I recently downloaded a Jazz Messengers album from eMusic. Great stuff, indeed.

For what it’s worth, I’ve been a little disappointed with eMusic, as there are HUGE gaps in its selection. But I was nonetheless able to fill out my Pixies collection via eMusic, and I’ve really been able to build up what had been a minimal jazz collection to something fairly substantial, for what amounts to be just a pittance. Coltrane, Basie, Armstrong, Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins; they’re all there. I also highly recommend the traditional piano stylings of Tom McDermott, a big name of today’s New Orleans jazz scene. But my favorite download to date, hands down, is “Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington”. A brilliant album. Maybe even better than “Doolittle”.

It sure is a sad commentary that one of our country’s greatest contributions to global culture, jazz, isn’t better appreciated—isn’t appreciated at all—in the “real America” now being championed on the campaign trail. That sure would have made a great debate question: “Governor Palin, the respected blogger TwistNHook recently argued that Art Blakey stands out as one of America’s great jazz leaders. Do you agree?”