Well jello again. It’s ME. Jack Benny. No but seriously, it has been a while since something new has appeared here. At the risk of once again making a promise I cannot keep, I’ll try and rectify the paltry production of posts. That rectification starts now with a post detailing things to come and a thing that already happened.

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Earlier this month, I had the privilege of writing an article for a religious periodical named Spectrum Magazine. Before you bemoan the lack of separation between church and site, dig this: My article was about jazz and the politics of who and what makes music sanctified. You can check it out here. Besides the subject matter, the article is particularly noteworthy because it’s my first paid writing job (you didn’t think I made money off of this humble blog, did you? I do this for free, gratis, nada. Not that I’m complaining). In addition to that (and arguably more importantly), my article made my mother a Bill Evans fan – a development I did not foresee.

As for the “things to come” part…

Recently, I had one of those experiences with record collecting that happens all too rarely. It was the type of experience that drives home the point of why I started seeking music out on unwieldy LPs, why I STILL seek out music on vinyl, and why it all matters to me.

I’ve met a lot of great people through the Instagram jazz collecting community over the years, including a special cadre of collectors that have become actual friends. Because of one of those special friends, I was recently able to add a cherished Lee Morgan album to my personal library. Cherished, because I had a personal connection to the music on the record, a connection that stemmed from my childhood. Listening to it, I thought about all the records I owned that I had sought out specifically because of that very connection. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had concocted yet another series of record posts. Because, as regular readers now, we here at Raggy Waltz Inc. love a good series.

The series will explore records that I have that have been a part of my life’s soundtrack for decades. Consider this an ode to my record collection, or a musical journey through my childhood. Don’t worry, though. It won’t be nearly as sentimental as that previous sentence. Reissues, original pressings, original reissues are all getting written about. And despite what the record labels may or may not be, this is NOT a humble-brag type of thing. It’s purely about the music!

The series will also give me an excuse to comb through my records and fresh things to write about. Not that I haven’t anything to write about. To the contrary, I’ve been suffering from sensory overload. There are records that I bought years ago that I’ve been wanting to blog about, but they get put in a never-ending queue. Here’s to clearing the log jam as well as sharing some familiar and not-so-familiar records with you all!

Lastly, for those who know/care/read, I’m working away on my Walter Mitty-esque dream to write a book. A Brubeck Quartet book, that is. I’ve started a very rough draft of chapter three of my secret book. No publisher yet (it’s a secret, ya see), nor have I started that process yet, but it has been a fun experience nerding out to the Dave Brubeck Quartet and writing about it. Who know? When you walk into your favorite bookstore in 5-10 years, you may see a Brubeck book peeking at you from the shelf with a name that looks stunningly similar to mine. But you didn’t hear that from me. Or read it. Happy Monday, and thanks as always for stopping by Raggy Waltz!