Simon Jefferis-SJ's Pockets, Vol. 1 (2017)

So, my first review of this new blog, and I think I started with a solid album choice.

First of all, it has been significantly harder to listen to albums completely since the semester started, but at just 17 minutes in length, this album might fit in more with punk rock in terms of album length.

This album is a far cry from punk rock, however.

Jefferis is a master of melding low-fidelity hip hop beats with a jazz, sometimes surreal work.

Songs like Amsterdam in the Spring are impossible to listen to without a little toe tapping, and Hold Pls contains beautiful samples from Billie Holiday, describing what jazz is to her.

And the song Shades is easily my favorite on the album, exclaiming that it is obvious how jazz is the most central and important thing in his life, and providing a nice solo before an applause break.

Since this piece took one of my favorite genres, jazz, and successfully blended it with another, wholly independent genre, I can't help but be a fan of Jefferis' work here.

This is an album to listen to when working or trying to drift off to sleep.

And I think it works wonderfully with the backdrop of hip hop beats.