Kind of Blue (1959)
Miles DavisSome records ask to be judged. Some ask to be decoded. Kind of Blue does neither. It waits. Listening again—now, with winter settled in and a new SET amp warming the room—the album doesn’t feel like a monument so much as a destination. It is calm without being passive. Spacious without being empty. Nothing here hurries, yet nothing drags. There are no fast tunes, no technical gauntlets thrown down. And still, the …
Somethin’ Else (1958)
Cannonball AdderleySpinning Somethin’ Else after The Sidewinder feels like stepping out of a bustling city street into a dimly lit jazz club where everything is upholstered in midnight blue. The energy shifts. Hard bop’s attitude gives way to something cooler, sleeker—almost conspiratorial. And of course, Rudy Van Gelder is behind the console, shaping the soundstage like a sculptor working in shadows and brass. What struck me first is …
Hard Bop Constellations
Various ArtistsAnnouncing a new approach my listening: a monthly playlist of related albums that I will listen to and write about, discussing cultural connections, impressions, and backgrounds: I’ll tag this series. It’ll provide me with a focus each month, so I’ll know what I’m listening to throughout half the month, anyway. I’ll begin this experiment with a modest-sized list, say around ten albums, and go from there. I figure a …
Music Discovery (August, 2025)
Various ArtistsSome weeks the music I spin fades as soon as the last note rings out. But this week was different. I stumbled across a handful of albums—some brand-new, some decades old—that left an impression not just for the songs themselves, but for the sheer quality of the recordings. These are the kinds of records that make you lean forward in your chair, marvel at the mix, and sometimes shake your head at how good music can …
