Dinner Music 90: The weekly lineup
hazy jazz lounge, spectral hollywood sixties, music for martinis
This week we’re exploring lounge-jazz with lots of music from the fifties and sixties, decades that are underrepresented in the Dinner Music archive. The sounds are easy, hence lounge; it’s music to watch the sunset to or sip a glass of wine alone. Each song on the playlist is laced with nostalgia, a golden kind of nostalgia. A time you can’t place, but wish for nonetheless.
We begin with Sarah Vaughan, an essential and iconic jazz singer and pianist whose career spanned decades and whose legacy continues to grow. Vaughan and Violins features her most noteworthy song, “Misty,” but listen to the entire thing and you’ll see that her range extends well beyond one ballad. We move into John Coltrane and with a focus like lounge jazz, how could we not? Instead of his usual brooding and sultry sound, we look to The Quieter Side of John Coltrane for something a bit more sensuous. We take it up a notch with the latin soul-fusion album of Ralfi Pagán, considered to be a virtuoso born before his time, whose genre-bending experimentation gives us an album that blends R&B, jazz, funk, latin, soul and salsa. Pagán is something of a cult favorite today; his album With Love was recently repressed on vinyl. We stay upbeat with LaVern Baker whose “fiery fusion of blues, jazz and R&B showcased her alluring vocals and set the stage for the rock and roll surge of the fifties.” Saved is a wild romp through her talents — the album is fun as hell and will make you immediately want to dance. We end with a newer album that captures the essence of easy lounge. Put this on as the sun is going down, look around you, feel it all and enjoy it.
Enjoy.
The playlist
Monday
Vaughan and Violin - Sarah Vaughan (1958)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Tuesday
The Gentle Side of John Coltrane - John Coltrane (1973)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Wednesday
Ralfi Pagán - Ralfi Pagán (1969)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Thursday
Saved - LaVern Baker (1961)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Friday
Days as Echoes - Misha Panfilov (2023)
Bandcamp / Spotify / YouTube / Other streaming services
Pair with
Shrimp cocktail. She’s iconic. It’s time for the shrimp cocktail to make a comeback, don’t you agree?
Sparkling Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley. I say it every year, but it’s Chenin Blanc summer. Put this sparkling in a vintage glass and you’re golden.
Why Karen Carpenter Matters book. Really amazing book that weaves the story of Karen Carpenter (tragic) with the author’s own trans-Pacific journey between the Philippines and Southern California. The author, Karen Tongson, was named after Carpenter!
Jessica Pratt’s NTS episode. If you’re looking for even more lounge and hazy sixties vibes with a bit more folk, listen to this.
All-vinyl dance affair in Austin, TX. If you’re in Austin, our pals are throwing an all-vinyl event on Friday. Great dance music, all wax.
If you’re looking for something upbeat, a mix our set at Cheer Up Charlie’s for Might Be Magic’s Local Love party is up on soundcloud:
Thank you, thank you. Have a great week.