Three Jazz Tracks One Artist (LR)

The Listening Recommendation (LR) featured in this post is from Patricia Barber's 1994 album, Café Blue. I adore this album for its crisp sound quality and incredible musicianship.

The first track, "Inch Worm," features bongos and a drum kit for percussion, which produces a spacious sound that places tuneful drum strikes at the far ends of the soundstage. The stand-up bass and drums provide the foundation for Patricia's voice to shine with its own unique, soft, and soothing characteristics.

The second recommendation, titled "Too Rich For My Blood," offers more of the same, but the bass line is much deeper, which can really fill the room when played on the right speakers. This song builds to a climactic moment while Patricia skillfully holds falsettos for what seems like an impossibly long time, creating a somewhat angelic experience that is truly worth hearing on a high-fidelity sound system.

And finally, but definitely not least, is the second-to-last song on the album titled "Nardis". It's another one of those "wait for the experience" songs that takes a little while to get going. However, once you've made it halfway through, you'll be engaged with an energetic fusion of piano, bass, and cymbals that lead to one of the best drum solos that I know of. The song gets really intense and then suddenly stops with space and silence. After a few short seconds, when you think it's over, you hear light chimes from the cymbals and it all comes gently back in. It's such a fun song!

So there you have it. Some listening recommendations for your enjoyment on your own system.

Note: the recording is quite quiet, so be sure to turn your amplifier down before switching to another album.

Thanks for reading. Happy listening.