TT 223: Jazz Piano for All

Enjoyed this long and substantial offering from The New York Times, “5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Jazz Piano.”

All the music here is GREAT, but this is also one of the most uncompromising "gateway drug" lists I've ever seen. Herbie Hancock's "The Egg," for example, is probably almost off-putting to a civilian. (Of course I love it, but…)

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The hits are there for a reason. 10 basic tracks off the top of my head:

Erroll Garner, “Teach Me Tonight” from Concert By the Sea

Ahmad Jamal, “Poinciana” from Live at the Pershing

Bill Evans, “Blue and Green” from Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue

Dave Brubeck, “Blue Rondo a la Turk” from Time Out

Oscar Peterson, “C Jam Blues” from Night Train (Listening to this now. Oscar is not my main man, but the whole album Night Train is simply undeniable.)

Horace Silver, “Song For My Father” from Song From My Father

Thelonious Monk, “Dinah” from Solo Monk (This is less popular than the rest of this list but I know from experience that it “lands.”)

Herbie Hancock, “Cantaloupe Island” from Empyrean Isles

Keith Jarrett, “Part 1” from The Koln Concert

Chick Corea, “Spain” from Light as a Feather

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WHAT?! NO McCOY TYNER?

I couldn’t really decide about McCoy. Maybe something powerful from the ‘70s, or of course there’s all the incredibly charismatic music with John Coltrane. For now, “Passion Dance” from The Real McCoy as a placeholder.

There is also, of course, a valid argument for including women in the list. Many wonderful artists didn’t land popular successes like the above ten. Since there’s no boogie-woogie on my list, I’d plump for Mary Lou Williams, “Little Joe From Chicago” (1939, on various compilations) since it’s truly great and truly accessible.

Also, for those who already connected with something in a spacious/spiritual zone, next door to the Grateful Dead or other popular trances, the fabulous Alice Coltrane would be possible gateway drug. Her final album, Translinear Light, is spectacular, with some truly impossible Wurlitzer stylings on the opening track, “Sita Ram.”

It’s not a record, but the video of Hazel Scott on two pianos is a jaw-dropper, and Alicia Keys referenced it at the Grammys.

The complete absence of serious be-bop on my list is intentional. Most civilians need some basic exposure to the vibe before going in on Bud Powell or his children.