Right—the holidays are over, the Christmas tree is fuel for the fire, and the worst of the NYE champagne bottle shards have been swept up; it's time to get serious. As in, resolutions.

Over the past few months I've been trying to listen to more jazz. I can't quite remember what started this whole project, but now I won't rest until I've achieved my own transcendental jazz trance.

As it so happens, while checking out the local flea market recently I chanced upon some very relevant box sets, comprising some fifty classic jazz albums.

So here's the plan: at one album per week, that gives me about a year of autodidactic jazz education, plus a buffer at the end for some self-reflection. I don't have a textbook or any other proper guide; I'm just going to listen to the albums, binge some Wikipedia pages, and see where that gets me in a year.

Fair warning: this post is just going to be me brain-dumping my uneducated, undiscerning thoughts on these albums. I don't imagine it will be entertaining or useful in any way for literally anybody else, but hey, you're the one reading it.

Week 1: Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy

Not really knowing anything about these box sets in advance, I embarked on this project with some trepidation that I had signed myself up for fifty weeks of crap. By the end of this album's first track, I was a believer.

The top-notch musicianship and Satchmo's¹ trademark gravelly crooning are already reason enough to listen, but I can't emphasize enough how much fun this album is: the frequent banter between Louis and Velma Middleton is charming, and the whole thing is joyous and downright raucous throughout. I mean, just listen to this laugh:

One thing I don't understand: W. C. Handy was the "Father of the Blues," and most of the songs here have "blues" in the title—obviously there's lots of shared heritage between jazz and blues, but where exactly does that dividing line lie? And what is this exactly?

Favourite track: St. Louis Blues

Week 2: Sarah Vaughan in Hi‐Fi

This one is a slower burn for me: obviously Sarah Vaughan is an incredibly talented vocalist, but this doesn't quite get my blood pumping like the last album; sometimes her melodies go a little too all over the place for my taste. That said, I'd gladly put this on for a nice romantic dinner (skip "Mean to Me" in that case, though).

Also, apparently Miles Davis is playing the trumpet for most of these tracks? We'll get back to him soon enough…

Favourite track: Nice Work If You Can Get It