What I’ve Been Listening To: Jazz

I’m on a Jazz kick right now. I picked up The Essentials: Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane: A Love Supreme and Miles Davis: Kind of Blue

I’ve always enjoyed jazz music. If I’m listening to the radio it’s usually NPR, classical or jazz music. But I’ve always been intimidated in knowing what to buy. So I just started picking up some of the classics. These albums are great musical works. They have a great vibe for my creative work or just relaxing around the house.

I can’t articulate what differentiates good jazz from bad jazz music. I can just tell you what I like and I don’t like. I can identify the nuances of great musicians. But I want to educate myself about jazz. I also want to learn more about classical music too.

It’s like my journey of learning graphic design. Until I learned some basic rules of design (contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity) I couldn’t identify some of the reasons why I liked the way something looked. Or articulate why I didn’t like something.

I like to have a broad scope of musical styles I listen to. I like the variety. And I like listening to how the music is arranged and mixed. I think it helps me in my mixing.