Art and music have gone hand in hand for centuries now. Each inspiring the other in an endless deluge of creativity. Pictures at an Exhibition was composed after the composer, Modest Mussorgsky became inspired by the artwork of his friend, Viktor Hartmann. The great French composer Claude Debussy wrote La Mer as a tribute to the great wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai. Flash forward to 2018 when I released Pictures at an African Exhibition where I composed the music and David Emmanuel Noel created breathtaking works of art to match the music. The reciprocal nature of art and music is a beautiful marriage that has given the world so many beautiful gems.
Edward LaRose is another great artist whom I have a tremendous amount of respect for and who has created many gems of his own. He has created artwork for the legendary Ralph Peterson Jr, the Curtis Brothers, and many other prominent jazz artists especially on Truth Revolution Recording Collective (TRRC) where a vast majority of the cover art is done by him. Just as a musician refines his skills to carve out an identity for himself, so too has LaRose established a unique look that is unmistakably his. Jazz and art lovers alike have come to recognize his unique style and love his attention to detail. We had a chance to catch up and talk about his evolution as an artist, some of his fondest memories, and where he is at now in life…
How long have you been studying art and working as an artist?
I have been studying art all my life, although not in the traditional sense. In my family everyone was creative. No one ever had the title of “artist”. We would just say someone liked to draw. My family were all factory workers and tradespeople who made a living working with their hands. My uncle could weld furniture from the discarded scrap metal at his job. My father was a plumber, but he would Frankenstein together and paint old motorcycles in the basement. My mother had worked as a seamstress. She would buy yards of fabric and patterns to make me and my sister’s clothes. My thing was drawing and I did it all the time.
I started studying art traditionally when I was a teenager. The father of a friend of mine suggested I show my work to a local artist by the name of Jon Hedu. He was a fine artist and a retired engineer. In addition to that, he was a WW2 veteran who built violins and repaired instruments for local schools. I knocked on his front door as a stranger with a pile of drawings under my arm. He invited me into his home and after seeing my work he told me to come back the following week. Soon I was walking to his house every weekend. He would set up a still life for us to draw or paint and the two of us would work side by side for hours. Jon was sixty years older than me and was unlike anyone I had ever known before. He taught me about swing and the big band era. He would talk about his life during the great depression, or teach about art history. He always challenged me to work hard and think independently. He passed away in 95. I found out years later that he was born the same day as my grandfather who I had never met.
I got into graphic design after graduating from art school in 98. The Hartford Jazz scene was filled with so many amazing young players. Guys Like Dezron Douglas, Sharp Radway, and The Curtis Brothers. I would go to all their gigs and they were each good friends of mine. When they started needing artwork for projects they asked me and it grew from there.
You have some amazing album covers that you have done for Truth Revolution Recording Collective. Can you tell us about some of the other projects that you have done and have going on currently?
Thank you. Most of my professional work outside of TRRC is with other independent jazz labels. Jonathan Barber’s Debut album on his own “Vision Ahead” label was one of my favorite projects to work on. Recently there was “Sifting Grace” by Jen Allen and “Tessellations” by Dan Liparini, both of those were on Next Level and they are two really beautiful recordings. Currently, I just finished up my 5th project with Ralph Peterson on his own Onyx Productions label. The record is called “Onward And Upward, Ralph Peterson and The Messenger Legacy.” This is a really important record. Ralph has gathered together members of the Jazz Messengers to present new compositions in the Messengers style. I was fortunate enough to be in the studio as it was being recorded. When these musicians play together, all of that collective wisdom creates something with real substance. There is nothing else like it.
What’s your preferred medium of expression? Drawing by hand, painting, sculpture, photography, etc, and do you dabble in multiple mediums?
My two favorite mediums have always been drawings on paper and film photography. I was born in the 1970s and learned all my foundational skills in a pre-digital age. Even my training in graphic design consisted of typesetting, letterpress, and cutting and pasting art by hand. I really enjoy the limitations of traditional methods. I have a collection of vintage drafting tools and film
cameras that I use to create all my work. Although I use a computer to create the finished product, everything starts on paper or film.
What have been some of the highlights of your career thus far?
The first time I worked with Ralph Peterson. I drove up to Boston in order to take a photo reference of his profile. We were beginning to work on “The Duality Perspective.” When I got to the building I called Ralph on his cell. Instead of giving me directions to where he was, he said: “When you get off the elevator follow the sound of the drums!” Then Ralph soloed until I found him. Walking down the corridors as the sound echoed, I felt like I was living in a dream. I had been listening to The Jazz Messengers for so many years. There I was, literally being led to my destination by the sound of the drums.
Can you share some of the challenges you’ve faced as an artist during your career?
In 2012 my youngest son Ellis was diagnosed with autism. Shortly after that, it was discovered that Ellis had a cancerous tumor on his spine. My family and I were devastated. The medical bills almost bankrupted us and his care required all of our time. Zaccai Curtis organized a fundraiser at a music club in Hartford. On the night of the event, every single person I had ever worked with came out to perform. Ralph Peterson drove up from Boston. Eric Reed, Ray Vega, and Mitch Frohman donated online. Natalie Fernandez gave a beautiful speech and sang her heart out. In addition to all of that, every local photographer and artist was there that night. They saved my family and gave me the strength to not give up.
When do you feel you came into your own style as an artist. Your style has a very memorable trademark look to it for sure!
I found my style by studying Japanese woodblock prints. I went through a period of time where I would meticulously redraw them by hand. I studied the composition, and line weights mostly. After sketching them so frequently I began to recognize an underlying geometry. From that point on everything changed for me. I understood that all Japanese prints were built upon geometric principles of repetition and variation of form. Once I started to apply these concepts to my own work, I was able to make the connection to other styles of art. I could see it in the art nouveau movement, The art Deco movement, in pre-Columbian temple carvings, in antelope headdresses of Africa, I began to see it everywhere. In the simplest terms, it is combining angles and curves on top of a geometric structure. Every shape is defined by its relationship to another form. Like a musical scale.
How has working with music, musicians, or perhaps other artists in other disciplines helped to inspire you in your work as a visual artist?
Seeing the way jazz musicians deconstruct a complex piece of music in order to learn it has really had an effect on me. The way they play a tune over and over in multiple ways to get it
down. Then go through it and edit themselves in order to find the essence. When I sketch I may draw the same thing in fifteen different ways and then rework one version with elements that work from the other drawings. Jazz musicians taught me that.
How has this pandemic affected you? Has there been any positives or is it really just a struggle?
The Pandemic has been a time for my wife, children, and I to pause and reflect. My father is a Vietnam Veteran. When the loss of life from Covid-19 surpassed that of the Vietnam war it really hit home. That was the end of April. In May George Floyd was killed. We hung a black lives matter sign in the window of our home in solidarity. I participated in the protests. It just doesn’t feel like enough. Now they are saying we need to reopen the schools. My wife and I both work in education. We know that inner-city children will not be able to social distance in overcrowded classrooms. We are frustrated and waiting to see what will happen next.
Words fail to express just how humble a person Ed is. Always giving, honest, and wanting to put the purest expression of what it is he is feeling into every work that he does. We were supposed to do some work on my latest CD, which unfortunately we weren’t able to make happen, but in my excitement for my next project part of that excitement is seeing what kind of artistry Ed will conjure up. Please be sure to follow him and his amazing works, and stay tuned for a live video interview where we get into even more detail about everything!
For more information on Edward, please visit
edwardlarose.com and @edwardlaroseart
Images: Courtesy of Edward La Rose
- 2020 Self-portrait with 1953 Rolleiflex.
- Dancer Mellissa Noluthando B&W film.
- Orice Jenkins Soar Graphite on paper-Drawing
- Ralph Peterson The Duality Perspective drawing and collage
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