Already mid-June and I find that I have only managed to get to one baseball game in person so far this year. That was this past Sunday at Target Field when the Twins beat the Cardinals 5-4.

Normally by this time of year, I would already have been to a number of games—Major League, Minor League, or Town Ball. But this year, it has so far been games on TwinsTV.

While I have not been to many baseball games this year, I have been trout fishing six times already. What is more, I have two more trout outings still planned for June. Not bad, I’d say.

May and June of 2026 have been largely wordless for me. I am writing and reading little. I am, however, listening to a lot of jazz. This includes deep listening to over 30 different albums.

What do I mean by deep listening? I mean at least three complete listening sessions in multiple places for each album. The pattern, when I am not re-listening to a vinyl album I already own, has become this:

• First: A morning listen on my Sony Bluetooth headphones before heading off to work, with coffee and two cats sitting on my lap.
• Second: Listening while commuting to and from work in my car with the bass on high.
• Third: In my office during my lunch while trying to recharge from half a day of interacting with people.

That is the minimum. For many albums, I have had five or more listening sessions. After I have finished an album and before I begin the next one, I fill out a spreadsheet I have created for myself. It includes things such as:

• Album Title
• Year
• Personnel
• Era/Style
• Favorite Tracks
• First Listen Reactions
• Atmosphere/Mood Tags
• Standout Sound or Instrument
• Revisit Status
• Comments
• Links to Research
• Finally, Is This Album Necessary in Vinyl?

I have taken to calling this My Jazz Project. I figure that when and if I ever get to 52 or more, I will begin a weekly feature here of Jazz Album Reviews based on this project. I suppose that I could start earlier, but for some reason, I want a year’s worth in the books before I start.

My current listen, by the way: Jazz Guitar – Jim Hall (guitar), Carl Perkins (piano), Red Mitchell (bass).