Rudy Browne

I love jazz because...it is the purest American art form. It is subjective & complex.As with all art, what one gleans from it is in direct propotion to what one brings to it. I was first exposed to jazz when I heard Lionel Hampton's recording of "Midnight Sun." I met Chet Baker on a Sausalito rooftop; he was playing "My Funny Valentine. He was a bit red-eyed & gave me two passes to his Bay Area gig. The best show I ever attended was a Miles Davis quintet w/John Coltrane at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco in the mid 50s. The first jazz record I bought was "Sketches of Spain." My advice to new listeners. Listen & attempt to unravel a minute particle of its complexity & listen again, rewards abound & further revisits filled with delightful surprises. Or whatever else you have in mind. To quote Ahmad Alaadeen: Jazz does not belong to one race or one culture, but is a gift that America has given to the world.