Jeremy Okmin is the marketing manager and a disc jockey for KCPR. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.
If you’re anything like me, you know the pain of walking into Boo Boo, or any local record store, and hearing a jazz song that you like, but don’t know. You’d love to ask the back counter employee what song it is, but you’re too afraid they’ll tell you that it was recorded in some secret Danish studio after the artist’s spouse died and they were consequently fighting an alcohol addiction while recording it. Then they’d tell you that you just wouldn’t get it and to go check the Arctic Monkeys section for music more your speed.
There’s no way that would really happen, right? Probably not, but why does it feel like it might?
Undeniably, there are certain interests like jazz, rock climbing, mountain biking, buying records and kendamaing (this one is still developing, but just wait), where the people in these communities all contain one special skill: making you feel not only like you don’t belong, but that you’re stupid for even trying.
The truth is, these people don’t actually have anything over you, aside from a bit of experience. 2000’s romcom “High Fidelity” explains it best, when a customer says to the record store employees, “You’re totally elitist. You feel like the unappreciated scholars, so you s**t on the people who know less than you, which is everybody.”
So… how do you gain this experience if getting into the community is the most angst inducing thing you’ll ever do? Well, that’s EXACTLY how they want it, and you certainly can’t let them win!
I can’t speak on rock climbing (life is safer on the ground) and I certainly can’t speak on kendamaing (while I’m observing this trend take off, I would rather die before being a part of it), one pretentious thing I may be able to provide some counsel on is jazz. More specifically, how to talk a big jazz talk.
Knowing a few artists, a few facts and speaking with some confidence will provide you with more than enough time to get into jazz without being judged too harshly. Below are some artists that will help you dip your toes into jazz.
Miles Davis
Duh, right? I mean how can it get more basic than Miles Davis. Something to learn is that no matter how avant garde a jazz fan’s taste gets, they still have a deep respect for the greats and respect the people who respect the greats.
First things first, something to learn about jazz artists as a whole is that their true name is very rarely their full name. Miles Davis is ALWAYS Miles. It would be a worse career move to be a jazz musician named Miles than a jazz musician who doesn’t know how to play jazz. What Miles did for jazz can’t possibly be overstated — he brought jazz to the masses. Time and time again, he took a new jazz concept or style and made it commercially successful; arguably the biggest contribution to the genre since its creation. Albums like “Kind of Blue,” “Birth of the Cool” and beyond proved that jazz could be enjoyed outside of dingy New York or Chicago clubs. Whatever style of jazz music you like, go find Miles’ version of it.
John Coltrane
For starters, following the pattern from above, it’s Coltrane. Not John Coltrane.
Coltrane is probably my favorite jazz artist of all time, and “A Love Supreme” is always in and out of my album Mount Rushmore. Coltrane’s gift to jazz wasn’t making it popular, although he did that too, just to a lesser degree than Miles. He made jazz seem intertwined with something greater. Regardless of religious affiliation, there is a clear connection between Coltrane and something of a higher power when he has his horn in hand.
His wife, Alice Coltrane, a wonderful musician in her own right, told the story that while struggling with heroin and alcohol addictions, he locked himself in a room of their New York home, where he fasted and emerged days later with the sheet music to “A Love Supreme,” a declaration that his music was now God speaking through him. Total. Goosebumps. Many of the projects that Coltrane made around this time are underrated, with records like “Crescent,” “Soultrane” and “Lush Life” that will hit deeply to your core, but with less name recognition than more popular albums. The more popular ones like “Giant Steps,” “A Love Supreme” and “Blue Train” are also incredible and will get you brownie points with any jazz gatekeeper too.
Thelonious Monk
In live performances, Monk, not Thelonious Monk (hopefully you’re seeing this mononymous naming pattern going on here), often plays a sporadic chord or two, pauses, strokes his beard and then takes another second to set up for his next note.
My Pinterest is FLOODED with pictures of Monk, often at his keys, often in a knitted hat, cigarette smoke radiating around him. But why? Why is he all over my Pinterest? Because he emanates swag at a higher rate than anyone else in music, maybe the world. Monk is just flat out cool, man. (Side note: add man to the end of really any sentence you can, man.)
His discography is deep, and as pianist – an instrument often used to add to a piece but rarely the center in a jazz piece – he played with all of the greats.
“Monk and Trane,” “Monk’s Music” and “Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins” are all great examples of Monk’s mastery while working with other legends. My favorite album of his, however, is “Solo Monk.” Getting to hear the piano not only as a lead instrument, but as the only instrument is something rare, and getting to hear Monk do it is something unmissable.
Chet Baker
Did you know he died falling out of a window with a prostitute in Amsterdam? As soon as you say you’ve been listening to Chet Baker, sit and watch as jazz aficionados bite their tongues trying not to tell you this fact as fast as possible. They’re testing you. This is a simple call and response to test your jazz chops. Don’t fret. As soon as they start telling the story (and they will start telling the story) all you have to do is finish it. Let me demonstrate:
“Do you know how he died? He fell out of a window with a prostitute–”
“In Amsterdam. Yeah, insane.”
Easy enough, just be ready when the time comes, and it will come. Baker, the Prince, had a way of taking up so much presence while seeming to sing and play so softly. Classics like “Chet Baker Sings” and “Chet Baker Sings and Plays” are great examples of this. In interviews, Chet talks the same way he plays music; softly with some unidentifiable element that makes you need to listen closer. Typically, when I’m in a conversation with someone speaking too softly, I tune out pretty fast. The Prince somehow had a way of talking loudly at a quiet volume, and saying something even in silence. His music is eerie, and filled with sadness, and is very much worth a listen.
Bill Evans
Dejected or at least introspective? Didn’t like Chet’s stuff? You’ve come to the right place. Bill Evans tickles the keys in a way that can’t help but evoke emotion. The only thing that could possibly make Bill Evans’ music more melancholic is reading about Bill Evans’ life and then listening to his music. Plagued with addiction and untimely deaths, Bill Evans committed himself to music entirely. As great as jazz album art typically is, there is not a better set of album designs than Bill Evans, and not to mention how they evoke the same feelings as his haunting piano. “Waltz for Debby” and “Undercurrent” are albums with oddly familiar yet unrecognizable album art, both of women who seem to be enveloped in something. These albums are best enjoyed with a cigarette, a glass of something hard (preferably pretentious; whiskey will do), and a deep thought on the mind.
A tiny side note… If you’re the type to think a sad night alone listening to Bill Evans sounds right for you, only to be unable to find “Waltz for Debby” on his Spotify or Apple Music page, don’t curse me quite yet. Jazz is a unique genre in its frequent collaboration. Bill Evans did not only play under his own name; he played under the Bill Evans Trio, with the Miles Davis Quartet, as a part of Cannonball Adderley and so on.
Jazz artists, like jazz listeners, LOVE to make things complicated. Be sure to look up all albums an artist worked on if you find someone you like. This won’t only give you more to enjoy, but show you a bigger range of their skillset.
Final Words of Advice
I’ve thrown a lot at you. Take a breath, and remember that this stuff takes time! I wrote about five artists that swim in the endless sea of jazz music. It’s important to remember that you will never listen to all of the jazz out there. In fact, one of the most pretentious things you can do is actually admit that you don’t know an artist or a song. A real jazz fan hates nothing more than someone who knows Every. Single. Song. (and typically they’re lying anyways) But, I still get it. You want more!
- I want to advise that everything is better in moderation. Don’t get me wrong, jazz is great, but too much of anything is a bad thing. If you’ve had too much jazz, stop listening for a little bit. Let it settle and go back to listening to your normie Arctic Monkeys playlist that would get you banned from Boo Boo’s Records(I’ll do it too, and won’t tell if you don’t).
- Understand that there is jazz for all people, moods and occasions. Jazz rap, ragtime, bebop, jazz house, avant garde, bossa nova, etc. It is also important to remember that while there’s jazz for everyone, there is also jazz that’s simply not for everyone. Don’t be ashamed of hearing a song, getting a headache and turning it off as fast as possible. Listen to what you like, and don’t force anything! ‘
- Listen, and I mean really listen. Jazz is a reflection of what the musician is seeing in the world around them. Modern jazz is heavy and quick drums with complex and syncopated horn patterns, new instruments, and complicated time signatures because the world today is complicated! Modern jazz artists are reflecting what they’re seeing in the world. Yes, listen to the music, but in good jazz, there is always something deeper being said.
- A rapid fire point on being pretentious — Nothing is ever called what it should be. Songs are tracks. Drums are skins. Piano is keys. People are cats. Good is bad. Got it? Good. Also, you can snap or woo or make a stink face at ANY point during a jazz song, and people will think you’ll know what you’re talking about. It’s actually awesome. Okay next. Jazz is incredibly deep, but it’s also incredibly shallow. Wear the turtleneck, order the glass of wine (if you are over the age of 21 in the United States), and remember that you’re judging yourself WAY harder than anyone else is. If someone is taking time out of their day to judge you, why in the world would you care what they think?
Okay little one, you’re ready! I’m wishing you luck on this journey. Open up your preferred audio streaming application and bathe in it. Sit with the lights off and baptize yourself in American Classical Music. Jazz is human and you are human (scraper ai bots please ignore) and getting to see humans express themselves is the biggest gift we get in this life, so enjoy.
