A lot of these songs are very whimsical like

Take 5 is sum special

Dave Brubeck - Time Out (59)

Honestly, prior to this album I wasn't really familiar with who Dave Brubeck was, but just saw that this was a pretty highly rated jazz album and added it to my list. And man I'm glad I did because this album was special top to bottom. It was like one big adventure, with so many twists and turns involved that always kept you on your toes.

There's many things going for this album, but probably the most notable aspect being how it plays with time signatures other than the 4/4 time. Ngl, this threw me off my first couple of listens, especially the intro, which immediately grabs your attention and lets you know exactly what type of time they're going to be for the duration of the project. I lowkey laugh when I first heard it, due to my association with the melody to that Nas song but yeah this piece is really dope.

I said it earlier, but this album gives off this whimsical or cartoonish feel to it. Probably due to just how playful the musicians were being with the creation of these songs, switching in and out of time signatures, which is only emphasized by the chemistry amongst all the players. I didn't even notice till I saw a vid about it, but the drums really kept everything together that allowed for the others to build off. Despite all the experimenting going on here, the album in general is pretty easy to listen to passively. They were able to accomplished a nice balance of the two. I will say the album loses a lot of it's gas towards the end, to the point the bonus tracks were far better imo

Favorite Tracks: Blue Rondo, Take Five
Least Favorite: Pick Up Sticks

This album lowkey a tough listen

Ornette Coleman - The Shape Of Jazz To Come (59)

So, this one was kinda a tough listen. At least at first, I just found it difficult to get into the groove of the tracks, just found a lot of the music very awkward and disjointed. I felt this way for several reasons. The main one being that there literally is no piano or any type of keys or guitar playing the main melody or any chords. So it was just a sax, clarinet, drums, and bass I believe. This lead to a lot of interesting or off putting moments.

It fr felt like the tracks were empty which is actually a pretty dope concept when you think about it and pretty unique, definitely haven't heard any jazz like this. But since I was so accustomed to jazz with like pianos or guitars, this threw me all the way off and took me a minute to get used to it, but when I did I could see what they were going for, but I would be lying if I said I saw the full picture.

For the moments that I thought were pretty cool where like in the intro the way that sax was being played with no chords from the piano or anything, instantly created this very eerie and ghostly atmosphere and the tone of the sax was like piercing. The sax is played similar with that same tone in Eventually to the point the sax sounded like it was a person laughing hysterically.

I think the album really puts you on edge while you're listening it, but sometimes it can feel like a drag. I think if shorter, I might have enjoyed it more.

Favorite Tracks: Lonely Woman, Eventually
Least Favorite: Peace

Blue in green is majestic

The start of Flamenco sketches

The album is a very easy listen, I think I played it like 12 times front to back already lol

Bill evans piano throughout this

still need to do the review, along with the other albums I listened to since this one

I'm rooting for you

Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue (59)

I spent a very long time with this album, it wasn't intended to be that way, just kind of got busy and instead of starting a new album, I just kept replaying this one. Before I even listen to this album, I had hella expectations because ofc its Kind Of Blue. I lowkey think that originally f***ed up my perception of the music when I first heard it. Although it was good, it didn't stick with me as anything crazy or special compared to other albums I heard, even other Miles albums. It's mostly cool jazz without the multiple change in pace in the songs. But with repeated listens, this same critique I had originally actually turned out to be this album's greatest strength, it's accessible, like its a veryyyy easy listen. Like I see why people recommend it as a beginner jazz album now.

Instead of all the complicated and complex chord changes, miles opts for modal interchange. I'm not too knowledgeable about the theory, but on here it helped create a far more ambient, rich and textured atmosphere. A song like flamenco sketches sounds especially free and lavish. This album employs the work of an all star class, I'm not familiar with Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb but I am with the rest, Miles, Coltrane, Cannonball, and Bill. They have all made great work with each other and without. I say that to say, the hit another level with this one and that everyone was perfectly tuned in to each other.

The album opens up with So What, this song here is amazing, just from the simple loop build. There's a lot of space and freeness that just erupts into the sax solos, s*** is just crazy. Despite it being my 2nd favorite on here, this song took especially long to grow on me, I guess because of how simple it was, it didn't really grab my attention like that. But over time, that simple intro really gets stuck in your head.

A song like Blues in Green for example invokes this very specific feeling. Blues in Green is the highlight of the album for me, Bill Evan's opening note on the piano instantly transports you .to this gloomy and tense world. Fitting with the title of the album, this album really has this melancholic undertone that is really expressed with this song, it's kind of hard to put it into words, but I feel like anyone who heard it knows what I mean. Similar feeling to Goodbye Porkpie Hat. But to top it all off, the sax solo is heavenly on here honestly easily probably top 3 songs I heard in this series.

The low points on here, would probably be Freddie Freeloader and All Blues, I'm not too sure if these songs utilize modal interchange like the other songs, but either way, it more or less reminded me of more traditional jazz songs I heard so far. They're pretty good tho, but they're right next to some really amazing songs, that they aren't really up to par like that.

Overall, this album did live up to expectations, which is surprising. I was legit playing this album like crazy back to back. I never played an album from this series the way I did this one. Like I said, the thing I originally thought was a fault was actually this album's greatest strength. Just how melodic and accessible it is, but at the same time it isn't anything surface level, you can tell there was some elite craftmanship with this one.

Favorite Tracks: Blue In Green, So What, Flamenco Sketches
Least Favorite: Freddie Freeloader

Had to go back to 58, forgot this album

Damn this not on streaming

Sam Cooke - Sam Cooke (58)

Think I said this for all the rnb albums I listened to for this series, but it's honestly amazing how great their vocals sound with very little processing. The comparison between then and now is pretty wild. That highlight of this album is Sam cooke's vocal performance on all these songs being pretty great. He can go from soulful crooning like on songs like on Tammy to very energetic performances like on the intro and ol' man river. Also the addition of harmonies throughout really adds a nice touch, feel like there's hasn't really been much harmonies in the albums in this series so far. The album does suffer from some of the same issues other albums in this series have, which is the song selection kinda being bloated not in the sense that's it's overly long, but songs that don't really add to the overall body of the work. This can kinda drag this album out, but the highlights of this one are really nice.

Favorite Tracks: So Long, Tammy
Least Favorite: Canadian Sunset

Yeah the sax solos on this are crazy

Dizzy Gillespie - Sonny Side Up (59)

,My second, Dizzy album, and this one was even better than the first one. The album starts out with a really nice rendition of On the sunny side, with beautiful horn all throughout, even featured some singing which I was not expecting. The horn playing, but most specifically the sax is incredible on there. All the fast changes in melody and rhythm on here really draws you in and keeps your attention. The trumpet was great, but both sax players Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt were going crazy. This all comes together for the second track, Eternal Triangle, where it was like all 3 of the horn players were duking it out and competing to see who can have a best solos, song never lets up in the 14 minute duration of it, very intense song. Honestly a great album that is only 4 songs that all pack a punch to various degrees.

Favorite Tracks: On The Sunny Side Of The Street, Eternal Triangle
Least Favorite: After Hours

"Since you been gone, I drink and gamble every night"

James Brown - Please Please Please (59)

Overall this was decent. James brown has great presence on these tracks. The energy he brings with his singing and inflections kinda reminds me of Little Richard at times. Both are really emotive and ear capturing. This album is actually compilation of some of his songs, so it wasn't really an album experience, but the same could be said for most 50's rnb or rock albums, and just like other albums in this series I reviewed, it suffers because of it in terms of being completely engaging. The album ranges from smooth soul at times to very loud and energetic rock, but for the most part, I think the soul songs were a tad better.

Favorite Tracks: Please, Please, Please, Just Won't Do Right
Least Favorite: Chonnie-On-Chon

RECAP (50's):

Honestly this decade surprised me more than I thought. Out of all the decades I'm the most unfamiliar with music from the 50's. For the most part I expected this decade to be filled with extremely tough listens, just cause of the disconnect and how far it is from modern music. Not to say there weren't tough listens, but there were definitely a lot more enjoyable listens that I originally thought. I spent roughly a year and a half going through this portion. Since I spent a lot of time re-listening to albums before I moved on, because the adjustment period was definitely needed after primarily listen to music 90's onwards. Hopefully I can go through the 60's a lot quicker though. One of the best part of this series, besides listening to music that I thought I would never cross off my list, is discovering samples. There has been a ton of songs from here that I instantly recognize as being a sample from a song.

FAVORITE GENRE (50's):

Jazz

No particular order for the following

TOP 5 ARTISTS (50's):

Charles Mingus

Miles Davis

Billie Holiday

Frank Sinatra

Ray Charles

TOP 10 ALBUMS (50's)

Charles Mingus – Ah Um (59)

Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue (59)

The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out (59)

Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin (58)

Ray Charles – The Genius Of Ray Charles (59)

Frank Sinatra - In the wee small hours (55)

Cannonball Adderley – Somethin Else (58)

Miles Davis – Milestones (58)

Art Blakey – Moanin (59)

Ella and Louis – Ella and Louis (56)

HM ALBUMS (50's):

Charles Mingus – The Clown (57)

Lee Morgan - The Cooker (58)

Billie Holiday - Songs For Distingué Lovers (57)

Frank Sinatra - Sings for only the lonely (58)

Nina Simone – Little Girl Blue (59)

Harry Belafonte – Belafonte (56)

Chuck Berry - After school session (57)

Chet Baker – Chet Baker (54)

TOP 25 SONGS (50's):

Miles Davis – Blue In Green (59)

Charles Mingus – Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (59)

Ray Charles - Come Rain Or Come Shine (59)

The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Take Five (59)

Frank Sinatra - One For My Baby (58)

Ella and Louis – April In Paris (56)

Elvis Presley - Blue Moon (56)

The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Blue Rondo a la Turk (59)

Charles Mingus – Better Get Hit In Your Soul (59)

Ray Charles - Tell Me You'll Wait For Me (59)

Miles Davis – Flamenco Sketches (59)

Miles Davis – So What (59)

Charles Mingus - Reincarnation of a Lovebird (57)

Billie Holiday - For Heaven's Sake (58)

Miles Davis – Dr Jackle (58)

Kenny Dorham – Venita's Dance (55)

Miles Davis – Billy Boy (58)

The Drifters – I Make Believe (56)

Gloria Lynne - Without a Song (58)

Lee Morgan - A Night in Tunisia (58)

Art Blakey - The Drum Thunder Suite (59)

The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You (59)

Little Richard - Tutti Frutti (57)

Bill Evans Trio - Peace Piece (59)

Nina Simone - You'll Never Walk Alone (59)

HM Songs (50's):

Chet Baker - The Thrill Is Gone (54)

Duke Ellington - Solitude (51)

Charles Mingus – Self-Portrait In Three Colours (59)

Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit (56)

Ray Charles - Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin (59)

Frank Sinatra - Ill Wind (55)

Billie Holiday - I Didn't Know What Time It Was (57)

Billie Holiday - The End Of a Love Affair (58)

The Drifters – Without Love (There's Nothing) (56)

Chet Baker - Alone Together (54)

Charles Mingus – The Clown (57)

Chuck Berry - Browned Eye Handsome Man (57)

Harry Belafonte - Take My Mother Home (56)

Ornette Coleman - Lonely Woman (59)

Nat King Cole – Blame It On My Youth (57)

The full list for the 50's

1. Charlie Parker - Charlie Parker with strings (50)
2. Duke Ellington - Masterpieces (51)
3. Duke Ellington - Ellington uptown (53)
4. Duke Ellington - Ellington at Newport (56)
5. Duke Ellington - Such sweet thunder 1-12 (57)
6. Miles Davis – Blue Haze (54)
7. Miles Davis – Round about midnight (57)
8. Miles Davis – Milestones (58)
9. Miles Davis – Porgy and bess (59)
10. Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue (59)
11. Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings (54)
12. Chet Baker - Chet (59)
13. Clifford Brown - Clifford brown and max roach (54)
14. Clifford Brown - Clifford brown with strings (55)
15. Clifford Brown - Study in brown (55)
16. Louis Armstrong - Satch plays fat (55)
17. Frank Sinatra - In the wee small hours (55)
18. Frank Sinatra - Songs for swingin love (56)
19. Frank Sinatra - Come fly with me (58)
20. Frank Sinatra - Sings for only the lonely (58)
21. Kenny Dorham – Afro-Cuban (55)
22. Helen Merrill – Helen Merrill (55)
23. Sarah Vaughan - Sarah Vaughan (55)
24. Sarah Vaughan - In the land of hi fi (56)
25. Dinah Washington - For those in love (55)
26. Dinah Washington – Swingin Miss D (56)
27. Dinah Washington - What A Difference A Day Makes (59)
28. Julie London – Julie Is Her Name (55)
29. June Christy – Something Cool (55)
30. Elvis Presley – Elvis Presley (56)
31. Elvis Presley – Elvis (56)
32. Elvis Presley – Loving You (57)
33. Elvis Presley – King Creole (58)
34. Odetta - Sings Ballad and Blues (56)
35. Odetta – At The Gate Of Horn (57)
36. Harry Belafonte – Belafonte (56)
37. Harry Belafonte – Calypso (56)
38. Charles Mingus - Pithecanthropus erectus (56)
39. Charles Mingus – The Clown (57)
40. Charles Mingus – Ah Um (59)
41. Ella and Louis – Ella and Louis (56)
42. Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Sings The Cole Porter (56)
43. Billie Holiday - Lady Sings in Blues (56)
44. Billie Holiday - Songs For Distingué Lovers (57)
45. Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin (58)
46. The Drifters - Clyde Mcphatter And The Drifters (56)
47. Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Gospel Train (56)
48. Chuck Berry - After school session (57)
49. Chuck Berry - One dozen berry (58)
50. Chuck Berry - Berry is on top (59)
51. Little Richard - Here's Little Richard (57)
52. Little Richard - Little Richard (58)
53. Fats Domino – This Is Fats (57)
54. Buddy Holly – Chirping Crickets (57)
55. Buddy Holly – Buddy Holly (58)
56. Ricky Nelson – Ricky (57)
57. Thelonious Monk – Brillant Corners (57)
58. Thelonious Monk – Monk’s Music (57)
59. Nat King Cole – Love Is The Thing (57)
60. Nat King Cole – After Midnight (57)
61. Nat King Cole – Just One Of Those Things (57)
62. Ray Charles – Ray Charles (57)
63. Ray Charles – The Genius Of Ray Charles (59)
64. Elizabeth Cotton - Folk songs and instrumentals (58)
65. John Coltrane – Blue Train (58)
66. Cannonball Adderley – Somethin Else (58)
67. Cannonball Adderley – Cannonball Adderlay Quintet in Chicago (59)
68. Lee Morgan – The Cooker (58)
69. Count Basie – Atomic Mr. Basie (58)
70. Dizzy Gillespie – For Musicians Only (58)
71. Gloria Lynne – Miss Gloria Lynne (58)
72. Mahalia Jackson – Live At Newport (58)
73. Bo Diddley - Go Bo Diddley (59)
74. Jimmy Smith – The Sermon (59)
75. Art Blakey – Moanin (59)
76. Bill Evans Trio – Everybody Digs Bill Evans (59)
77. The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out (59)
78. Nina Simone – Little Girl Blue (59)
79. Sun Ra – Jazz In Silhouettee (59)
80. The Flamingos – Flamingo Serenade (59)
81. The Moonglow – Look It’s The Moonglows (59)
82. Dizzy Gillespie – Sonny Side Up (59)
83. Sam Cooke – Sam Cooke (58)
84. James Brown – Please Please Please(59)
85. Johnny Cash - With His Hot and Blue Guitar (57)
86. Ray Charles - Yes Indeed! (58)

just dropped it

this is dope op