Dear Dr Crotchety, I heard Miles Davis’s Kind Of Blue at a friend’s house and loved it. What jazz records should I look for next?
It is funny how there is a particular moment in your life when out of the blue, a trumpet or saxophone motif suddenly grabs you. That flurry on the snare, the run on the double bass – for once it’s enticing, and you’re compelled to find out more. Once you’re in, there’s no need to leave. There are genres within this genre; besides which, jazz is everywhere we go, from birdsong to running water, the strum of the train to the hum of traffic.
Let’s start then with the Esbjörn Svensson Trio’s Believe, Beleft, Below. They formed in 1993, but pianist and composer Svensson’s life was cut short by a scuba diving accident in 2008. This piano trio’s music has an unworldy, untouchable quality that continues to inspire.
For a change of gear, try Cannonball Adderley’s Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!, an invigorating and fun number, perfect for driving on day trips with your beau. Should we now welcome John Coltrane for another jazz cornerstone, A Love Supreme? No, the Doctor first recommends playing Bags & Trane, a sweet mix of Coltrane’s saxophone with Milt Jackson’s vibraphone: like the Pink Panther theme, it’s happy all the way.
Let’s give the last word to Louis Armstrong by rewinding the clock to the early dancing days of jazz. Line up King Oliver’s Dippermouth Blues, featuring Armstrong on cornet, and marvel at the unnaturally busy counter-melodies, the wooden percussion, driving rhythm and glorious sliding notes.
It gives the Doctor the heebie-jeebies. It’s that good.
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