First Look: Art for "Roads & Codes"

Since I guess it wasn't enough work for me to write, arrange, rehearse, record, mix, and design my upcoming CD, Roads & Codes (due out Feb. 26),  I decided to incorporate my love of graphic novels and manga into the cover art. (Some of my favorite creators are Daniel Clowes, Jiro Taniguchi, Chris Ware, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, and my dad, who's been compiling books of dream drawings for years.)It'll be a serious time investment, but: a) I'm excited about testing my illustration chops, b) anything that gets the CD noticed and helps it stand out from that pile of discs gathering dust in Joe Jazz Critic's closet (or the used CD bins!) is good, and c) I only do this every few years, so why not go all out?I'm still figuring out what story the front cover is going to tell, but the back cover will feature a series of illustrations, each inspired by one of the tunes. I'll be sharing them here as I finish them.Here's are the first four tune illustrations--the first is for our version of Andante (the first movement of Suite #1 for Small Orch.) by Stravinsky, the second for  "6 Av Local," my tribute to the morning ride from Brooklyn on the F train; the third for "Nemuri Kyoshiro," my samurai-movie-inspired blues; and the fourth for our cover of Neil Young's haunting theme to the great Western Dead Man. (Click to see the full images.) Stay tuned for more--hope I can finish them all in time to press the CD!