Deep Cuts

2024 Eisner Award Nominated

From the smoke-filled clubs of 1917 New Orleans to the neon glow of 1968 Los Angeles, Deep Cuts is inspired by true events and follows the trailblazers who bled for the music that moved their souls.

When a jazz legend’s death makes headlines, rising musicians Barry and Alice set out to honor the idol they never met. Their search uncovers the forgotten legacies of five extraordinary artists whose intertwined lives helped define the sound of an era, but whose names have largely been lost to time.

Nods to true life historical figures throughout music history are in abundance within the pages of Deep Cuts. Characters are inspired by Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat “King” Cole, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Chick Corea, Count Basie, Wayne Shorter, and many more. Elements of their struggles, successes, and personal style are intermixed into amalgams that illustrate some of the most notable flashpoints in America's music history.

Award winning composer/writer Joe Clark and bestselling writer Kyle Higgins (Radiant Black) present a sweeping saga of ambition, heartbreak, and the untamed rhythm of jazz in Deep Cuts. This paperback, graphic novel epic spans six decades of music Americana, and is brought to life by an all-star cast of contributing interior artists including Danilo Beyruth, Helena Masellis, Diego Greco, Ramón K Pérez (Stillwater), Ignatz Award winning Juni Ba (Monkey Meat), and Toby Cypress (The Gravedigger’s Union) with coloring by Igor Monti (Radiant Black, Inferno Girl Red, Supermassive).

Deep Cuts also includes lead sheets of original songs by Chicago jazz composers, inspired by and connected to each chapter of this momentous story.