New Listening

WARNING:  EXPLICIT LANGUAGE

I love that movie.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve enjoyed a real boost in new stuff to listen to.

When I heard that Easy Street Records in Lower Queen Anne was going away, I headed over to Sonic Boom in Ballard.  I hope to make it a monthly trip.  I bought “Oblique”, by drummer and composer Tyshawn Sorey.

I’ve also been rocking the library quite a bit, which is a HUGE resource.  Between the opportunity to place holds on items at any branch and the jazz sections that I can comb through whenever I go in, I’ve found a lot of great stuff.  Checked out albums by Loren Stillman (also the saxophonist on “Oblique”), Donny McCaslin, Ike Sturm, Ben Allison, and several other jazz artists, as well as Noah and the Whale, Little Dragon, and other bands from different genres.  It feels great!

I’m really hoping this recent boom will help me find some more specific ideas and approaches to both improvising and composing, and I’m excited to see if that’s the case.