Q

It began in 2008 when i came across a jazz recording somewhere outside, and fell into such crashing love with the double bass (tbh i didn’t know what instrument it when i first identified its sound) (also i’d never listened to jazz voluntarily). I found out what it was (through shameless inquiry), this:

My first love and always one of my favorites, Mingus on double bass.

And then i dove right in and haven’t gone back up for air since.

I’ve never liked limiting myself to a preferred ‘genre’ of music, to me there’s only good music or bad music (and even then based on the individual). But jazz, but jazz. I’m obscenely partial to it. To me it’s the purest, most distilled form of music.

There’s a whole literature and science on it and also ridiculous variety given its history, but i mainly stick to bebop and cool jazz, occasionally nujazz (mostly japanese ones). Also i love the ones without emphasis on lyrics/with just nonsense lyrics. Better yet if it does without completely (yah i’m pretty much off scat singing).

I’ve always remained vaguely embarrassed about it, i’m not sure why. Not the same embarrassment i feel for secretly liking Alt-J (a brassy, see-if-i-care, omg i’m gross kind), but a shadier, more private one. It may have been because i never bothered to share it with anyone initially, because i knew none of my friends listened to it. And when someone did accidentally stumble across me listening to jazz one day over the phone, he asked “um… why are you listening to sex music?”

But sometimes it gets a little lonely it’s just such, such a lovely world that it seems to me a pity more of my friends aren’t into it. And not because they won’t like it but probably cause they never tried?

So i’m gonna do a series of recommendations (hence the title) of my favorites, cultivated over five years (with lackluster knowledge of the technicalities of which there are a lot, i should warn y’all). Half of you will be bored to death the other half will skip them. But maybe just oneee person will like at least one of the recs and i’d be rlyrly happy with that.

Ok but another day because i’m hungry and shleepy rn also i wanna read bye.