BAGEL BYTES: TOP 20 ALBUMS part 1

I was tagged in that old Facebook challenge that’s spamming up everyone’s feeds: “Post 20 albums in 20 days that are important to you. One album a day without an explanation.”

I like music very much and I have no job right now, so okay I’ll bite. But! Instead of posting a different album a day, I’m going to feature a few of my favorite albums a week on this blog, stretched over a long-ass period of time until I get to my ABSOLUTE top 5. And, instead of just posting the album cover without an explanation, I’m going to ramble on and on about how much I love the mentioned albums at length. Don’t worry.

TL;DR, I’m going to talk about my top 20 favorite albums on my own time and ignore all those Facebook challenge rules because I’M MY OWN PERSON, ZUCKERBERG!!!!

All right now that I’ve got that out of the way. In no particular order (besides alphabetical), here are four of my favorite albums! Ahmad Jamal - At the Pershing: But Not For Me (1958)

There’s something about live-recorded jazz trios that transport you to a different place, whether that be another time, or country, or just another demeanor. This album feels so classic and warm. Ahmad Jamal is one of my favorite jazz pianists because of his dedication to melodic and no-bullshit playing. With Israel Crosby on bass and Vernel Fournier on drums, this trio just feels so niiiice and swings in all the right ways. Not to mention, the programming and arrangements are simple, while being extremely thoughtful and memorable. The understated and concise musicality of this trio really stuck with me and helped me relax while I was surrounded by the blisteringly fast bebop tempos and never-ending tenor saxophone battles that are unavoidable in this weird thing we call jazz school. The smooth and slinky qualities of “But Not For Me,” “Poinciana,” and “There is No Greater Love” in particular will always be some of my most favorite jazz recordings to go back to when I wanna go on a feel-good walk or make myself a fancy meal at home. This timeless album provides a beautiful sense of company that I am just very grateful for! Thank you for that, Mr. Jamal!!!

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Becca Stevens Band - Perfect Animal - 2015

Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Becca Stevens has written some of the most beautifully intricate songs ever and that’s just a fact. In her first two records, “Two Bye Sea” and “Weightless”, she made use of a unique acoustic instrumentation including mandolins, charango (a small Andean/Appalachian guitar that looks similar to a ukulele), and accordions to create a sound that infuses jazz, Americana, classical music, and math-rock into some configuration that just fuckin works. Don’t ask why, it just does, and it’s beautiful. Her third album, “Perfect Animal,” is my favorite of hers because it takes everything that made her other songs impeccable, and added some simple yet effective production to create heavier and more industrial dimensions to her songs without adding excessive density.

While her two latest releases have veered into more experimentation with electronic production, I feel like “Perfect Animal” is produced in a way that is perfectly balanced with her harmonically rich and lyrically dense songs. “Be Still,” “Reminder,” and “Imperfect Animals” are always going to be on my very specific and exclusive list of unconventional freak-dance songs. Her beautifully abrasive harmonic choices and emphatic vocal delivery have definitely influenced my songwriting and musical development immensely. Love love love this album with my most inner musical fibers.

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Eastman Wind Ensemble, Live in Osaka (1992)

Under direction of Donald Hunsberger

What can I say. My basic-bitch wind ensemble roots run deep through me to this day, and I’m not afraid to admit it. This album is packed with all the classic wind band repertoire that I dreamed of playing in high school band, including Holst’s majestic “1st Suite for Military Band in Eb Major,” the raucous “Country Band March” by Charles Ives, and Shostakovich’s spritely and fanfaric “Festive Overture.” But most importantly, and really the only reason this album is on my list of favorites, is the rendition of my favorite piece in all of instrumental music: Percy Grainger’s “Lincolnshire Posy.”

I don’t know for sure because I’m not as involved in the wind ensemble/ classical music-sphere, but I’m pretty sure that naming a Grainger piece as your all time favorite classical piece is the jazz equivalent of saying your favorite jazz song is “Girl from Ipanema.” And who the hell cares. We’ve already established that I’m a basic bitch and we’re going with it.

Australian composer Percy Grainger’s “Lincolnshire Posy” is a short six-movement piece that is based off of old English folk songs that he collected during a trip to Lincolnshire in 1906, 20 years prior to the premier of the piece.

Grainger stated that “each number is intended to be a kind of musical portrait of the singer who sang its underlying melody—a musical portrait of the singer’s personality no less than of his habits of song—his regular or irregular interpretation of the rhythm, his preference for gaunt or ornately arabesqued delivery, his contrasts of legato and staccato, his tendency towards breadth or delicacy of tone.”

I love this piece so much because it combines beautiful and consonant hymn-like melodies with all these rich layers of dissonance, unpredictable meter changes, and unexpected textures in a way that never seems geometric and sterile. To me, it’s such a gorgeously singable piece, regardless of all of the harmonic crunchiness and metric twists and turns. It’s so melodic and stretches time in the most musical of ways.

On a broader note, there’s just something about the rich colors of a wind ensemble that I love even more than a full symphony orchestra. Honestly it all comes back to the fact that I am the biggest sucker for bass clarinet, which is an instrument that is rarely used in orchestral works. That low girthy woodwind sound just adds so much warmth and depth that makes me all ooey gooey and I can’t explain it!! I petition for all songs ever to include bass clarinet!! I want to smother myself in all the earthy tooones.

Anyways. When you inevitably wake up one day and say to yourself, “Hey I wanna explore the world of classic western Wind Band repertoire from the early 20th century,” give this beautiful live recording a go and bathe yourself in some of that good ol “Lincolnshire Posy.”

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Emily King SCENERY 2019

Guys guys guys it’s Emily King time!!! I’m always so excited for Emily King time. I’ve been obsessed with her hushed Prince-like rhythmic intensity and acoustic R&B bops since she released “The Switch” in 2015. Her 2019 release “Scenery” has all of the groovy and gorgeous elements from “The Switch” and then some! The instrumentation and production is so creative and lush, and I feel like her concise and sometimes cheeky lyrics pack even more of a punch this time around. I also love the instrumental arrangements and interludes; I feel like they elevate the album both from a musical and story-telling standpoint. Just genius songwriting and production all around. There is something almost child-like and nurturing about many of her melodies and chord progressions that hit me hard, specifically in “Teach You” and the pre-chorus of “Can’t Hold Me.” The light mallet percussion, tabla, and warm woodwinds and synth sounds definitely add to that child-like sense of wonder.

“Look At Me Now” is one of those empowering “I don’t need you anymore songs” that makes me wanna step out on the street and go fuck shit up and lift my arms with an annoying sense of confidence like I’m in a 2014 women’s deodorant commercial. This is more of a standard pop-R&B jam but with a beautifully topsy-turvy piano interlude with a classic Bohemian Rhapsody-evoking guitar solo and angelic chorus of Emily Kings. Plus the groove LOCKS. Cue all the stank face and weird shoulder gyrations!!

“Forgiveness” might be my favorite song on this album. Actually I can’t decide it’s too damn hard but idk it cuts deep. The stripped down verses are so hushed and intense that I feel entranced and like I can’t move and don’t want to because like Emily King is singing to me right now so why would I want to do anything else??? Then the chorus introduces gorgeous gospel-like harmonies and beautiful overlapping countermelodies in the synth and guitar that coalesce into the most euphoric moment of the record.

I can’t wait for this quarantine to be over so she can start touring again and I can spend my last dollars before we go into a huge economic depression on seeing her live.

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I’m excited to post the remainder of my top 20 favorite albums throughout the next couple months or so, while still keeping up with newer releases and bagel-related topics! I’ll be adding the albums to this Spotify playlist as we go in case you wanna follow along and surround yourself with some great music. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1wUQNIt58mWlrN1vQpfF0n?si=lYR8WmJ-S42ZV2etnqCIJQ

Okay I’m gonna go eat my second bagel of the day and revisit these beautiful shiny albums. Until next time!

Songs mentioned: Ahmad Jamal - "But Not For Me," "Poinciana," "There is No Greater Love"

Becca Stevens Band - "Be Still," "Reminder," "Imperfect Animals"

Eastman Wind Ensemble - “1st Suite for Military Band in Eb Major” by Holst, “Country Band March” by Ives, “Festive Overture" by Shostakovich, "LINCOLNSHIRE POSY!!!!!" by PERCY GRAINGER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Emily King - "Teach You," "Can't Hold Me," "Look at Me Now," "Forgiveness"