Most wouldn't think an early '80s new wave front man and the leader of a nine piece jazz band in 1957 would have much in common, but writer/designer Gary Scott Beatty created created Xeric Foundation grant winner "Jazz: Cool Birth," a jazz club murder mystery, by pulling from his experiences and placing himself in the character of that '50s jazz piano man. The comic will appear next week in September's Previews comic book store preorder magazine under Aazurn Publishing.

"I think club musicians share similar situations trying to please an audience, placate the management, keep the band in line and get paid," said Beatty. "I put myself on a stage at a piano with a jazz band and everything fell into place. I think I have a pretty good idea of what it was like."

For readers who think of jazz music as old people's music, Beatty has surprises. "Just like today's musicians, these club musicians were just kids, making kid mistakes. And, like today, the club scene had its own culture, both more liberally accepting than the Eisenhower society that lived during the day, and more violent. Anyone who has lived after dark for a while realizes the late night scene is pretty separate and self-policing.

"Music was going through big transitions in '57 as bebop gave way to cool jazz, America was coming to grips with violent prejudice and the mob, although in decline, was still very active behind the scenes. In 'Jazz: Cool Birth' I worked the history into plot and conversation, so readers are immediately, painlessly immersed in the time period."

Beatty uses language to pull readers into the decade. "I knew the street language picked up by Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation was designed to confuse outsiders and thought I could use it to thoroughly disorient my readers, as author Anthony Burgess did with his future-speak in 'A Clockwork Orange.' It was a revelation to me that much of the Beat Generation slang is in frequent use today. The hippie slang I used when young, 10 years beyond Kerouac, was more than an offshoot of beat – it was nearly identical. Still, there's enough unrecognizable slang in 'Jazz: Cool Birth' to feed readers’ curiosity, dig?"

The missing link in a book is, of course, the music. "I think it's easy to envision Monk, Miles, Coltrane, Mingus, Rollins and others there, in the back, listening, taking mental notes on licks and trends," laughed Beatty.

"Jazz: Cool Birth" can be ordered through your local comic book shop from September's Previews order magazine under Aazurn Publishing. To find your local comic book shop go online to www.superpages.com and search businesses in your area under "comic books."

Aazurn Publishing and "Jazz: Cool Birth" information, including a blog detailing the steps behind starting the company, can be found at Aazurn.com. Other stuff is at GaryScottBeatty.com.