The Wintry Sounds and Styles of Jazz
Once upon a time, I was a jazz musician. I was a saxman who mainly played tenor, but could play all the saxes and a little clarinet to boot. My dreams shifted, and here I am today writing, often about music. When I take my saxophone out of the closet, nothing has changed, except that I blow with more soul because I no longer feel the pressure from being a music major. My love for jazz hasn’t left me.
Right now I’m reading great altoist Art Pepper’s autobiography Straight Life, and it has me thinking about jazz for each season and how well musicians used to dress. Old school jazz cats had style. They looked clean, even though they all battled their demons, and perhaps it was their subversiveness that made their suits and crisp sportswear work for them. No one wore Brooks Brothers better than Miles Davis, or an Ivy-style suit better than Bill Evans.
Art Pepper (right), a man who knew how to blow and dress well.
In Straight Life, Pepper shows he has an eye for details and style. Even during his time in San Quentin (Pepper was in prison for various drug offenses on and off over two decades), Pepper made sure he wore the starchiest uniforms with the best fabrics. Several times in the book, he rhapsodizes about a guy who had the best shoes or was put together every time he went out. Back then, looking good was a point of pride and men carried themselves with dignity and comportment no matter how tough their circumstances were.
Here’s a list of jazz albums to help get you through the winter. The piano melodies and warm saxophones make some of these selections sound like Christmas music, but there’s more verve and artistry to a Pepper or Evans tune than “Jingle Bells.”
Winter Moon - Art Pepper: Pepper’s final album was his most novel. During the 1960s and ‘70s, Pepper tried to adapt his sound to music’s changing tides and lost his signature sweet tone along the way. He had an ill-fated experiment on tenor in the mid-1960s before realizing he wasn’t Coltrane 2.0. He came into his own for the second time in this string heavy album that could have been made at any point between 1950 and 1980; Pepper declared it the best album in his career, and it’s hard to disagree. Winter Moon is filled with plaintive ballads like the title track and “Our Song,” songs that - if they don’t reduce you to tears or reflection - will seduce you and make you feel something.
Bill Evans perfected and intellectualized the classic Ivy League look.
Explorations - Bill Evans: Despite his struggle with addiction, Bill Evans was the best jazz pianist there ever was. Such a lofty claim needs backing up, and Evans does so with his 1961 album Explorations. Though each track is worth a listen, “Israel” and “Nardis” merit attention for their introspective twinkling melodies, sounds that evoke people bustling down well-lit city streets at night. The album’s most stunning song is “Elsa,” the perfect tune to snuggle up with a special someone after an evening of ice skating and walking through a winter wonderland.
Trans looking trim in a long-sleeve polo, 1965.
A Love Supreme - John Coltrane: If you’re a jazz novice, this album is the place to start. Coltrane’s tone was at once warm and abrasive, a response to the social justice issues going on in America at the time. Though the title track off his 1961 album My Favorite Things is his most wintry song to date, start with 1965’s A Love Supreme. Listen to it all the way through, and you’ll be transfixed and transformed.
The meeting of minds.
The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album - Tony Bennett and Bill Evans: Perhaps it’s cheating to mention Bill Evans twice, but the way he tickled the ivories makes listeners imagine wintry nights in New York. Throughout his career, Evans did duet albums with other notable instrumentalists and his 1975 endeavor with Tony Bennett combines the latter’s warm voice with Evans’ moody melodies. The first two tracks, “Young and Foolish” and “The Touch of Your Lips” are minimalistic yet full and emotional, setting the tone for the album thereafter. Bennett and Evans made another album together in 1977 - Together Again - but it failed to reach the peaks and mood of their original effort.
Sonny Rollins, 1957. To this day, Sonny sports sunglasses better than just about anyone.
The Bridge - Sonny Rollins: When I was 13, my father took me to see legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins. To this day, that concert remains one of the most influential moments in my life, leading to my pursuit of music and later - indirectly - writing about music. That Christmas, he bought me a copy of Rollins’ 1962 album The Bridge. Bridge was Rollins’ first release after taking a break from music. He spent his sabbatical playing his tenor on the Williamsburg bridge, and his full sound on the album sounded like he was playing to the city at night. The leading track, “Without a Song,” was one of the first jazz tunes I memorized, and is a favorite of mine to this day.
Sweater: S.N.S. Herning, Shirt: J. Crew, Cords: J. Crew