I was curious whether “Pharoah” was a given name or stage name, so I looked it up. Turns out, it’s a little bit of both—his birth name is “Ferrell.” I also found out he lived in Oakland as a teen, so clearly he is awesome.
Jazz Instrumental
Pat Metheny
Being a wannabe jazzbo, I guess I’m supposed to love Pat Metheny. Disciple of Ornette Coleman! Played with Joni Mitchell! But his music just doesn’t do it for me—I find it too synthy and sweet. Plus, the hair. I just can’t with the hair.
Oscar Peterson
When Daveon started elementary school, his first best friend was Quin Peterson. And you can tell it’s Monday, because that’s really all I got. Sorry, Oscar.
Ornette Coleman
If you invented a school of music called “harmolodics,” you might think it means “Lots of harmony! Lots of melody!” Apparently to Ornette Coleman, it meant “I put those terms in the name, so now I don’t have to put them in my music!” But the MacArthur people claim him as a genius, so what do I know?
Mulatu Astatke
For many of these lists, I have heard of the artist but not their music. This is the first list where I had heard of neither the artist nor his music. But when I came across two pieces on Mulatu Astatke—the “Father of Ethiopian Jazz”—in the space of three days, I figured it was a sign from the universe that I should give him a list. One of the mentions was on World Is Africa, a thoughtful, informative blog that is to this one as Beethoven is to Alvin and the Chipmunks. Dedicated to Djibril.
Miles Davis
I once read that Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue is the best-selling jazz album of all time. In the 50+ years since its release, it has sold over 3 million copies. 3 million. Taylor Swift sells that many albums in the time it takes for her to pick which ex-boyfriend to diss in her next song. Wake up, America.
McCoy Tyner
Based on McCoy Tyner and Keith Jarrett, my next blog is going to be “Jazz Pianists Who Were Quite the Lookers in Their Younger Days.” The only problem is that I would spend so much time looking at the photos, I’d never get around to posting them.
Louis Jordan
I am embarrassed to admit that I learned about Louis Jordan by name only after Joe Jackson pretended to be a jump blues singer on Jumpin’ Jive. I am not embarrassed to admit that I think song titles like “Ain’t Nobdy Here But Us Chickens” and “What’s the Use of Getting Sober” are awesome.
Louis Armstrong
Following up Lou Reed with Louis Armstrong is like watching a Quentin Tarantino marathon and then switching to the collected works of Shirley Temple. If you could capture sunshine and package it in musical form, you’d basically be listening to Louis Armstrong.
Latin Jazz
Another tribute to the awesomeness of Marcia, who rules in all things Latin and jazzy. Bonus points for taking me to see Chucho Valdes last summer, where not only was I blown away with the music, but also promptly fell in love with all the members of the band. (Not you, sorry, Chucho—you’re a little old even for me.)
Playlist of the Day 