Home » Jazz Articles » In Pictures » Mid-Century Modern Jazz Illustrations

4

Mid-Century Modern Jazz Illustrations

By

View read count
Drawing was a part of my world long before music (I wanted to be a cartoonist as a young kid) but I've only recently rediscovered it as something I genuinely love. It has become a fulfilling creative outlet and a way for me to combine my musical sensibilities with my love of Mid-Century Modern design and illustration.

A note about one of the images: Around 1990-91, I had a few single-panel cartoons published in Contemporary Jazz Review, a popular music magazine at the time. One of them (included here) is a single panel cartoon which shows John Coltrane at a Jack-In-The-Box. At the time, the fast-food chain offered a Chicken Supreme sandwich, hence the gag (it's no longer offered, so now this cartoon needs explanation, and double that if the person isn't familiar with Coltrane's music already!). The cartoon found a second life when it went viral in the 2010's and was shared by musicians all over the world. It even got sent to me several times as if I'd never seen it (I used the pseudonym "MAG"—my legal name initials—so it wasn't associated with me at first.)
View Slideshow

About Tony Guerrero

Tags


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Become a Sustaining Member

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter

Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.

Help Build the Future of All About Jazz

Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.

Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.

Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.

More

Jazz article: Jazzfestival Saalfelden 2026
Jazz article: Jazz em Agosto 2026, Part 2
Jazz article: 2026 Newport Jazz Festival, Part 2

Popular

Read Charlie Haden: Anatomy of a Jazz Classic
Reanimating Conversations Past
Charlie Haden: Anatomy of a Jazz Classic
Read Mark Gross: Jazz for Teens

HIDDEN GEMS

Jazz article: Bebop, Beats, and the Drive of Beat Literature
Jazz article: Ruslan Sirota: A Journey Away
Jazz article: Celebrate songwriters Abbey Lincoln and Bernice Petkere

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletters highlight our top stories, top album reviews, website news, free songs, radio & podcast shows, news, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.