"Sounds of the Earth," A Tribute to the Jazz Greats.

The 1950's ushered in a new school of jazz called bebop or free jazz. Drawing its musical influence from gospel and the blues, bebop tried to breath new life into the music by restoring the art of improvisation. "Free jazz" was a musicof expression — an expression of the times. The free jazz, oravant-garde movement began with the inventions of artists such as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Miles Davis,Thelonious Monk, and Dizzy Gillespie. Following their lead, Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, and other musicians in the 60's further stretched the boundaries of the jazz idiom by refusing to allow structure to inhibit free expression. My drawings and paintings of these jazz performers are the beginning in a series of original works paying special tribute to the many innovators of what Dr. Martin Luther King once called, "America's triumphant music."

Archie Shepp
16x12 inches

Dizzie Gillespie
15x18.5 inches

Enchanted Thursdays
15x12 inches

John Coltrane
25x19 inches

Miles Davis
17x17 inches

Ornette Coleman
16x12 inches

Preservation Hall Jazz Band
21x35 inches