A Guide to Practicing Safe Sax
A Guide to Practicing Safe Sax
THE MISSION
Music has always been a large part of my life, with jazz being my favorite genre since I was a child. I wanted to create a zine that reflected my love of jazz in addition to highlighting one of the most commonly used instruments for the genre — the saxophone.
THE IDEA
I wanted my zine to be divided into two sections: the first would be a more formal guide to what the saxophone is, and the second would be a less formal list and biography of important contributors to jazz who played the saxophone.
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TAKE A TOUR
BOOK I
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SAXOPHONE
BOOK II
SAXOPHONISTS WORTH KNOWING
THE PROCESS
There are two parts to this zine, each with its own unique aesthetic. The most difficult part was trying to find a balance between the two different styles that still feels like they both are a part of the same product.
The first zine’s style is based off of images and albums from the early days of jazz. The 1910s through the 1950s had a “vintage” look with lots of subdued base colors and one or two prominent saturated colors.
The second zine’s style is heavily inspired by the jazz albums of the 1970s and 80s. It was in this time that musicians like Miles Davis and bands like Weather Report began experimenting with the genre. They and many other musicians began to combine traditional jazz with electronic instruments and sound editing software. The sub-genre that emerged from this is called “fusion”
For the second zine’s style I wanted to capture that experimental and free-flowing nature, and used subdued blues and purples and used white as the primary text color with accents of highly saturated colors.
For the portraits I initially wanted a water color look reminiscent of the 1960s and 1970s psychedelic colors and patterns. I wasn’t satisfied with the end result and started over and opted for a more pencil or chalk feel.
I then experimented with various layouts until I found the one that struck the perfect balance of organized chaos.
