Jazz music is my go to music choice for relaxation and focus. Whenever I have a pressing deadline or items on my to-do list that require focus, I ask my Google Mini for jazz music from some of the greats.
Before I share my favorite Jazz List with you, let me tell you what I have found out in my research. Not that I’ve been doing actual “research” but just evaluating my experience consciously. I am a lover of Jazz music. My oldest sister, Leslie, turned me on to jazz. I remember her in her 20’s talking all about jazz and playing it in her apartment. I thought my big sister was so “hip”. Back then though, I would say that’s old folks music.
She’d reply, “that is GOOD music”. As I grew older and my tastes evolved, I realized just how right she was. I found more and more how relaxing the music was for me. When I moved to Atlanta, my homeboy took me out to the Atlanta Jazz Fest. This was my first time there and his as well (although he is an Atlanta native). Of course, Leslie had been enjoying jazz fest weekend annually for YEARS. When we arrived there, the sea of beautiful black faces, in their picnic spaces, looking like a full blown scene out of Poetic Justice. Both days of the jazz fest were filled with amazing music that brought us to dance, silenced us to feel, and blessed us with all emotion.
I. Was. Hooked.
Jazz music is now a part of my Get Shit Done routine. When I get my Spotify or Pandora playlist going with my jazz favorites, I am surprisingly productive. I have seen my productivity increase by 60%. As a linear worker, something about the syncopation makes me stay on target for my duties. As I stated before, I haven’t officially been “researching” but I know for sure that the rhythms and cadence of jazz music keeps me plowing through my work load. Some of my best work is done listening to: Miles Davis, Roy Hargrove, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, Charlie Byrd, and Trombone Shorty just to name a few.
In honor of National Jazz Day, I hope you will begin to integrate the music into your work day. Let me know your jazz favorites in the comments so I can add them to my playlist!
