great sense of humor, but what also stood out was the huge amount respect they had for each other. It was a pleasure to be around, and the chemistry between them was a photographer’s dream. They played off each other incredibly well and they were very generous with each other throughout the whole shoot.”

I particularly loved the image we selected for the back cover with Alison beaming and Robert with his back to the camera. It just says so much. I asked Pamela if she instantly knew what she had captured there: “Yes, that was a perfect moment,” she told me. “They were so in sync with their steps and body language, the way he is leaning into her as she turns to look back, I’m certain he was probably telling her something to make her laugh. There was such a sweetness between them.”

Working with great photographers always makes an art director’s job easier. But, of course, there are always issues somewhere in the process. At one point, Robert asked for some minor retouching on his jeans. “It looks like I have a pocketful of conkers!” he told me. I assured him we could get rid of that, although I had no idea what the hell conkers were! I threw it out to some friends, and one who had spent some time at English prep school told me it was slang for marbles! Ah…Ok. Got it. Done!

More critically, there was some dissatisfaction within the label with the graininess of the photograph. Many, myself included, felt it only added to the mood of the image, but we did jump through a few hoops trying to get rid of it. Thankfully, after many attempts, everyone agreed that removing the grain looked wrong. Antiseptic. Just. Plain. Bad.

The horizon line to the left of Robert and Alison provided an obvious place and break for some very simple typography, and kept the emphasis on the two stars. I digitally extended the beach to run across the inside three panels, and a matte finish reinforced the low key vibe of the record. And there it was…

I’ll let Pamela take it from here… ”It was such an honor to work with these two greats and to be part of this fantastic album. The album won a Grammy in every category it was nominated for including “Album Of The Year” on February 8th, 2009 (which also happened to be my birthday!)”

I could not have said it better. It was simply a pleasure to work on beautiful, one-of-a-kind record with some incredibly talented people.

After Songs of Mirth and Melancholy, his gorgeous duet album with Joey Calderazzo, Branford Marsalis returned to his quartet for the next record, Four MF’s Playin’ Tunes. It was the first Branford Marsalis Quartet project since 2009 and featured newly enlisted drummer Justin Faulkner, and Marsalis was very excited about this version of the band. That, in fact, was the basis of his visual direction to me: this band was hot, they played extremely well off of each other, and each player was an integral piece. And, with that, I was off…

I came up with a concept that was easy to explain, but understood that it might be hard to visualize, since the whole hook played off the camera’s shutter speed. The idea was to feature each member, starting with Branford, seated in a simple chair against a white seamless backdrop. Then, behind him, the other three band members would hustle in and out, constantly walking and moving behind Branford. The photographer, Eric Ryan Anderson, would then focus on Marsalis, sitting extremely still, and utilize a very slow shutter speed so everyone else would be a blur. I thought this perfectly represented Branford’s idea of this band.

To fully illustrate that each person, at some point, stood at the center of the music, we had each member take his turn “in the chair,” while the former subject joined in the blur of energy in the background. It was awesome, simultaneously one of the most fun — and most stressful — shoots I’ve ever worked on. The very nature of the concept was random; you simply couldn’t tell what you were going to get, but thank goodness for the digital age. Laptops gave us real-time updates where we could make adjustments instantly; this would have been a nightmare, if not impossible, with film. Eric Ryan Anderson was brilliant, and the band was tireless in our pursuit of what we were looking to execute.

Knowing we had achieved what we wanted, we celebrated and called it a day. We took a TON of pictures, and although many weeded themselves out for various reasons — people had walked out of the frame, the subject at the center had moved and was also blurry — we had lot to choose from, and everyone found a shot of themselves they liked. For once, we did not have to find a single photo of four people, where all four people were happy with how they looked!

As I laid out a series of approved photographs, I had an idea on how to further the metaphor of Branford’s vision of the band. Since they were ALL integral to the band, why not make a booklet where you could fold it in a way that each band member could be on the cover? By reproducing the title of the record on each panel, this could be easily accomplished — and, boy, did the rhythm section love this concept! Although the record did not yet have a title, I mocked it up with some dummy type and worked with our printer to get a fold that could accommodate this concept. It was very cool — perfect “conceptual continuity” to quote the late, great Frank Zappa.

Now…about that title. The shoot was over, the design work nearly finished, but there was still no title for the record. There was a conference call with Branford, his management/label reps, and myself and, after much discussion, Branford was exasperated and said “I don’t care what you call it. Call it four motherfuckers playing tunes.” The call ended shortly after that, but I could not get that potential title out of my head. It fit *perfectly* and after some discussion, a censored version got the official go ahead.

There was still one more piece to complete; the tray card. That piece can fill up quickly, with the tracks and times featured, and the necessary evils of logos, legal lines and the UPC shoehorned in. It simply doesn’t leave much room for graphics, particularly if you’re looking at a full band shot. Combing through the photos, I was struck by a singular image, likely a throwaway shot simply to check lighting and framing. It was the lone chair that quietly shared the stage with the quartet, in stark light against the seamless background fabric. Not only did it offer lots of negative space to accommodate all of the type, it presented a beautiful idea to me. After the shoot was over, it was the last thing standing, and for my concept of the revolving group energy around each musician, it offered up the metaphor of being the musical document left behind from the band, their recording sessions, and the photo shoot.

I’ve recently come across Yo Yo Ma’s latest release “Six Revolutions: Bach Cello Suites” and did a double, triple and quadruple take. I thought, “That’s my cover for ‘Four MF’s! Right down to the simple chair!” I put a lot of conceptual thought into this project and can’t help but wonder what the thought process was behind the Ma cover. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but, man…I can only hope it’s an homage of some sort and not just co-opting the concepts and ideas I brought to bear for the “Four MF’s…” project. Damn!