I was introduced to Ian Hendrickson—Smith by my good friend Vin. Vin knew I played music while I was at art school and had an affinity with Jazz. Ian and his partner Jenny had an idea to build a new kind of venue, a venue that paid as much respect to music as the legendary recording engineers like Rudy van Gelder, but was open and accessible enough to be a welcoming home for anyone wanting to have a good time.
Ian is a master of his instrument. In order to comprehend this you just have to listen. Don’t explain off his album The Lowdown is soulfully hypnotic. Big Weeds from his album Blues in the Basement is raw and aggressive. The tonal control it takes to pull off either of these tracks is beyond rare, as well as the numerous tracks he’s played on with such stars as Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Al Green, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, Rufus Wainright, The Roots, Bob Dylan, Celine Dion, Phish, Mofro, Queen Latifah, Robbie Williams or his tenure as Saxophonist for the Roots on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
And Ian doesn’t just play, he also is a master sound mixer (and also a great designer). His attention to detail and his care of fidelity had to be at the core of the identity for the new venue which was to be called Uncle Cheef (Cheef is Ian’s nickname in the music scene).
The identity had to be simple, an invitation to anyone to taste the fidelity of the music, food and environment. The space Ian and Jenny designed is next level, the club has a raised stage which is completely isolated from vibration. The seating has sound absorbent padding and there’s a full recording studio on site.
A simple monogram UC modulated the same forms to create each letter, combining a square and a circle to form a bell. This bell could also be the elbow of a saxophone. When inverted the bell could become a home, a welcoming ‘hut’ for transformational experiences.
The UC monogram and the saxophone logo formed the basis of the identity. But when crafting the word-mark we wanted to show the progression of sound from in person, physical, to dematerialized into the digital world, then rematerialized without loosing any fidelity. We formed two word marks, filled and inline, the inline version representing the attention to fidelity.
For color, Jenny pulled inspiration from the interior which echoed the brass surfaces of the saxophone with the contrast of deep blues and bright fuchsias. For typography and photography we gave a nod to Reid Miles who is a hero of both Ian and I.
When a project unites your passions it becomes effortless. When you get to collaborate with two founders who echo those passions it becomes addictively joyful. Watching Ian and Jenny materialize Uncle Cheef through sheer will and brilliance has been a treasure. We’re going to do so much more with this space as it grows.
Visit Uncle Cheef and book tickets to head up to Brewster NY and experience the power of Transformational Fidelity yourself.
Team
Marc Shillum — Design & Strategy
Ian Hendrickson-Smith — Typography & Art Direction
Jennifer Larisey — Color