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That Fall Feeling

Fall has a sound, and that sound is jazz. The breeze’s rustle is muted and chilling, comforting in the way a Miles Davis solo is. Light drizzle sounds like a soft tickling of the ivories, delicate yet strong in the manner of Bill Evans’ masterful piano strokes. The mist, especially when obscuring neon lights, brings to mind Cannonball Adderley’s solo on “Flamenco Sketches,” my favorite song of all time.

I had never considered “Flamenco Sketches” the greatest track on Kind of Blue, until I heard the late Glenn O’Brien recite a poem over it in his 2013 video, “A Clean Sweep.” I discovered the video soon before moving to New York, soon after O’Brien had passed. Two years later, living in Minneapolis again, the song has stuck with me, without a hint of nostalgia. I listen to it whether I’m feeling content, contemplative, blue, or sunny. I listen to it when I need to calm down, relax, or am already relaxed. I listen to it while watching the leaves fall, and these dual sensations put me in touch with the coziness and warmth I love about the season.

This playlist is bookended by both takes of “Flamenco Sketches,” and the songs in between are a reflective assortment of jazz and its descendants. These include soft indie rock selections, cathartic singer songwriter numbers, and moody trip-hop pieces, since they share a sonic lineage with the jazz tunes they’re surrounded by. These are songs I’ve listened to almost every day since autumn arrived. Each track is at once melancholy, crisp, and optimistic, like the clouds, the breeze, and the colors of fall.

Grant Tillery