By Benji Powling
As a fan of and student of jazz music, I often find myself in situations where I am reluctant to disclose these pieces of information about myself. There have been countless occasions where upon meeting new people I have found myself answering the question ‘And what do you study?’ with the word ‘music’ rather than using the dreaded J-word, or occasionally, when I’m feeling particularly inventive, I steer clear of it altogether and opt for safer territory such as ‘history of art’ or ‘golf course management’.
However, the times when my ploys do not work and my cover is blown I can usually rely on my other musical tastes to continue side-stepping jazz, therefore not alienating myself from society. Like most jazz fans my musical horizons are quite broad, and I can usually lean on these other musical options when required to pick a record to be played in a social situation. However, perhaps there is a time when we need to take a stand and begin to push a few jazz records into the public eye. So, in order to begin this mission, I present a selection of the jazz(ish) records which I have begun to sneak into parties and gatherings around Leeds. Obviously, there are many Blue Note classics and various other jazz records that are more than palatable for someone new to the music, but they have all been written about before, so I have decided to write about a few albums that don’t get much air-time.
