Fall Sip & Swing Compilation

Dear All About Jazzers,

Welcome back to your quarterly wine and song pairing, Jazz & Juice, where we all get to enjoy loitering at the intersection of wine and song.

This is a collection of my favorite pairings from the past months—if you'd like to keep pace with me and the pairings this fall (and hear more about what I'm up to in both spheres), consider this your invitation to join your fellow Jazz & Juicers at my newsletter here.

Let's get to it!

Good Questions

Juice

When I bought my first bottle of this 2023 trousseau gris from Two Shepherds of the Russian River Valley, I thought I purchased an enticing domestic rosé that promised intrigue (and delivered). Then I bought a second bottle. And this time I wasn't sure exactly what I was buying: Was it even a rosé? An orange wine? Does it matter? Why are we categorizing wine by color anymore anyway?

These questions are fun to ask and more fun to ignore when what you're sipping is so good. The wine is made of a grape that's usually only found in the Jura region of France—and here is the only example of a dedicated planting of the grape from California. They call it a grey skinned grape (hence the "gris"), which denotes its dark but not quite red hue. All gris grapes, given enough time on the skins, will lend some color. While this is more pink in hue than skin-contact pinot gris/grigios I've seen, it's the same idea.

The ambiguity of the wine's color and the spectrum of character and taste make it paradoxically refreshing and rich; watermelon and pink grapefruit flavors both bring depth and zest. The ending texture speaks of the grape's skins and sounds a lasting final note. A delicious wine that keeps me asking questions is one I'll continue to come back to...(if I can find it —the wines this installment are a lot harder to find than the music will be!)

Jazz

Rahsaan Roland Kirk is one of the greatest musicians in any genre, yet is an oft-overlooked name in most people's lists of legends. His contributions go well beyond his unique talents as a mulit-instrumentalist: but let's just say he made new recipes for the art form and was his own rare ingredient.

His tune "No Tonic Press" from Rip, Rig and Panic (Limelight, 1965) brings pure pleasure by way of some opening tonal ambiguity, freewheeling solos, and stylistic contrasts. Jaki Byard's stride piano solo is simultaneously anachronistic and a breath of fresh air. When Kirk plays two horns at the same time coming out of the piano solo, it adds to the idiosyncrasy, swing, and fun of the whole track.

On a cut of this caliber, moments of wonder are directly followed by questions about what/how/why everything is happening. The best part is, the music is its own answer.

Fresh Echos

Juice

When I sat with a friend 'al sidewalk' at the wine bar, I was hoping for inspiration when my first glass of white arrived.

I was happy to find what I ordered tasted much like the white Burgundies I covet but don't drink as much now that I'm not poppin' bottles on a restaurant floor. The redolent golden color, the hint of vanilla bean from French oak, the weight on the palate and fresh golden delicious apple fruit —it was all there.

And while the Colvert R/C Blanc 2023 reminded me of chardonnay from rarefied soils, it was something more interesting than an echo of another region's style. This wine is made from vermentino (or rolle, as they call it) from Aix-en-Provence, one of the rare whites in a zone awash in pink rosé. It's a wine with its own fresh, easy-breezy expression that speaks to the seaside terroir, while nodding to the gravity of tradition from Burgundy—without ever getting weighed down by it.

Jazz

The young singer Tyreek McDole receives both the greatest compliment and what also might be something of a burden—everyone agrees he sounds just like Johnny Hartman. And, in fact, I met him first singing a Hartman/Coltrane tribute concert, and well, he's the only guy for that gig. His depth of sound is so impressive and warm, and his sense of the music so attuned to that of the master to whom he is compared, that he could just follow in those giant footsteps and be celebrated, well-deservedly so.

Yet, while he vibrates on Hartman's wavelength, he's his own artist—which is why I chose his original tune "Precious Energy/The Sun Song" from Open Up Your Senses (Artworks Records, 2025) to feature. His tone is effortless and breezy, as are the lyrics and ensemble. For an artist whose calling card is low notes and a voice that lends itself to gravitas, it's pretty cool that this relaxed groove in his mid-range has won him a big number of listeners.

I can't think of a track to more gently embrace the day, the sunshine, and even oneself.

Joyful Renegades

Juice

When I see a label, emblazoned with neon, expletives, and a rounded sans serif font, I often expect a wine that's a little rough hewn, on the fringes of the expected, and perhaps only appealing to a narrow audience.

Fabien Jouves' "You F&@k My Wine?!" 2024, from the Southwest of France, is a blend of jurançon noir (which I didn't realize existed) and merlot, and is named after a quote from "Raging Bull." To follow tradition, winemakers aren't supposed to bottle anything but Malbec as a red in order to boast being from this region. But Jouves loves it, and I'm glad he brought his renegade spirit to this bottle.

For all its brash story and presentation, the wine is an utter delight, made with minimal intervention yet still having plenty of polish. It might be outside the geographical wine rules, but perhaps its sheer enjoyability is the biggest middle finger to the law of all.

It's vibrant violet in the glass—ripe, even candied strawberry and pomegranate fruit promises on the nose, and then delivers on the palate. The wine is lively, juicy and perked with a briney black olive and oregano savory aspect, with just a splash of tannin. At 11.5% ABV it qualifies as very 'crushable' but has sophistication beyond expectation.

Jazz

Today, the name of Ornette Coleman is synonymous with the avant-garde, and when he came out with the album titled Change of the Century (Atlantic, 1960) it was a swaggering proclamation that something new and essential was happening to jazz.

His oeuvre has the imagination, innovation, and idiosyncrasy to back those big words—but all that significance can sometimes belie unmitigated joy. And, in this case, it does.

"Ramblin,'" the lead tune on the record, is bluesy, quirky; it bounces and swings. Ornette's clarion sound and garnishing growls carry the tune through—I particularly like the tangy bass solo by Charlie Haden, bringing a piquancy and pop to the proceedings that ultimately begs to be listened to again and again.

Sometimes, revolution is heralded by way of pleasure.

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Let me know if you take any of these for a sip or a spin —see you here for a holiday-time round-up, or sooner here! Cheers!

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