make your head spin with
their time changes; and yet,
they still manage to be pretty
damn catchy and easy to digest
overall.

The Black Saint and The Sinner
Lady (1963) by Charles Mingus
When it comes to the mythical
career of bassist/composer
extraordinaire Charles Mingus,
this is the cream of the crop.
Composed as a ballet, which
Mingus himself describes as
“ethnic folk-dance music”, the
record-length piece tap dances
on the thin line between
listenable and experimental.
At times, it’s subtle and
haunting; at others, your
senses are drowned in a thick,
sticky layer of cacophony. The
fact that the album sounds
entirely improvisational is

no accident; this record is

the best example of Charles
Mingus being Charles Mingus.
In meticulously composing
and recording an album, from
start to finish, not a note off
from his vision of the album
that would be remembered as
challenging and emotionally
draining, yet ultimately
gorgeous and a worthwhile
work of art. If I were giving out
an award for best of the list,
The Black Saint and the Sinner
Lady would take the cake.

 

Pastel Blues (1965) by Nina
Simone

If this album didn’t exist, I’m
not quite sure there would be
room for vocal jazz on this list.
Consisting of 35 minutes of
jazz, blues, and folk, this easily
digestible gem doesn’t overstay
its welcome. Whether it’s an
original tune or a superior
version of a Billie Holiday
number, when Nina Simone
brings her husky voice to the
table, it sounds like doves
weeping tears of unfiltered joy.
The stand-out track is the epic
gospel standard “Sinnerman,”
taken to a whole new level

by Simone’s aggressive piano
playing. “Strange Fruit” doesn’t
put Holiday’s original to
shame, but it is the definitive
arrangement of the protest
song.

Headhunters (1973) by Herbie
Hancock

By the 1970s, a big chunk of the
old guard jazz musicians that
hadn't succumbed to substance
abuse were experimenting with
electric instruments. The result
was a spacey, funky version

of jazz, born of greats such as
Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, and
Herbie Hancock. Davis missed
the mark with On the Corner
the same year, and Zappa
was still finding himself,

but Hancock

a
4

 

came in and set the bar toa
height that still hasn’t been
reached in the world of
electric jazz. Two of Hancock’s
finest compositions grace

the first side of the record;

a 15-minute-long electric
synth jam through time and
space called “Chameleon,”

and “Watermelon Man,’ a
modern do-over of one of his
old standards. Over the course
of just four tracks, Hancock
solidified his place as the king
of jazz fusion and a massive
influence of funk music.

Last time I checked, the
libraries at both campuses

of Douglas College had all

of these CDs, along with

about two dozen more fine
albums to represent a genre
I’m passionate about. I do
think that these five albums
are a perfect place to start

for anyone who wants to step
their jazz game up a tad. Who
knows; maybe you'll be like me
and find that jazz music makes
you feel a little bit cooler.