Sound Painting

Society of Illustrators 46th Annual of American Illustration, p186
Rudy Gutierrez, Roy Hargrove CD

I love the artwork on this CD cover. Roy Hargrove is a jazz trumpeter and the designer's goal was to create a "sound painting". I think the designer was successful. The warm, rich, vibrant colors used reflect the warmth and energy of the music and are representative of the stage lights. The black emphasizes nighttime and suggest the trumpeter is playing for a nightclub. The overall feeling I receive with the colors is that the people are in the dark recesses of a nightclub and the music is lightning the room. I like the looseness in form created by little dashes, unconnected lines, splashes and dots of color, the "torn" paper with the title that's been "carelessly" scratched through with crayon. All of these little details reflect the lack of uniformity jazz music strives to perfect.
It seems that each detail in this artwork contributes significantly to the composition. The emphasis is obviously on the trumpeter. Starting in the upper corner, your eyes are directed down the arm and trumpet toward the dancing couple. Notice how the trumpeter, the dog, and the man in the bottom corner are also looking at the dancing couple which are spotlighted by the bell of the trumpet. I kind of getting the impression that the trumpeter is an angel looking down from heaven. Perhaps he's Gabriel with the message of music.