living in iowa is a trip. randy travis
spoke the truth when he sang about old men sitting and talking about the weather. his twang rings in my ears while i try to make sense of the craziness brother nature is bringing to the midwest. yesterday, sunny & a high of 84. tomorrow, 3 inches of snow on the ground. quit screwing around with my spring fever.
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| brad mehldau it might as well be spring - the art of the trio, vol. 5 |
he is quite simply the most happening jazz artist for me, these days. i remember seeing back-to-back sets of this band at the old dakota (remember ... over on energy park drive?) they were touring t
his record. it was snowy and super cold on a wednesday, and i went over after some teaching in st. paul. hardly anyone was there, but i hung for the entire show. these guys were locked in. i don't remember this song per se, but i'll never forget that night.
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| frank morgan & hank jones you must believe in spring |
i love love LOVE this song. i learned it early in my music studies as a vocal jazz tune, arranged by life wiz phil mattson. my classmates brad & paige (both older and far more seasoned than i) sang the shit out of this gem, and phil's tinkly lines decorated their phrases masterfully. my favorite saxophonist for the longest time was frank morgan, and he kills on
this track. hank's not too shabby, either.
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| myra melford yet can spring (for don pullen) - above blue |
i mistakenly bought this album back in undergrad. my roommate at the time had just turned me on to piano giant don pullen, so i snagged this record that he's not on. my haste in sheer idiocy thankfully led me to the incredible myra melford and her wonderful band, including chris speed, dave douglas, erik friedlander, and michael sarin.
this amateur review of the album is spot-on.
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| benjamin britten spring, the sweet spring - spring symphony |
this effort by britten piles more credibility to his composer legacy, beyond the requisite
peter grimes and
young person's guide to the orchestra. i bought this album at a record store beneath a crazy college kid club i used to play at on weekends in st. cloud. the guys in the cover band gave me the weirdest looks, similar to those that they flashed when i played some major 7s or #11s on dire straits tunes.
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| ella fitzgerald spring can really hang you up the most |
my high school jazz band made the state championships my senior year. i caught the last two bands of the biggest class before loading up the bus for hardees, and heard this saxophonist blow up this tune something fierce. i bet i listened to that cassette (!!!) five hundred times, trying to wrap my head around the tune and his sound. i later learned the lyrics in music school and became smitten with writing. ella
sounds so sweet and sincere, but what's new...
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| miles davis & gil evans springsville - miles ahead |
this is such a great song. i didn't know much about miles davis (and nothing about gil evans) when i bought this album. gil's writing is exquisite and miles still makes me smile with his sound on
this cut. my giddy moment at
2:16 still has me rewinding and listening again & again. i once pulled this stunt on the interstate, repeatedly falling for miles while i sat in the left lane and passed cars like it was my job. i'm not sure how far i drove before i noticed the state trooper sitting on my tail, lights ablaze. i quickly switched lanes and let him pass. i tried not to notice those piercing eyes that sat underneath that broad and imposing hat bill.
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| aaron copland appalachian spring |
of course, copland (spelled just like
the movie that's not pronounced the same) makes the list. i love
the recording that mtt and the san francisco symphony did, but am still blown away by the way spike lee used copland's works throughout his basketball film
he got game. jesus saves.
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