Smashbomb

"Fred Hersch is a hugely respected jazz pianist who was diagnosed HIV-positive in the 80s. He didn't talk about it publicly until the 90s. Then in 2008, he got very ill, and fell into a coma, which he stayed in for two months. When he came round he'd lost all his muscle memory, which is obviously devastating when you're a jazz pianist. So he had to learn to play again. This record was only made three years later, unbelievably.  I find this album very emotional. It's partly the music, which is very beautiful, but it's partly about what he went through. Having had a heavy hospital experience myself, I know how that can affect you. I managed to get a contact for Fred after he made this, and I wrote to him to tell him how much it had moved me. We wrote to each other for a while after that, which was really special."

Source

Kudos

Julia Holter recommended Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt in Music (curated)

Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt

1974 | Alternative, Indie, Rock

6.0

(1 Ratings)

Album Favorite

"I only heard this for the first time about six years ago. It was just like this culmination of melody… like the way he… Why do I love it? I don't know. What I love about his music is the playfulness, the way he plays with words, his sense of humour. There's no clear obvious harmony, no clear obvious arrangements. It's very individual: it doesn't sound like a particular style. It has, actually, a little bit of a jazz style, because he was coming out of jazz: that was his love. It's like he's this poet who's finding the music that will fit for each song. It's kind of how I approach my music, too. You're not looking at it like, "This song is going to be this kind of song"; it's more like: "This song is about this and so maybe I'll make these sounds with it." It's a much more playful approach to music. I like that. I identify with that a lot."

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Kudos

Treme - Season 4

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Treme - Season 3

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Eastwick - Season 1

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Frank Black recommended Everybody Digs Bill Evans by Bill Evans / Bill Trio Evans in Music (curated)

"When I listen to jazz, it's usually the piano guys – Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk. I'll put this on in any context: on tour when I'm sleeping, at home when I'm cooking, after a gig. When Joey comes offstage, he wants to play something loud and continue to rock, whereas I need to decompress a little more. So, depending on who gets to the music player first, it's either AC/DC or Bill Evans."

Source

Kudos

Ross (3284 KP) rated Maggot Brain by Funkadelic in Music

May 2, 2020

Maggot Brain by Funkadelic

1971 | Rhythm And Blues

9.3

(3 Ratings)

Album Rating

Rolling Stone's 479th greatest album of all time

What a fantastic album. With a lot of similarities to Frank Zappa at his funk-laden jazz best, this is a short collection of brilliant 70s songs. Hints of Hendrix as well make this a really enjoybale and surprising listen. Definitely one I will listen to again, and reminded me why I am listening to Rolling Stone's top 500 albums. And then came the next one ...