Recommending jazz was forever consigned to the realm of ludicrous geekery when the guy in “Jerry Maguire” hands Tom Cruise an unwanted cassette of unfamiliar and supposedly off-putting music while lecturing him about this uniquely American art form. Still, discovering good music that one has not heard before can be delightful and exhilarating, and what could be better for summer than something delightful and exhilarating? Here is some cool music for a hot summer.
1. “Summertime,” Sidney Bechet (1939)
Ignore the hiss; dig the music. Here is one of those who started the whole ball rolling, Sidney Bechet, showing how jazz works and how charming it can be. Expertly accompanied by Teddy Bunn on guitar, Bechet (on soprano saxophone) first states the melody of George Gershwin’s classic song. Then he begins to play with it, working through some variations while likewise exploring the possibilities of his instrument.
Improvisation on a theme is the hallmark of jazz and what makes it so mesmerizing: here are master musicians creating music not by working it all out beforehand and having everything down pat, but right in the moment, and because they are consummate craftsmen, creating something new and beautiful on the spot.
2. “Summertime,” John Coltrane (1960)
Same song, different world. John Coltrane (on tenor saxophone) takes a completely different approach to Gershwin’s tune. It’s hard-driving, searching, daring, and full of the master’s breathtaking mastery of harmony. It’s still summertime, but Coltrane’s is more of a long, hot summer than Bechet’s vision of dandelions and quiet breezes.
3. “Summer Song,” Yusef Lateef (1960)
Here’s the multi-instrumentalist and world music innovator Yusef Lateef on flute, fronting an intriguing ensemble that includes trombone, baritone sax, and bassoon. In stark contrast to Coltrane’s off-the-cuff harmonic explorations and daring-young-man-on-a-flying-trapeze workout of Gershwin’s original tune, this original Lateef composition appears to have been entirely composed beforehand with skillful interaction between the various instruments that combines the inviting precision of European chamber music with the rhythmic innovations of the New World.
4. “Pensativa,” Freddie Hubbard with Lee Morgan and James Spaulding (1965)
It’s summer. Get up and dance! Here are two of the stellar trumpeters of jazz’s last heyday in the 1960s, getting folks all jazzed up at New York’s Club La Marchal with a twenty-minute-plus workout of the bossa nova “Pensativa.” Hubbard starts off doing his best Harmon-muted Miles Davis impersonation, playing it cooler than cool. Then enter the tragic Morgan (who was shot dead by an ex-girlfriend between sets in February 1972), unmuted and hotter than hot.
As spectacular as both solos are, however, the sparks start really flying when the two trumpeters, both unmuted, start trading phrases in a classic cutting contest. Who comes out on top? Maybe Spaulding, the criminally underrated reedman whose turn on flute toward the end of this monster track, along with Hubbard on muted trumpet again, brings it in for a landing. This track shows off how much sheer fun jazz can be, and how musical and harmonic inventiveness need not be the province of experimental musicians with audiences of fifteen (some of whom are great anyway) but can be as engaging as music can ever be.
5. “The Girl From Ipanema,” Anthony Braxton (2003)
Sure, you’ve heard “The Girl From Ipanema,” but you haven’t heard it like this. This is another saxophone/guitar combo, like Sidney Bechet’s above, but Anthony Braxton, the master composer of the avant-garde and a courageous and innovative thinker, is aware of all the harmonic innovations and emotional explorations that jazz masters have taken since Bechet’s day, and his playing (on sopranino saxophone here) shows it. Braxton cheerfully states the melody of this classic tune but quickly begins to deconstruct both the melody and the rhythm, taking it to places that are clearly related to the song, but not in ways that anyone has ever imagined before.
Related: Giant of Avant-Garde Music Says: ‘If We Lose America, Shame on Us’
For decades now, Anthony Braxton has worked the outer edge of musical exploration. Much of his music is challenging, as it is simply not like anything you or anyone else has heard before. Almost all of it, however, is rewarding for those who are willing to set aside their prejudices and preconceptions and listen carefully to what the man is doing. This astonishingly inventive workout of a familiar tune is an excellent place to start. It’s like riding a rollercoaster; relax and enjoy the adventure. Brax brings it all back home soon enough.
That’s what listening to all good jazz is like. At its best, it’s not the music of the familiar, and that’s what makes it so interesting. This summer, give these five remarkable recordings a spin, and see where they lead you to next. You won’t regret it.
