One of my personal favorite genres of music is jazz. One of my favorite things about jazz is how broad of a genre it is and how timeless it sounds. There are all kinds of jazz, including some that is upbeat that makes you want to dance. There is jazz that makes you want to sit alone in your room away from everyone. There is jazz that you can dissect and break down, along with jazz that is great just to put on in the background. In this article, I will be going over some of my favorite jazz albums that I often come back to, which include the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time Out, Sarah Vaughn’s self-titled album, João Gilberto and Stan Getz’ Getz/Gilberto.

Time Out, an album from 1959 by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, contains some of the best of Dave Brubeck Quartets’ work including such tracks as “Take Five,” “Blue Rondo à la Turk,” and “Kathy’s Waltz.” What I love about this album is how it can take me back in time. When I listen to this album, I can close my eyes and picture myself walking down into a smokey jazz club on a rainy night in New York City in the late 1950s, sitting down to enjoy some music to distract myself from life for a little while. You also cannot help but move along with the music by either tapping your feet or snapping your fingers–it is impossible. This is truly one of my favorite jazz records that I could not live without.

In Sarah Vaughn’s self-titled album from 1954 her vocals are remarkable, and she truly is one the most talented jazz vocalists that I have ever heard. Sarah Vaughn’s music is not so much music you tap your foot to or dance along with, but more of a slower, romantic style of music. It is an album that I can put on to relax and clear some stress off my mind. I have only known about this album and Sarah Vaughn as an artist for a little less than a year, but I wish I had found out about her earlier.

Lastly but certainly not least is Getz/Gilberto from 1964 by João Gilberto and Stan Getz. This album is a significant staple in the genre of jazz, more specifically the genre Bossa Nova, which comes from such genres as samba and jazz in Brazil in the late fifties/early sixties. This is an album I personally like to put on in the background when having a nice meal or wanting to add a level of elegance into the air. This is another one of those albums that take me back in time. I picture myself in a resort in Rio de Janeiro, sitting under the Brazilian sun before a evening of eating and laughing with friends. This is an album that I will only be listening to more as time goes on.