Music and Books Perfect Together
The other day I decided to get a little more organized in both my reading and music listening, I decided what I will do is to try to set aside an hour a day to read and listen to music together. The music genres that I prefer to listen to if I am reading are: new age, jazz, classical or progressive rock.I figured I will create a 60 minute playlists containing a few tracks from several artists, that I am unfamiliar with, in whatever genre I pick. My first music and reading hour was last Friday and the genre that I chose was jazz. To start, I reviewed the JazzWeek Charts and found five artists that I was unfamiliar with, which was not hard at all. Then I went to Spotify, to create the playlist.
Here are the five artists and their albums with the position of the album on the JazzWeek Chart.
| No | Artist | Album |
| 1 | Justin Kauflin | Dedication |
| 11 | Joe Alterman | Georgia Sunset |
| 12 | Charles McPherson | The Journey |
| 13 | Sam Most | New Jazz Standards |
| 16 | Dave Bass | NYC Sessions |
Music and Reading Hour Musicians..…
Justin Kauflin,
, Justin Kauflin is an Award-winning jazz pianist who began performing at the age of six, in concerts, nursing homes and weddings, eventually becoming concertmaster for several orchestras.He then lost his eyesight due to a rare disease, but he never gave up.and…
…..In 2004, Justin graduated in the top 1% of Salem High School alongside his sighted peers, and valedictorian at the Governor’s School, receiving a Presidential scholarship to attend William Paterson University in New Jersey. At WPU, he was taken under the wings of legendary trumpeter, Clark Terry and performed in the Clark Terry Ensemble. He also had the tremendous privilege of learning from his hero, the late Mulgrew Miller, as well as Harold Mabern and the late James Williams. He graduated summa cum laude with an Honor’s degree in Music.
….Dedication is his second release and is now number 1 on the JazzWeek Charts….. more,
Joe Alterman from his website…..
In a recent feature on Joe Alterman in the Wall Street Journal, legendary writer Nat Hentoff wrote, “’Talk about the joy of jazz!…It’s a pleasure to hear this music’…You’ve got it!”
Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Alterman moved to New York in the fall of 2007 to study music at New York University, where he earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Music. While there, he had the opportunity to study with greats including Don Friedman, Joe Lovano and John Scofield. More
Dave Bass’s story is also one of stick-to-it-ness…..
‘In the 70s and 80s Dave Bass
…. supported his growing family as a full time musician. Immersed in the vibrant San Francisco jazz and Latin music scene, he led his own group playing often with friends Bobby McFerrin, drummerBabatunde Lea, jazz vocalist Jackie Ryan and others at the legendary Keystone Kornerand other well known venues on the scene. In 1981…..
.In the mid-80s, after a random slip and fall on the way to a gig caused a seriously damaging wrist fracture, doctors did not offer a promising prognosis for him to ever play piano again. With his beloved music career no longer an option, and with a wife and young daughter to support, Dave enrolled at the University of California, Irvine, graduatingPhi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude. He moved on to UCLA School of Law becoming an Editor of the UCLA Law Review and began his legal career in 1992 with a prestigious commercial firm. Dave is now a California Deputy Attorney General in Civil Rights Enforcement, and was honored with the 2009 Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Achievement.
then……
….In 2005, after a twenty-year absence from the music scene, Dave’s long-forgotten dreams of playing and composing jazz were re-kindled when his own self-discovery coincided with an invitation to play some impromptu solo piano during a private party while the band took a break. The guests clamored for more and the band invited him to sit in for the rest of the night.
Dave continued on from there and since then has released to albums Gone and his current release NYC Sessions both have been very well received climbing high on the JazzWeek Charts.
Sam Most From Wikipedia.
Samuel “Sam” Most was an American jazz flautist and tenor saxophonist, based in Los Angeles. He was “probably the first great jazz flutist,” according to jazz historian Leonard Feather. Read More
Charles McPherson From Wikipedia
Charles McPherson is a jazz alto saxophonist born in Joplin, Missouri, and raised in Detroit, Michigan, most notable for his work from 1960 to 1972 with Charles Mingus…..
So I set the timer on my phone for 15 minutes and then read from these four books as I listened to the above musicians!!!
Music and Reading Hour Books
The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien
Crown of Midnight – Sharon J Maas
Hard Rain – Barry Eisler
Green-Eyed Lady – Chuck Greaves
It was a successful experiment and a very pleasant morning, soon to be followed by more playlists and music!!