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Wallace Schultz

About Me

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because it makes me think and feel without repetitive formulas to hypnotize me into a state of bland placation or mindless hyper-stimulation, yet I can still get into a groove when I want to. I was first exposed to jazz by listening to John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." The first jazz record I bought was either an Impulse avant-garde anthology, "Kind of Blue," or Metheny's "Watercolors." My advice to new listeners is relax and enjoy yourself. I love bands like The Bad Plus, Neil Cowley, Nik Bartsch and other edgy smart eclectic musicians who are always exploring rather than pandering, but I also really enjoy Charlie Hunter, John Scofield, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter, etc. for the way they incorporate funk, soul, and rhythm into the mix. And then there's Oregon and Art Lande and Joni Mitchell and the Beatles and Stravinsky and Bill Frisell and all kinds of stuff I'm not remembering right now. It's important to keep your ears open in all directions.