Hindsight Reviews

With “Jazz Happenings” being a new blog, I wanted to introduce a new concept to a blog covering Jazz: the “Hindsight Review”.

While not being born until the mid-1960's, the bulk of the most important Jazz albums ever recorded were recorded before my time. I am pre-dated by “Kind Of Blue”, “Giant Steps”, “Bird With Strings”, “Way Out West”, and MANY others. Though these classics are older than I am, it doesn't diminish the way that I enjoy them, much like they are enjoyed by many others who are even younger than I am.

In addition to discussing new releases, the idea is to talk about some albums that have been around awhile. Some will be a few years old, some nearly a century old, and everything in between. I hope to bring about awareness of some great music that may have escaped the notice of even the most ardent of Jazz fans. Let's face it: not everybody has heard every Jazz album ever released, right? To some of you, at times, you may benefit from hearing about a release that you want to check out.

The goal is to expose you, the listener, to some things that may be unfamiliar to you, whether you are too young to have heard them upon their original release or, through no fault of your own, the album discussed just “slipped through the cracks”, and you never heard it.

I also hope to add a different perspective to some of these recordings. As a Saxophonist/Composer/Arranger, I have had the benefit of hearing masters of their craft, play and write some music that has had a major impact on me. Most of the time, I learned by repeated listenings to an album, maybe a track, perhaps even a passage of a tune, all the while, many of these were known to the public before I was ever born. The world has changed a lot since many of the classics that I will discuss were released, even in the format by which I heard them the first time, the hundredth time, even the last time. It is with all of this in mind that I hope to share some thoughts on some great music, with the benefit of hindsight, as well as access to more information than generations before me ever enjoyed.

Generally speaking, while everybody has their favorite albums, Jazz fans are always looking for something new, but something new doesn't always mean “new release”. A lot of times it can mean “new to YOU”. It is with this in mind that I hope to share some music that deserves more public acclaim than has been accorded to many of these great performers.

Stay tuned for the first of what, hopefully, will be many “Hindsight Reviews”...

By Brent Vaughan