John Coltrane looks pensive in the cover photo of his classic 1957 album “Blue Train.” With his eyes cast down, a finger across his lower lip, and his left hand stretched behind his head, the jazz giant appears to contemplate some weighty subject. The mouthpiece of his saxophone protrudes a few inches from his face. 

It’s an example of the creative album covers that helped build Blue Note Records into the world’s predominant jazz label in the 1950s and ’60s. About a dozen of those covers are currently on display in the Multimedia Center at the University of New Hampshire’s Dimond Library in Durham. 

The covers on display span from 1954 to 1967, representing the height of Blue Note’s supremacy in the jazz genre. The label was co-founded by producer Alfred Lion and photographer Francis Wolff, who would take numerous candid photos of musicians during recording sessions. Graphic designer Reid Miles selected from these photos to create inspired album covers that complemented the music. 

Blue Note also earned a reputation for its informative rear cover designs, with text provided by some of the era’s top jazz writers.

The exhibit features vintage titles by jazz legends like McCoy Tyner, Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Cannonball Adderley, Hank Mobley, Sonny Rollins, Booker Ervin, Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver, and Art Blakey. 

A cooperative effort between the Multimedia Center and Milne Special Collections, the exhibit will remain on display through Aug. 1 on Level 2 of Dimond Library. For more information, visit www.library.unh.edu.