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Category Archives: Jazz

“On the Sunny Side of the Street” — Billie Holiday

Monday, October 5, 2009

“Grab your coat and get your hat | Leave your worry on the doorstep
Just direct your feet | To the sunny side of the street”
Ah, Billie! Pour yourself a mug of coffee and locate the sweet spot of your couch before you listen to this one. When Billie comes on, I swear my speakers metamorphose into heaters. [...]

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“Dawn” — The Mahavishnu Orchestra

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

So it seems like there’s still some jazz lingering in my system:
If you’ve heard of The Mahavishnu Orchestra, you’ve undoubtedly heard of John McLaughlin. I give to you “Dawn,” off of The Inner Mounting Flame: tamer than others (see “Birds of Fire”), but unquestionably representative of the group’s menacingly eclectic sound. An absolutely shredding guitar solo [...]

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“Pithecanthropus Erectus” — Charles Mingus

Monday, September 28, 2009

I’m buckled down for the night — study calls.
Ever so often I’ll exhaust a jazz album I’ve been using to get through clumps of work: even if it’s improvisation, I’ll whistle the entire score if you swing a ride for me. Not with Mingus. “Pithecanthropus Erectus” is as primitive as it sounds: the only thing [...]

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