JAZZ

In exchange for a cartoon drawing featuring his trademark animals, “Far Side” cartoonist Gary Larson was given guitar lessons by jazz great Herb Ellis. Larson’s drawing now graces Ellis’ album, “Doggin’ Around.” The album has a cover showing the inside of a nightclub called “The Stuffed Cat.” Inside the club, upright-standing dogs, frequent characters in Larson’s weekly comic strip, are being served drinks by poodle waitresses and listening to two guitar-playing dogs on stage. On the tables, a sign reads: “Please keep table barking to a minimum.” Larson wrote in a note on the “Doggin’ Around” album: “I’ve drawn so many ‘Far Side’ cartoons while listening to Herb Ellis . . . that I probably owe him a credit line on most of my work--let alone a cover.”