Four progressive jazz albums (that you don’t need a B.Mus to enjoy)
Jazz seems to hold a bit of a touchy spot in the public eye and ear. It’s difficult to get into because there’s just so much of it, and while more straight-ahead jazz can be heard as boring, the “out there” stuff can be alienating, especially without a fundamental understanding of jazz as a form. Here’s a list of a few favourite jazz albums that are challenging and unique, but not so much so that they’re not enjoyable for the budding jazz aficionado or casual listener to hear.
4. Eric Dolphy – Out to Lunch! (1964)
Maybe the least “accessible” of the albums listed, clarinetist/flautist/alto saxophonist Eric Dolphy’s only album for the famous Blue Note label is a showcase of the young musician’s near-Cubist approach to tonality and rhythmic structure. Throughout the album’s runtime is a jarring counterpoint between the bass clarinet and vibraphone, a timbral flourish that piques the menacing tone, which underlies the record’s “cool.” The album is worth listening to for this fragile arrangement alone.
3. Jaco Pastorius – Word of Mouth (1981)
Jaco Pastorius’ last album with Warner Bros. records takes a radically different compositional method than his self-titled debut – an album that focused on tight, intimate instrumentation and blazing bass chops. Jaco’s writing on Word of Mouth breathes in music from places like Indonesia, Japan, and the Caribbean, and fusing this with his own distinctive and manic compositional style. Made at a peak of the artist’s struggle with drug abuse and bipolar disorder, the big-band format in Word of Mouth is the most apt showcase of the bassist’s talent as a composer and thinker.
2. Charles Mingus – Tijuana Moods (recorded 1957, released ’62)
One of the most idiosyncratic, particular, and ferocious composers in the history of jazz, Tijuana Moods is perhaps Charles Mingus’ purest foray into the Chicano music that had foundationally influenced his compositional style. A longform composition as evocative and mythic as the border town at the centre of the subject matter, Tijuana Moods is one of many highlights in Mingus’ massive, indispensable body of work.
1. Miles Davis – On the Corner (1972)
Critics and fans alike cried out in unison at Miles’ effort to reach out to the black youth of the 1970s, having forgone jazz for rock and funk music instead. Inspired by artists like Hendrix, Sly & the Family Stone, and the European avant-garde, frantic soloing and psychedelic soundscapes characterize the aggression and urgency of this record. It also acts as a perfect “retaliation” to the cool psychedelics displayed in 1970s Bitches Brew, and proof that Miles never stayed in one musical place for too long.