Three Jazz Albums in Three Months after Jazz Appreciation Class

Three months back I was not a friend of jazz. I found this music chaotic and hard to listen. I knew that this unappealing condition regarding this form of art was the result of my lack of knowledge. Therefore, I decided to take the bull by the horns and register in a Jazz Appreciation Class.

I was very surprised to find how easy it was to start enjoying Jazz from the first week. I think the combination of an excellent teacher, very easy to use learning platform (edx.org) and self-motivated student, created a perfect environment to learn to love Jazz.

In the last three months I have listened many jazz albums, and I have watched many documentaries about jazz artists. One of the most interesting films, called ‘1959 The Year that Changed Jazz’, talks about four albums created in 1959 that changed jazz forever. These four albums are:

• Miles Davis's Kind of Blue
• Dave Brubeck's Time Out
• Charles Mingus's Ah Um
• Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come

It was a total coincidence to find out that first three albums were in the list of the albums I have listened so far. I had intentionally decided not to listen the complete Ornette Coleman's work as the free jazz elements of his album made it less appealing and difficult to listen. I can say I am still not ready to appreciate and understand the magic behind this kind of jazz.

Kind of Blue is a beautiful album from the modal era. Its music is hunting, relaxing and very easy to listen. The story behind the album is as amazing as the music. Miles Davis gave only some sketches to his virtuoso musicians and then the songs were recorded on the first complete take. No second version of the songs were attempted, only the first and originals made to the record. It took only 7 hour to create the best selling jazz record of all time. One sentence I like a lot from the jazz class about this album is:

“I call this album the "desert island" jazz album. Many people, if they could only take one jazz album to a desert island, they would choose this album. Jeffrey Helmer” 

Time Out is an experimental and easily accessible album from the cool era that tried something new. The tempo and time signature used on the album was different to what was used in the past. Instead of using regular 4/4 time signatures, it uses unexpected time signature like 5/4 (e.g Take Five) or 9/8 (e.g. Blue Rondo à la Turk). This gives a unique sound that, even though is not danceable, is so pleasing and engaging to hear. The single 'Take Five' builds around a drums solo that reached the pop chart and became the best selling 45’’ vinyl record even released.

'Ah Um' is a masterwork. It is one of the most attractive and enjoyable jazz album I have discovered in this class. The music in this record is more dynamic and the solos of the instruments are shorter and stronger. This album uses elements from more than one jazz era (including elements from hard bob, swing and free jazz). One particular song from this record, called "Fables of Faubus" is well-known jazz protest against racism. The song is a statement against white supremacist Arkansas governor Orval E. Faubus, who wanted to impose segregation in a high school. In addition to be a jazz piece with strong political meaning, it is an album with great sounds and a lot of unexpected turns and twists.

I am glad I registered to this Jazz Appreciation class. I learned and lot and I discovered my passion for this kind of music. As a special graduation present to myself I am going to buy the three jazz albums in vinyl and this beautiful pair of headphones. Next journey is History of Rock class from University of Rochester. Also I want to learn more about classical music, let see if I can find a Classical Appreciation class, as good as the Jazz Appreciation Class, that help me to discover and unfold this immeasurable music world.