In early April, I was on Substack and found a link to an article with a list of someone’s 100 Greatest Jazz Albums. When I took a look at the list, I could see that I had listened to a fair number of the albums already. However, there were still more that were new to me.

On a whim, I randomly picked one album that was new to me, Now He Sings, Now He Sobs by Chick Corea, and began listening. My plan at that time was to listen to every album on the list that I had not heard, and to re-listen to the ones I already knew.

That plan did not last long. I quickly realized that what I was really looking for was a much more personal thing. I was looking for the kind of music that most connected with me.

Now, 75 albums later, I find myself with a spreadsheet of notes and a daily habit of listening to jazz, researching musicians, and making lists of the next album I want to listen to.

When I first began to listen seriously to jazz many years ago, I listened primarily to those artists that I already knew because they were names I already recognized: Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, and Stan Getz. This time, I found myself concentrating on the “sound” of jazz that resonated with me best. That has ended up being a much more enjoyable, joyful, and interesting journey than I ever could have anticipated.

I plan to begin posting reviews of some of the albums here soon. Until then, have a good week!