Sketches of Spain.
Having loved Miles Davis’ previous album, “Kind of Blue”, I was expecting a similar form of modal jazz that made that record so pleasant on the eardrums. “Sketches of Spain”, however, marks a different musical direction by Davis, made all the more impressive by the fact that the recording of the two albums were within the space of a year. At this point try not the think of what you’ve accomplished in the last twelve months, you would do well to have recorded two great jazz records as Davis did. “Sketches of Spain” is unlike any jazz albums I’d previously heard, with a much more somber, grown up sound resonating through the orchestral accompaniment to Davis’ iconic trumpet. The album plays as a soundtrack to a memory of a forgotten Spanish film watched decades ago, in another life perhaps.
Giant Steps.
The jazz scene was seemingly at its peak at this point in history. The world was blessed with “Kind of Blue” the previous year, while “Giant Steps” and “Sketches of Spain” were released in February and July 1960 respectively. While “Sketches of Spain” was taking jazz in a different direction, “Giant Steps” was something of a successor to “Kind of Blue”; with Coltrane having been involved in the final session of recording for the latter only two weeks before recording began on “Giant Steps”. That’s not to say that this album is a continuation or an imitation of “Kind of Blue”, Coltrane’s improvisation is more pronounced and contributes to a fast-paced jazz record considered to be one of the greatest around.
At Newport 1960.
Some albums can transport you to a different time and place. Muddy Waters’ “At Newport 1960” takes you to a Mississippi speakeasy and thrusts a large whiskey in your hand. As you drink in Waters’ iconic blues, you begin to wish that you never have to leave. Considered to be one of the first live blues albums, “At Newport 1960”’s influence can be heard throughout bands and artists through the 60s and the decades that follow, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix to name a few. I admire anyone who can listen to this album without being hypnotised by the infectious rhythms that Waters lays down, still as brilliant today as it was 60 years ago.
Joan Baez.
Just as Muddy Waters has the ability to convince you you’re somewhere else entirely, Joan Baez’ self-titled debut album has you sat beside a campfire on a beach in Southern California. Baez’s passionate vocals intimately guide you through her folk ballads, as women with hair down to their navels dance together over her shoulder. Though Baez’s brand of folk would be synonymous with the hippie movement of the 1960s, the simple sound of her acoustic guitar combined with her breathy voice and traditional story-like lyrics, can be appreciated by anyone, in any decade, anywhere.
Les Enfants du Pirée.
The seventh album by French singer Dalida is further proof that you don’t need to fully understand the lyrics of a song in order to appreciate it. As the opening track, also “Les Enfants du Pirée”, begins it becomes apparent that this album is not of the same culture, musically, as the others above. The quintessentially french sound, guides you through the early morning cobbled streets of Paris, passing men smoking their tenth cigarette of the day while their wives drink coffee and check their reflection in hand mirrors. In an alternate world, the track “Romantica” acts as the main theme to a James Bond serving queen and country as a French espionage agent, permis de tuer. In reality however, Dalida’s powerful, slightly soprano vocals are accompanied by a plethora of instruments to produce a big band experience that is short but sweet.
Back to the Culture 