I knew it wouldn't be long before another jazz installment. This one kind of snuck up on me. Which is to say, I was extremely drunk one night, made a playlist, and then didn't remember making it the next day. Not surprisingly, I still have a decent taste in music whilst drunk. There's quite a bit of piano play in this session. I always wished I could play the piano or at the very least play more than a C scale. Fortunately, you don't have to listen to me play the crap out of that scale, you get to listen to these jazz giants kill it.
Some of these tunes go way back. The early swing and bebop saxophone greats Ben Webster and Lester Young both make an appearance. Coming with them is Oscar Peterson, possibly my favorite jazz pianist. He has such style, amazing speed, and a ear tuned to perfect melodies and arrangements. Definitely in my "all-stars" band in my head. Then we've got some mid-century tunes from Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, and Ahmad Jamal. Jamal is another one of my favorites. He always had a very light rhythmic style on the keys, almost like a xylophone player. Like his fingers were bouncy balls going up and down the 88's. To round out the playlist, I put in a couple modern tunes that I love. Brad Mehldau has been nothing less than a godsend to the jazz world in the past 20 years and he does a great cover of "Blackbird" here. The Esbjorn Svensson Trio is a group I just started listening to. Their track really speaks for itself. Fucking amazing.
Ok, that's it. Dig it.
1. Stardust - Ben Webster
2. The Left Lane - Esbjorn Svensson Trio
3. There Will Never Be Another You - Lester Young, Oscar Peterson
4. Blackbird - Brad Mehldau
5. Bye Bye Blackbird - Ben Webster, Oscar Peterson Trio
6. The Surrey With The Fringe On Top - Ahmad Jamal Trio
7. Dark Eyes - Wynton Kelly
8. Night and Day - Bill Evans
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