I had a couple of friends over for lunch the other day. While I was tossing the salad a Paul Desmond album was playing in the background. One of my friends asked me about it.
“Who is that? This is jazz I can actually listen to.”
As someone who loves classic jazz, who grew up with it, and who thinks of classic jazz as an essential soundtrack of my life, any insult to the artform—even by way of a back-handed compliment—puts me on the defensive.
“Paul Desmond,” I say. “You don’t usually like jazz?”
“Most of the time I just don’t get it. I mean, what is it? A song? A lot of random notes? I never know.”
This is probably a common sentiment for the uninitiated. My own love of jazz evolved over a lifetime, and only after loathing it throughout my childhood. My dad was a jazz pianist, and if he wasn’t practicing, he was playing records of all the greats. I knew about Miles Davis long before I ever heard the popular music of my own day. I knew how to pick up the melody within the improvisation. But because jazz was inescapable in our house, I wanted nothing but to escape it for years. It was only when I was an adult, out on my own, that I surprised myself by leaning into classic jazz as I built my own music collection.
The jazz of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, however, is pretty cerebral. Listening to it is almost like attending a master class. There are layers of complexity there that is awesome to explore—when you are up to it.
Sometimes, though, you just want something beautiful to listen to that you can fall into. So here is my list of five mid-century jazz artists that can introduce newbies to this wonderful genre.
Oscar Peterson – my all-time favorite. I have his Christmas album, An Oscar Peterson Christmas, and play the heck out of it each season. All of his music is fantastic, though.
Dave Brubeck – my second favorite go-to when I just want to listen to beautiful jazz. “Take Five” is his famous signature piece, but one of my favorite albums is Dave Digs Disney, yes—Disney songs jazzified. I believe I have all of Brubeck’s albums, and I love them all.
Paul Desmond – a Brubeck associate with a cool, smooth sound.
Clifford Brown – his Clifford Brown with Strings is a classic, and some of the most romantic, dreamy jazz you’ll ever encounter.
Gerry Mulligan – check out his soundtrack to the 1958 film, I want to Live (Good movie, by the way). Hip, cool, and extremely accessible, even for those who think they hate jazz.
Because jazz is improvised, it’s a revelation every time you hear it. Pop over to Pandora, type in “Oscar Peterson,” exhale, and fall into that lovely, melodious new world.
