This poster was produced as part of the '20 for 20 Print Collective'. As a fan of jazz, the 1920s prompt for this collective allowed me to make a beeline straight to Louis Armstrong. I wanted to highlight his bright showy style within a familiar and steady rhythm. His song 'Cornet Chop Suey' seemed to be a quintessential example of this relatively early time of Jazz. I mapped out and visualized the first 12 bars of Armstrong's trumpet line as simplified graphics cut out of 12 linoleum blocks. This bold visual rhythm was complemented by a wash of color underneath and crisp typographical accents on top.

Letterpress

Peter Bushell, The Auburn Press