Am I too old to rock n' roll?
Have I, in the words of Olivia Newton John, gone mellow?
The answer my friends is a big NO.
It's just that I've been hankering for a handful of great jazz recordings for quite some time now and finally, Miles Davis, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Bill Evans et al are in the house!
A jazz marathon is in order I reckoned and I decided to hold it on this lazy, wet, and rain drenched Sunday morning.
The first to kick off the festivities was Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's Somethin' Else. Is this hard bop or simply bop? Whatever it is, it sounded great. I've seen the cover of this particular CD for many years now in various audio publications. Mobile Fidelity if I'm not mistaken issued a gold disc back in the day. The album has achieved legendary status and is considered as an essential jazz album.
Next up was the Dave Brubeck Quartet's Time Out. Another classic and upon reading the liner notes, I found out that this was such a departure from traditional jazz recordings due to its unconventional time signatures. Well no matter how unconventional "Blue Rondo Ala Turk," "Kathy's Waltz" and "Take Five" are, they're gonna be in my playlist for a long long time.
It was Miles Davis' turn and let me tell you, this album's a real gem. It's none other than Kind of Blue, the biggest selling and perhaps the greatest jazz album ever. As I listened to one horn solo after another, the more I get immersed in the world of jazz. Never mind if I'm unable to distinguish if it was Miles' trumpet, Cannonball's alto sax or Coltrane's tenor. To me, that's the beauty of it. Indeed, ignorance is bliss!
As I looked out the window, the rain started to pour again. No heavy downpours, just a drizzle and the skies were a bit gloomy. Perfect for a cup of coffee and yeah, another CD.
Is it bossa nova? Maybe it's still jazz? Call it whatever you like, even experts are not in unison when discussing Antonio Carlos Jobim's Stone Flower - a dark and moody album and in a way, his own Kind of Blue I dare say.
Two hours went by unnoticed and I was in a bit of a quandary as to what would be the last disc of the day.
To complement señor Jobim, I decided to put on Paul Desmond's seductive Bossa Antigua to wrap things up. Though not as famous as the other recordings, Antigua had its own charms.
A few minutes later my wife arrived.
That's the cue to stop listening and have lunch.
While my head's still full of these wonderful tunes, I can't wait to hear some more jazz. Perhaps some Monk or Tyner? How about Rollins and Parker? Man, the list could be endless. A whole new dimension just opened up for this rock junkie.
