Illustration Friday: "Jazz"

Yo, this one's a two-fer:



Traps, 2005 • graphite, pigment liner, and Photoshop®



Wheatland Couple, 2005 • graphite, orange fine point Sharpie®, and Photoshop®

It's the same old story: when I should be doing something more important, I'm doing something else. This was a lot more fun, of course. The first one is dedicated to one of my favorite things in jazz: the drum solo. It's also dedicated to Art Blakey, my favorite jazz drummer next to Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. I started digging Art's drumming after picking up Thelonius Monk's Genius of Modern Music Vol. 1. He was thunder personified on that thing.
Originally, I was going to create something with Monk, Art, and Charlie Parker as a group, but lately, I've found that likenesses are not my strong point, so I based my illustration on how Art's playing made me feel. The drummer at the bottom left was done without reference, and the top one was drawn after a Gretsch promo photo of Art. I kinda like the first one better, but I think they can both hang. :)

The second illo is inspired by "Wheatland", a composition by my favorite jazz pianist (and fellow Canuck) Oscar Peterson. Everytime I listen to it, I can't help but picture tourists hopping off their bus to examine the majesty of a wheatfield, so that's what I drew. I certainly hope you get to listen to this tune someday. For me, it reminds me of all the beauty that's around us. From the little things to the gargantuan.
The album it's on, Canadiana Suite, is terrific from the very start, and it's also an audio travel guide; each composition represents a region of Canada.

Now I gotta get some work done.