I’m really not sure what to do with this strange record. It’s extremely critically acclaimed and had a minor hit. It’s also stuck in the distant past while trying, at least a little bit, to be contemporary. In many ways, it feels like a dress rehearsal for the sequel band, which I just happen to …
Tag: Vocal Jazz
Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1
I don’t know if I can tell you who Jill Scott is, but I can tell you what she is: she’s ambitious. Scott wants us to both accept her as a very talented singer and a poet. That’s something very few people can pull off.
Steppin’ (1975) by The Pointer Sisters
This is the extent of my knowledge of The Pointer Sisters: I’ve heard “Jump” a million times. Sure, it’s possible I know some other hits of theirs. If I played all their Top 20 hits maybe I’d recognize a few of them, but the only one I could identify by name (and would know as …
The Genius of Ray Charles (1959)
I genuinely love musical left turns, they are among my favourite experiences when handled well, especially when I’m around to experience them. (Obviously I was not around for this one.) But I am much more ambivalent about musical left turns towards the mainstream – it’s a lot harder to get excited by a drastic change …
Winter in America (1974) by Gil Scott-Heron, Brian Jackson
I knew one thing about Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” And I don’t know it well. So I came into this expecting a record of spoken word with few expectations about the music backing the poetry. All I basically knew is that this guy was regarded by some as the first MC.
Blue Valentine (1978) by Tom Waits
I am very a much a fan of the Tom Waits who reinvented himself and who gave the world a unique sound. I am less a fan of the early Tom Waits, whose music was far less inventive and imaginative. That’s not to say I dislike ’70s Waits, more to say that I prefer his …
Come Fly With me (1958) by Frank Sinatra
For most of my life I’ve heard about how great Sinatra was as a singer and yet this is the first album I’ve ever heard. instead, I’ve mostly experienced him as an actor. (I generally think he’s underrated.)
High Priestess of Soul (1967) by Nina Simone
Aside from her voice and her piano playing, the thing that stands out most about Nina Simone among her fellow soul singers of this era is her variety and versatility: listen to most other 1967 soul albums and you will hear one thing, soul. Yes, there will be slow soul songs and their will be …
The Definitive Collection (2008) by Billie Holiday
Full disclosure: I do not like vocal jazz (as you know). This is a compilation of 22 tracks over the course of Holiday’s career. I have no idea how definitive it actually is, as I do not know her at all, beyond her reputation as one of the great singers of the century, and “Strange …
Double Exposure (2012) by John Pizzarelli
Pizzarelli appears to me to be almost like the Eric Johnson of jazz: a great guitarist who has absolutely no taste in music. Well, he thinks he has taste, but his taste is that of my dead grandma. (Actually, my dead grandma would probably be put off by at least some of this music, but …
Women in Jazz (1998, Retro Music) by Various Artists
The cheapie box set is an interesting phenomenon: Gather some recordings from major artists where the copyright has lapsed (or never existed), Put the recordings in any arbitrary order you choose, Use more discs than are necessary to convince the buyer they are getting a great bargain, Give it a catchy title.