I have been getting back into jazz lately.
I went through a period of only listening to Jazz, mostly bebop. Once I heard Dizzy Gillespie, the rock ‘n’ roll I loved seemed flat and simple. From my late teens until my mid twenties I listened only to jazz. Actually, jazz and some classical music of the Romantic era.
I studied Chapin’s legendary book and spent my twenties at Ronnie’s soaking up some of the greatest music on the planet. Then I just stopped. I turned to Zappa and slowly worked my way back to Springsteen via Bluegrass.
These days I am a far more eclectic listener. I don’t seem to go through phases so much anymore. I’m rediscovering jazz.
Here is a track from Elvin Jones’ record Elvin! which has been playing on my Walkman MP3 gadget.
I have also been enjoying the band Clutch. A student of mine would like to learn Burning Beard. A great opportunity to work on some odd time playing, methinks.