Most jazz fans probably keep a number of lists in their heads, of favorite lineups, favorite musicians, favorites styles, favorite albums, etc. But jazz's emphasis on individualized stylistic expression and improvisational modes and jazz's wide range of instrumentation and combinations challenge list-making.
It's one thing to say Elvin Jones is my favorite drummer and another to say Jack DeJohnette is my favorite living drummer and Tony Williams is my favorite Miles Davis drummer and Jon Christensen is my favorite ECM drummer and Lenny White is my favorite fusion drummer and Joey Baron is my favorite "young" drummer, etc.
What's more productive for me is to think of combinations I really enjoy, such as vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson paired with pianists like Chick Corea (listen to 1968 Blue Note Total Eclipse), or such as trumpeter Kenny Wheeler paired with electric guitarists like Bill Frisell (listen to 1997 ECM Angel Song.)
Radiohead, lately
I must admit that my awareness of and appreciation for Radiohead is late. From afar I paid attention to some reviews, especially for OK Computer (1997); but even my attention was almost 10 years after its release. Upon closer inspection and with a measured enthusiasm for their body of work, I find that I like Amnesiac (2001) the most among those I've purchased. Recorded in the same sessions as Kid A, this later disc holds together nicely, despite its eclectic inspirations. I can play the disc in its entirety without losing interest. My view on its vocals is that they are part of shifting, textural soundscape; I don't know a single lyric and don't feel a need to learn any.
While I recommend the disc highly to the committed listener, I think the general listener will find individual cuts add contrast to mixed playlists. "Pyramid Song" and "Knives Out" are my choices.
In praise of M. B. Goffstein
(b. 1940) Contemporary American children's book author and illustrator.
An interesting item from her biography: She claims that whereas most artists do their thinking on paper, she does most of her work in her head. "I have few, if any, sketches." This is interesting because a viewer might assume that her minimalist style is the result of many refinements.
My favorite Goffstein book is My Noah's Ark, 1978. This little book proves that a great story doesn't require big action or loud execution and high-speed pacing. Quietly and carefully, Goffstein's story of an old woman's remembrances touches the inner life of the child—the life of imagination and reflection. "Our fun and sorrow seem to form a rainbow, and it warms me like sunshine."
The pictured page is from a well-used copy, given to me by a public library at my request when they cycled it out of their circulation.
Benjamin's Crossing
Just finished reading Jay Parini's Benjamin's Crossing.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/252154.Benjamin_s_Crossing
A quote, from the character of Gershom Scholem, one of the novel's narrators:
"(Walter Benjamin) suffered the obsessive desire of many intellectuals to make the world whole by applying intelligent pressure of a specific kind, but human intelligence cannot make the world whole. Unchecked by compassion, humility, and a deep skepticism of its own virility, it can only destroy."