Jazz & 2020

2020 is the first year in some time that I haven’t listed or described those jazz releases that got my attention. I was mostly looking back during 2020. Those jazz releases that I purchased during 2020 were released in previous years, such as Sonny Clark’s Cool Struttin’ and Shirley Scott’s One for Me. I also discovered some earlier releases by the Icelandic saxophonist Sigurdur Flosason, particularly his albums Nightfall and Daybreak.

Since I need time to absorb new music and to fully appreciate the nuances in any one album, I have been giving attention to music bought during previous years, such as Sunna Gunnlaugs’ Ancestry, Andy Sheppard’s Romaria, and Trygve Seim’s Helsinki Songs. I am still trying to gain an appreciation for Anouar Brahem’s Blue Maquams, which received high praise at AllAboutJazz and AllMusic. Brahem's earlier albums, such as The Astounding Eyes of Rita and Le pas du chat noir, are more to my liking. Within the car, I have been listening to Tomasz Stanko's Dark Eyes. 

I apologize for not being more active during 2020. I have recently replaced my thirty-year-old Pioneer speakers and the Onkyo amplifier that was giving me fits. I probably should have sold my CD player and graphic equalizer and relied solely on my computer speakers, but I fell victim to consumerism and bought a new set of speakers and a new amplifier. My wife says that I am still living in the ‘60s or ‘70s and that I believe that a component stereo system is a necessity. 

Although I bought the new set of speakers online from Crutchfield, I got the Yamaha amplifier from a local merchant in the Kansas City area. Connecting the CD player and equalizer to the new amplifier presented a number of problems, such as one speaker shorting out. I took the amplifier back to the merchant, believing that the amplifier was faulty, and had it examined. At first, when the technician heard what I was connecting to the amplifier, he said, "What's an equalizer? Nobody uses that anymore," he added. Eventually, I learned that my connections were causing the problems, with me, for example, connecting the equalizer to the input for a tuner. I have since managed to hook up the CD player correctly. I have connected the equalizer, too, but haven't been using it as of yet. Trying to link new technology with older technology was difficult for me. Researching the problem online provided solutions. It just took time.

Because I don't subscribe to such things as Spotify, Amazon Music Unlimited, or YouTube Music, I am not always acquainted with new music. As a wannabe minimalist, and as someone already burdened with more than six hundred CDs, I also don't buy music as often as I used to. Nonetheless, I will try to be aware of new music during the current year.