"Instrumental" Graphic Novel + Soundtrack

[davechisholm]

Hey, TH. It's been too long! I had totally forgotten about this forum over the years.

I've got a new project coming out in May called "Instrumental." It's been a long time coming--it's a 224-page graphic novel published by Z2 Comics, written and drawn by me, with a full-length "soundtrack" that comes as a free download with the book or as a separate CD purchase through Outside In Music.

BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Instrumental-Dave-Chisholm/dp/1940878152

CD (if you don't do downloads): https://www.amazon.com/Instrumental-Graphic-Novel-Soundtrack-Chisholm/dp/B06Y61Q8Z2/

The book is in seven chapters and the soundtrack has seven tracks. Here's the second track. Hope you dig it!

https://soundcloud.com/user-988384508/02-celebration

Here is the cover and some of the interior art:



(CLICK ON THIS ONE TO SEE FULL-SIZE)


And finally, here's the blurb for the book in solicitation material:

"Tom is a solid, but not great, musician.Tom aches for the next level, whatever that is. And as musicians are wont to do in magical fables, he meets a mysterious stranger with a seemingly simple offer: take a battered old trumpet for free, and just enjoy it,whenever Tom plays it, the extraordinary music blows away his growing throngs of fans, and deadly mishaps start to follow. Tom may not have sold his soul for the music of the heavens, but he seems to have bargained away something much more serious."

I hope a few folks on here are interested in this strange project and take the time to preorder the book, but no worries either way!

Best,
dc
_________________
http://www.davechisholmmusic.com

Adams Trumpet Artist
http://www.adams-music.com/nl/wf/artists/detail/?FB9E4986B4FD4D978D586F63BA3869EC

[davechisholm]

I figured I'd post this here--the amazing trumpet player/composer Dave Douglas wrote a quote for the back of the book:

"“Enthralling. Dave Chisholm is not only a wonderful trumpet player and composer, he’s also a compelling storyteller and graphic artist who has put together a strange and gorgeous tale with Instrumental. A gripping read.”

He's one of my heroes so I'm so so so excited he dug the work enough to provide a blurb!

Hope you guys are digging the tune.

dc
_________________
http://www.davechisholmmusic.com

Adams Trumpet Artist
http://www.adams-music.com/nl/wf/artists/detail/?FB9E4986B4FD4D978D586F63BA3869EC

[davechisholm]

Been a busy stretch lately, so sorry for my extremely infrequent posts...

Just wanted to give you all a heads up-- my book/album INSTRUMENTAL is out! I hope you all buy it and love it and subsequently tell all of your friends about it:

https://www.amazon.com/Instrumental-Dave-Chisholm/dp/1940878152/

It's gotten some pretty good press--here are some links and quotes:

https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/instrumental/
"The black-and-white artwork in *Instrumental *is dynamic and inventive, perfectly illustrating both the transcendence of music, and Tom’s struggle as he falls under the influence of the trumpet and everything it represents. Instrumental is recommended for any reader, but perhaps most for those who have a love for music. "

http://nextbop.com/blog/davechisholminstrumental
"Dave Chisholm spent years putting this book together, and likely spent about as much time on the accompanying music. It is the culmination, for both these important forms of expression, of the labor of a man who has so much to say and so many means of saying it, and in these various means, he manages to say it all particularly well. To say a musician has range implies an ability to play the quiet and loud, the big and small, the fast and slow, the multitude of genres and tones, perhaps with adaptability with various players. To say a visual artist has range notes fluency in assorted media, an understanding of history while making insightful statements about the present and the future, and perhaps the ability to hold to deadlines. To say an artist of both these sorts has range may be the grander claim, for the ability to make such clear, compelling statements in such different forms is something to marvel. In all aspects of Instrumental, Dave Chisholm proves himself to be that kind of artist with that kind of marvelous range."

http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/59990/interview-dave-chisholm/
"Bringing a virtuosic command of the language of graphic novels, Chisholm provides a story that is both touching with a strong sense of the inevitable woven amidst the fantastic."

https://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/graphic-novel-instrumental-tackles-creative-ambition/Content?oid=3428174
"Through thoroughly engaging storytelling and enthralling illustrations, the book blends a fantastical adventure into ordinary creative lives and offers philosophy about the balance of talent, ambition, and power."

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/dave-chisholm/instrumental-chisholm/
"Chisholm’s sumptuous art has the fluidity and chiaroscuro of Paul Pope’s work, though with a more cartoonish tinge. Strategically ambitious paneling underscores otherworldly elements."

https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-940878-15-7
"Creator Chisholm is a jazz musician himself, and this Gaiman-like fantasy about the blurred line between art and magic is solidified by an underlying sense of lived reality; the characters inhabit a real world of burned-out speakers, coffee-shop gigs, and day jobs. "

http://www.jazzrochester.com/2017/05/a-man-a-horn-a-graphic-novel-dave-chisholms-instrumental.html
"I consumed Instrumental in a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon and the experience was new and compelling. The story is dark, the images full of motion, becoming dream-like as Tom plays the horn and his playing becomes more like what he's hearing in his head, the crowds come out to hear. "

https://icv2.com/print/article/37143
"Think of this story as the anti-La La Land, a darker and grimmer version of the obsessions of a jazz musician."

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/instrumental-review-by-mark-sullivan.php%20target=blank
"Chisholm makes a striking impression as trumpeter and composer with Instrumental, aided by a sympathetic band. It's a memorable contemporary jazz album taken by itself, made even more memorable in combination with his graphic novel. I listened to the music before reading the comic, but have to confess that it's now hard to remember the album without reference to the visuals. "

Podcast interview: http://comicsalternative.com/comics-alternative-interviews-dave-chisholm/
"Dave’s background — a professional trumpet player, songwriter, composer, bandleader, and educator — becomes the wellspring from which he pulls his narrative, so much of his conversation with Derek is devoted to the power of music and its translation into visual form."

http://www.multiversitycomics.com/podcasts/rft-381-chisholm/
"Dave Chisholm may not have been in the comics industry long enough to achieve the ‘rock star’ status of someone like Jim Lee or Paul Pope, but in terms of creating both comics AND music, he’s a band apart from just about every other creator out there. "

Here's another podcast interview about process: http://comicsmanifest.com/davechisholm/
_________________
http://www.davechisholmmusic.com

Adams Trumpet Artist
http://www.adams-music.com/nl/wf/artists/detail/?FB9E4986B4FD4D978D586F63BA3869EC

[bamajazzlady]

Congrats, how long did this take?
_________________
"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." - Maria Robinson

[davechisholm]