StILL SLEEPING ON JAZZ? SO WAS I

Until the age of 17, I always saw jazz as a genre intended for old people. The only songs I’d heard in the genre up until then featured unexciting grooves, unmelodic solos, and an overall vibe that I couldn’t help but associate with dentist lounges. When Kendrick Lamar’s jazz-driven magnum opus “To Pimp a Butterfly” came out, I found myself loving the instrumentals and sax embellishments, yet still refusing to listen to a real jazz album. But one day, that all changed. One day, the gateway to the jazz heavens opened up for me and I never looked back.

1. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint And the Sinner Lady
One day in grade 11, I was feeling adventurous and I think I may have looked up “best jazz album of all time” on reddit. This album kept popping up so I decided to give it a listen. What first grabbed me was its dream-like intensity. I felt like I was being transported into a demented nightmare with those swirling saxophones and menacing bass lines. This sounded nothing like the jazz music I had heard before. The album would then break out into hauntingly beautiful passages. In this moment, I felt like an entire genre of music was being unlocked which was incredibly exciting given my great love for music. Unfortunately, its been all downhill from this masterpiece but at least it gave me the motivation to search hard for other albums like it, inevitably stumbling upon many other great ones.

2. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
As a child, I’d always heard the name, Miles Davis. However, it was not until my trip to Florida winter of grade 11 that I actually dove into his music. My experience listening to Bitches Brew for the first time was a strange one. I was puzzled by the lack of any structure or melody whatsoever, coupled with the lengthy songs and abrasive instrumentation. Something kept me listening though. The unpredictability of the record was exciting and it felt like all these different instruments doing different things were stroking my ears in an unexpectedly uniform way. And as for Miles… the man can play. I recommend this album to anyone who wants to experience something new. Plus, the great thing about getting into Miles is you can venture through his discography for weeks.

3. Grant Green - Idle Moments
I’ve been playing the guitar on and off since grade 7. As a kid, my favorite things to play were The White Stripes, the Red Hot Chilly Peppers, and Pink Floyd, you know, bands with fun and easy-to-learn riffs and solos. However, in recent years, I’ve begun to favor a cleaner guitar tone and soloing over jazz and funk tracks. This change was in part because of legendary jazz guitarist Grant Green’s “Idle Moments”. This album is much more like what I thought jazz sounded like. The songs have a classic swing and feature long and awesome guitar solos. When I listen to it, a wave of calmness washes over me, one that makes me want to drink lemonade on the porch in a straw hat. I recommend this to any jazz newcomer because I see it as a fresh and interesting take on that classic jazz sound I used to hate.



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Listening to jazz does not mean you must wear button up shirts and sit up with your back straight, nor does it mean you need to stop listening to your favorite kind of music. So do yourself a favor and give these albums a listen!