Gateway Jazz Albums: Pop Culture Graveyard Ep 99

This week's Pop Culture Graveyard episode features a list of Jazz albums that I feel will help anyone get into Jazz, no matter what genre they usually listen to. I mostly stayed away from obvious choices, and I think at least one of the LPs on this list should change the way you feel about Jazz.

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This is the track Blues March off of the Moanin' LP, written by sax man Benny Golson, who of course shines here. Given the precision drumming, the bluesy sax, the vamping piano, and incessant bass all urging the tune forward, this deeply stirring tune would be equally at home at a church social or a strip club:
https://youtu.be/sOES7AZ-d60

Here's the title track from Money Jungle. Can't you just hear the tension in the air while these three geniuses each do their thing--together yet alone? I'm especially partial to Duke here, who doesn't let the aggression of the track overpower its more playful qualities. There's a touch of Monk in his playing--which is ALWAYS a good thing:
https://youtu.be/6CuMgLM558s

This is Black Satin off the Miles Davis LP On The Corner. I love how the exotic instrumentation (which feels reminiscent of Jerry Goldsmith's Planet of the Apes soundtrack) eases you into the track, until the handclaps, sleigh bells, electric sitar and stagger-step drumming take over. Hey, acid-rock lovers, check out how Miles' trumpet sounds like an electric guitar:
https://youtu.be/0RF4CQhcr3E

This is the title track from Sonny Rollins' Alfie, which is about as irresistible a jazz track as I can think of. Featuring a sax riff in which you can hear everything from John Coltrane to Henry Mancini, this is not only a great introduction to Sonny Rollins, but jazz itself. Kenny Burrell really shines on guitar here, but the entire band, conducted by Oliver Nelson, is on point:
https://youtu.be/sW2aDwXO7Dg

Here's the killer track Pumpkin off of pianist Andrew Hill's sumptuous Black Fire. Notice how everyone takes turns maintaining the pulse of the song, which repeatedly is on the verge of dying--yet somehow never truly does. The crisp drumming of Roy Haynes must also be noted. Andrew Hill was one of the most inventive composers Jazz produced, so this may be a bit of an advanced segue into jazz, but sometimes that's just what some people need:
https://youtu.be/VdMmcyDU8Yc

Here is the bluesy Pannonica from Thelonious Monk's perfect LP Brilliant Corners. When this song plays it always seems like 4AM to me. This song has a dreamlike quality, aided by Monk's playing of the celeste as well as the bleary-eyed wails of the tenor and alto saxophones, and is one of Monk's sweetest ballads:
https://youtu.be/ciqI9PXmZWU

This is My Favorite Things by John Coltrane. Perhaps you've heard snatches of it here or there, but if you've never heard the entire song, you're in for a treat. John plays soprano sax on the track, which you can see him holding on the album's cover. My favorite part of the song begins at around the two minute mark, when John hands it off to my beloved McCoy Tyner on piano, who hammers home the chords, before exploring and expanding the song's gorgeous melody:
https://youtu.be/qWG2dsXV5HI
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Видео Gateway Jazz Albums: Pop Culture Graveyard Ep 99 канала Pop Culture Graveyard