I like all music. Seriously. I’ll listen to anything. Rock, Pop, Classical, Country, Jazz. I listened to some Ska on advice from a friend a number of years ago. He was also a music fan, with a background in liberal arts. We talked about music a lot. He liked Ska so I gave it a listen. Not bad. Makes you feel like you’re in the islands!

All music has its fit. Classical is awesome for soothing support for hectic schedules. Listen to it for the calming nature, but yet respect the underlying logic. Classical follows predictable patterns, which helps when trying to figure out puzzling projects. Most of the enjoyment of music is determining the fit. Rock for parties, Pop for driving, Country at the pool. Opera when making pasta. Death Metal when you have to mow the lawn? You figure it out…

Jazz is my favorite. Jazz24.org, which I’ve linked to on this page is my go-to, because they play such great tunes. While the standard sirius/XM station RealJazz gets most attention, it’s too  heavy on classic bebop for me. While I love that genre, Jazz24 mixes it up with old standards, interesting covers, and new artists playing in the classic bebop style. I heard Robin McKelle cover Abracadabra by the Steve Miller Band – you won’t hear that on RealJazz. What inspired me to write this blog, however, was Robert Glasper covering Joni Mitchell’s Barangrill

So you know how it works. You follow a thread and it leads you to an enlightening. Much of the web is built to support this level of search. Links after links after links. Use the back button if you need to, but follow the link. I like Glasper’s stuff, wanted to hear Joni Mitchell’s recording, loved the lyrics, and wanted to read them. Click after click, gets me to the poetry of Joni Mitchell:

And you think she knows something
By the second refill
You think she’s enlightened
As she totals your bill
You say “show me the way
To Barangrill”

Joni’s web site is incredible! Full lyrics are there, with links to Guitar tabs, and standard chords. Read the song, download the chords, and play the song! Full discography as well. Where did Joni publish the tune, and who has covered it. Naturally, Glasper is listed in that link. Footnotes show musings from Joni. On Bargangrill, she introduced the song at Temple University in 1974. Full transcription by somebody in attendance and published here.

Kudos to this level of curation of the music, the history, and the story around it. I would love to see more artists celebrate their work this way. Check it out and follow the thread where it leads you. you can start here…

Cheers,

ET

So on my favorite music device in the house (Sonos) I have always enjoyed a blend of music, from classic rock to the latest pop, mixed in with some classical music while I read the papers on Sunday. But interweaving it all is my love for jazz. I like SiriusXM channel 67 “Real Jazz” but it can veer off from the classic bebop to some obscure funk from time to time.

I just found my dream channel on a music service – Jazz24.org, which is a live stream of KPLU in the Seattle/Tacoma region. I’ve been listening all day, between conference calls for work, busy tasks like expenses, bills, and follow ups from said calls, and after work through making dinner and eating with my family.

I can’t get enough of this channel.

• A nice blend of traditional bebop jazz, including Horace Silver, Paul Desmond, and Billie Holiday
• Some bossa nova Jobim
• Forward-thinking Diana Krall
• Classic organ-izing from Joey deFrancisco

I’ve added it to my Sonos favorites, and am trying to figure out how to get a stream downloaded for offline listening on my Android phone.

It’s rare that I listen to a single source for so long, but this station’s focus on artists, themes, and the pure essence of improvisational jazz without “getting weird” has captured me as a fan!

If you are fortunate enough to live in the area and listen live, please do so. If not, please check them out online or through your favorite music dispenser. 😉