Cool Jazz Hot Jam by Cynthia Lockhart

The exhibition label for “Cool Jazz Hot Jam” defines the Western pioneering movement in music that the quilt portrays. “West Coast Jazz was developed in the early 1950s, when musicians began to play a cooler approach on the jazz scene. This new jazz sound consisted of smoother chords and a laid-back approach to delivering notes.” In the exhibition catalog “Black Pioneers,” artist Cynthia Lockhart traces West Coast Jazz back to the influence of Miles Davis and his music that became known as Cool Jazz. Then, musicians in Los Angeles and San Francisco embraced the cool jazz approach, and enhanced its relaxed qualities.

In making this quilt, Cynthia Lockhart said that it “depicts the swing and sway of two artists in a cool jazz hot jam session. I imaged the intense energy of artists riffing and performing together as they composed innovative music.” She uses materials and the composition to convey the jazz energy. The quilt is not the typical rectangular shape, but its curving and angular sides make an innovative shape as the setting for the boldly silhouetted musicians. The figures with their horns break through all four boundaries of the setting. For the background, bright yet soft colors seep into each other, while a swath of black, white, and gold geometric elements cuts across the composition with its rhythmic patterns. Scattered blue lightning bolts and swirling red musical notes punctuate the scene. The fabrics used for the horns shine and glitter as focal areas, while bright touches of jewels create points of delight. (Be sure and see “Cool Jazz Hot Jam” in person.)

Cynthia Lockhart is an award-winning artist, who believes an artist is “called to create and to inspire others.” She has a Bachelor of Science in Design and a Master in Design, both from the University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. She served as an Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati, where she developed and taught courses in Fiber Art Fashion and Art of Jewelry & Leather Accessories Design, as well as other educational projects. Her fiber arts appear in exhibitions across the country and internationally. She has works in the collection of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, University of Cincinnati, Michigan State University Museum, and others. For more information on her art and career, see her website, https://cynthialockhartartist.com/

And while you visit the exhibition “Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West,” enjoy the Playlist featuring music by pioneering African American women, including jazz artists Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone.

FEATURED IMAGE: Cynthia Lockhart, “Cool Jazz Hot Jam,” 2021, Cotton, synthetic and metallic fabric, cotton batting, beads, leather, found objects, machine appliquéd and quilted, On loan from the artist. ©Cynthia Lockhart