Maynard Ferguson - It's My Time: So Maynard Ferguson is known for being an expert trumpet player, and plays other brass instruments as well, so when I got this record, I was expecting more jazz with good solos. It turns out that Maynard Ferguson has two periods, the "bop" era which I am familiar, and then his "pop" era which this record covers. Which means that there are these elaborate pop compositions and every so often you hear a brass instrument solo. Sometimes it works very well, and other times it sounds like the equivalent of having some gaudy, off-putting plate-setting, and then a tiny piece of a medium-rare cooked steak in the middle. I grew to like it as it finished, but it isn't the best introduction to Maynard Ferguson, unless you really dig adult easy listening, then it is probably the best introduction you could have.
Wendy Carlos - Switched-On Bach: Switched-On Bach is one of my favorite albums of all time. The moog synthesizer with Bach's compositions feels as fresh and fun than as they did in the late 60's. Unfortunately, while it isn't hard to find a copy of this vinyl under $10, it is strangely (though maybe not that strange when you consider the music industry) not available on any music streaming services. It is a shame, because it is an amazing technical feat, and the original vinyl unintentionally dead-names Wendy Carlos, as it was made before they were open about their transition. I would love for this to re-released. Heck, I would probably re-buy the vinyl if there were any cool extra materials, but in the meantime, I will listen to this classic re-invention of classic music perfected.
Grand Award Dixieland Jazz - I put all my record collection in an app called Discogs, and for the most part, it seems to have all the vinyls one can buy, but for the life of me, I could not find this record in their database. I could find Will Bradley and Bobby Byne who play on it, but this specific record is nowhere to be seen. It seems to be a pretty decent selection of Dixieland Classics, but it is hard to really review with the idea that I don't even know if anyone else could even find it. If you happen to find this in some $1 bin somewhere, and you want some Dixieland Jazz, give it a whirl!
Piano Ragtime with the Phenomenal Dukes of Dixieland Vol. 11: Much easier to find, and with the 7 nerdy looking white dues in candy cane looking coats, it would be hard not to. My dad listens to so much Dixieland jazz that it is impossible for me to judge the music on any semblance of objectivity. It is the music that is painted all over my childhood, many car trips, and now my adulthood. Playing it just reminds me of my dad, which is something I need sometimes. I also appreciate it shouting out Buddy Bolden as this album could not exist without him. There is a sad irony about the back of the record sleeve calling him one of the "immortals" of jazz, without really going into how he apparently got diagnosed with schizophrenia and died in a mental institution. RIP to a legend.
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