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When I arrived at 2010 and began to prepare for "PARTING SHOT"(2011) little did I know that I would be commencing a friendship and working relationship with another artist from France, the ever dedicated, principled and inventive Michel Granger. During the mid to late '70s in New York City, not long after I had discovered the work Jean-Michel Folon in the poster art stores of Manhattan, that would carry pieces of his that were from his Airbrushing period, with lots of vibrant and bright colors. In those same stores, I saw the work of Granger, and I was immediately drawn to it for similar and different reasons. I very much admired the humor and irony in his works, but also his growing dedication to making our world a better place - and above all, to try and save our planet from ruin and the annihilation of human life. The image of the earth, a globe has played a significant role in virtually all of his painting and sculptures for decades. And, as some of you reading this would know, Granger and the earth have now graced four CD covers and one CD single cover. Around 2005, I was in need of a graphic designer, and Janet Perr came to mind. So, I began digging into the weeds of the web and somehow I was able to find her. Janet and I had known one another during my years at Columbia Records from 1977-1980 where Janet worked alongside art director, and great graphic designer, Paula Scher. Janet and I were actually also neighbors in the same apartment building in the Chelsea section of Manhattan - so our connection runs pretty deep. Since "THE GREEN FIELD" in 2005, Janet and I have now worked together on the designs for some 12 album projects. By the time that Janet and I arrived at 2011 and "PARTING SHOT" I wasn't certain in the least that I would ever be able to afford to do another self-financed album project. At the time, I had a wonderful long-standing relationship with Hiroshi Itsuno who had just started his own record label in Japan, 55 Records. As there were not going to be an secret 'bonus tracks' I had to do something to give Japan a little bit of a promotional extra. That was to be its own CD cover and CD booklet design. For me, this aspect was really a lot of fun and gave Janet and I the chance to work with different and unique Michel Granger images. This was true for the two albums that followed. They were: "SUBTEXT"(2014) and "BACKLOG"(2016). However, as the CD business was nearing its end, the end of an era, Hiroshi and 55 Records had to make the sad decision that they could no longer afford to release CDs in Japan, and so, as "PATCHWORK"(2019) was nearing completion, Janet and I had already designed two separate CD artwork packages, but there would never be a CD release in Japan. So, the collage you see below represents all 8 of the CD covers that Janet designed, even the one the lower right-hand corner that no one ever saw. Although, Janet did put to use that Granger image as the disc design for "PATCHWORK." As things turned out, I wasn't quite done yet as a recording artist. In 2020, I commenced a special one-song project with genius vocalist/arranger Mark Kibble. That was to be our interpretation of Shuggie Otis' wonderful song "ISLAND LETTER"(2021) which featured yet another Michel Granger image, from his Croquis Photographique series - a perfect black sand beach image with the globe placed near a footprint. Again, the design was all Janet Perr. Please don't ask me if I have a favorite amongst these covers. It would be impossible to choose. I certainly have albums where the music has had a very special resonance and meaning for me. But Michel Granger's artwork, each piece is special. I very much enjoyed working in Photoshop to create this collage as it represents a musical journey deep into the guitar's role in Latin Jazz. And so, this all comes to you with my most sincere desire that somehow, if you are seeing this page, you have maintained a sense of SAFETY and GOOD HEALTH! Let us hope that the future is kinder to us all. |
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