Last week's Song of the Week was a success! I didn't anticipate the large amount of views my blog post would receive. Views that I of course greatly appreciate. But with this week's song, I'm flipping the entire script with music that I greatly appreciate - jazz. This song this week comes from two artists I guarantee less then a handful of kids my age have ever heard of. By the way, the song is my favorite jazz composition ever. And that song is, "In a Sentimental Mood" by the greatest collaborative partners ever, Duke Ellington and John Coltrane.
"In a Sentimental Mood" (which was sampled in Mac Miller's "Diablo") could be chalked up as the epitome to why I love music, why I love sound. Though the original song was composed in 1935, and this version in 1962, way before my time, the music still speaks deeply to me. The keys on this song alone could be reason enough. The keys for me have so much mystery behind them, each time Ellington hits a key and the notes lightly whisper a tale of sorrow, it just makes me feel everything. The painfully truthful blows of John Coltrane's saxophone creates an ambiance I can't shake. They play together so subtly, both their sounds meld right into the other and swirl together in unison. I can hear all the pain, love, happy, sad, fun, and every other dark or light corner this song has with each note played. Every note has a back story and that's the most impressive thing about "In a Sentimental Mood". Every time I listen to it a new story unfolds. And I never know how it'll affect me. Sometimes this music has me envisioning the devil right on my heels as I'm running for my life. Or I'm sitting in a 20's-era jazz night club in an open room covered with admiral blue lighting. I sit there, in wait. Waiting for my Donyale Luna-esque women to step in the spot light and steal my gaze. Or maybe I get a feel of the black experience in their time compared to my own. Each and every experience is beautiful, elegant and important.
But, I don't want to get too deep into the music. I want you all to experience your own thing checking this classic out. "In a Sentimental Mood" is a lovely instrumentation that was orchestrated gorgeously. If Duke Ellington & John Coltrane were alive today, I wouldn't be able to thank them enough for this breathtaking piece of music they left behind. I wouldn't be able to thank them enough for being black excellence personified in changing the dynamic of jazz music individually and in its totality. "In a Sentimental Mood" and both of these incredible musicians are amazing. So, thank you, Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. Thank you for putting me in a sentimental mood along with you.
Indulge with "In a Sentimental Mood" & "Diablo" below.
Lead Photo Cred: amazon.com/rsi.ch
Video Cred: youtube.com
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