Help this dude publish an Eric Dolphy graphic novel

Via Peter Hum:

My plan is to self-publish a 74-page book, a sort of interpretive biography. I've been researching Dolphy's life for some time, and I've read everything about him I've been able to get my hands on. I'd like to tell his story the way I see him—a musical prince. I chose to draw the novel in a style reminiscent of the great album covers from 40's and 50's. Artists like David Stone Martin and Ben Shahn were an inspiration.

The artist is Keith H. Brown. You can contribute at Kickstarter. Below is a video describing the project. Needless to say, I love the idea.

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Blue Note T-shirts

Via Peter Hum, Blue Note t-shirts. Alas, the site selling them is in Japan, so you'll need the aid of a translator to make the order. But 22 designs are available from Uniqlo, including Sonny Clark's Cool Struttin, Joe Henderson's In 'n' Out, and Jackie McLean's Let Freedom Ring. Solid.

Friday Album Cover: Best of 2010

Inspired by the good folks at Accujazz, I decided to throw in my 2 cents and list my favorite album covers of 2010, with some commentary where applicable. As I've mentioned before, good album art cannot make up for bad music, but a good cover can give an album I like some extra juice. Below are my picks.

Jason Moran

TEN

 

A throwback to the classic Blue Note album covers of the 1960s, with sans serif typography and a minimalist design. What's not to love?

The rest of my picks after the jump.

S. Neil Fujita

S. Neil Fujita, the graphic designer whose work was featured on album covers for Dave Brubeck's Time Out, Miles Davis' Round About Midnight, and Charles Mingus' Mingus Ah Um, passed away last weekend. The New York Times has a lengthy obituary. Fujita also designed book jackets for The Godfather, In Cold Blood, and many others. Though you may not have heard of him, you are undoubtedly familiar with his work.

Friday Album Cover: Alternate Universe

Jazz and Design linked to some alternate covers to classic jazz recordings by Jeff Rochester this morning, including the version of Cannonball Adderley's At The Lighthouse below. See more of his work, including a delightfully minimalist Blood on the Tracks cover, here.

Herman Leonard

Another member of the family has left us this weekend. Photographer Herman Leonard, whose work you have seen many times possible without even knowing it, has passed away. Read the New Orleans Times-Picayune obituary here. The photo of Dizzy Gillespie on the right side of the page is hanging in my apartment, and is one of my favorite works of jazz photography. Leonard's photos had wonderful depth and texture, you can practically feel the smoke in Royal Roost while looking at the photo.

Mark Myers interviewed Leonard last year, and Leonard said of his photos, "I wanted to preserve the mood and atmosphere as much as possible. My goal was to capture these artists at the height of their finest creative moments." He did just that, and those of us too young to have seen Parker and Gillespie and Ellington and Fitzgerald at the time will be forever indebted to Herman Leonard.



Image via AllPosters.com

Chart of the Day

Via Jason Parker:

Explanation.

Related (baseball): Flip Flop Fly Ball.

Friday Album Cover: Video Edition

I almost couldn't wait until Friday to post this, but I'm all about delayed gratification. The video below comes via Peter Hum.

Hi-Fi from bante on Vimeo.

That was beautiful. Have a good Friday!

Back in the Swing of Things

I've returned from Portland. I had a great week, including an interesting Wednesday evening at Jimmy Mak's. I showed up a little early for the Mel Brown Quartet's set, and walked in on the final tune of the Beaumont Middle School jazz band, which was playing a fundraiser at the club during the early set. Though my expectations were low, I must say, those kids can play. They were well above the level of my middle school band, for sure. Some of the soloists have even started developing individual personalities. Once the kids cleared out at 9:30 (by law), Mel Brown took the stage and laid down some delightful hard bop. Brown won my everlasting favor when he played an entire solo on his high hat and cymbals late in the set. Here's a sample of the Quartet in action, playing pianist Tony Pacini's Blues for El Cid:

That was the extent of my jazz activities during the trip, but I also wanted to share a few murals I saw at the Kennedy School, a former Northeast Portland middle school that closed in the 1970s and was later bought by the McMenamins company, which converted the facilities into a brewery, bar, restuarant, and hotel (the beer is wonderful, I recommend the Hammerhead Pale Ale and Sunflower IPA). The grounds were decorated by local artists, and the main entryway to the school featured a pair of murals facing each other on opposite walls, one of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong (above), the other of Lester Young and Billie Holiday (below).

I have one more thing to share with you from my trip, coming later in the week. Until then, I'll be cleaning my house, which somehow did not clean itself while I was gone...