I Think I Just Discovered My Favourite Jazz Album.

If you follow my blog or know me personally, you'll know that while I like jazz, I don't really know anything about it. Yes, I have my share of Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus, Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson albums (with a particular affinity for Herbie Hancock), but I really can't tell someone what "good" or "bad" jazz are - what makes a particular jazz piece "brilliant."

I can, however, tell you what jazz sounds best to me, and that jazz is Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' 1958 album Moanin' (Blue Note Records). I don't know where Moanin' ranks in importance or acclaim in jazz history; I don't even know where Moanin' ranks in Art's discography, but I know where the album ranks with me, and that's all that personally matters. Here's the album's self-titled cut: