Majesty of the Blues

Back when I was a college radio DJ, I spent a lot of time listening to and playing Jazz. You might even say that I was earnest about it.

I owned Wynton Marsalis' 1989 album The Majesty of the Blues, another of his winning concept albums. It's pretty good, but the most distinctive thing about it is the track Premature Autopsies. It's a lecture written by Stanley Crouch about the mission of Jazz, and how rumors of its demise are exaggerated. The sermon is delivered as if in a church by one Jeremiah Wright (you might have heard of him).

Anyway, I've always liked this track, if only because it was so much different than anything else I had heard. I played it on the radio several times.

And then tonight, as I was jogging through Golden Gate park it came on. It's not running music, but I listened to it as I have never before. And I loved it.



Put it on in your headphones, don't do anything else and give it a listen or two.