I thought I would start a little series on the blog called “Songs that changed my life”.
Firstly, because I feel it would be a great way of recommending you/reminding you of some really amazing songs you might not listen to that often/at all.
Secondly, because I feel like it would be a nice way for you to get to know me a bit better.
Simply because music plays, and has played, such an important and major role in my life, and I would like to share that with you.
Dave Brubeck – Take Five
This song will always have a special meaning to me. I started playing the saxophone when I was 8 years old and I always used to find the classes really boring. I got inspired to start playing the sax by the street musicians at Copenhagen Jazz Festival that my parents used to take me to when I was younger, and safe to say, the songs we were playing at my state funded saxophone classes were nothing like the songs I have heard those street musicians play. I remember hearing this song and literally falling in love with it after 30 seconds. I had no idea what the song was called, who was playing it, so I had to dig through my dad’s jazz records, in hope that he would have it. The joy I felt when I one day finally found it can not be described in words. It was on repeat for at least 6 months, and I remember sitting in our “music room” at home, listening to the song in small parts, over and over again, trying to find the notes on the sax, driving my mum crazy with the repetitiveness. But the satisfaction I got the day I finally nailed the entire song, aaaah, one of the best feelings in the world!
Nina Simone – Sinnerman
I came home from school one day and my dad was playing Nina Simone in the living room. I still remember until this very day how I just walked into the room, sat down, and we didn’t say a single word to each other. No hello, no how was your day, nothing. We just looked at each other and it was like we had this mutual understanding that this music had to and should be treated with respect, so we could talk after the record had finished playing. As I was sitting there on the couch, I recall thinking how powerful Nina’s voice was and being amazed over the fact that it could portray so many emotions at the same time. That was the day I fell in love with Nina Simone, and that love has only grown with the years.
Ella Fitzgerald – Misty
This song reminds me of being madly in love with a boy, my first love, and how he broke my heart into a million pieces. How I was sitting in my room until the early hours of the morning, listening to this song, and crying. It is a bittersweet memory, to one of my favourite jazz songs of all time.
Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto – Corcovado
I don’t have a very big family, and we used to have some what of a tradition of gathering the entire family on Sundays and enjoying lunch together. I can recall so many times when I was helping my mum prepare the food in the kitchen, with this record playing in the background. No matter how stressed we were, or no matter how much my dad was complaining about things, when this song came on, it kind of made us all rewind. It will always remind me of Sundays, and I am sure you will agree with me when I say that it is a perfect Sunday tune, preferably enjoyed in bed with cuddles.
Cannonball Adderley Feat. Miles Davis – Autumn Leaves
I can’t listen to this song without getting goosebumps all over my body. This is yet another song that I discovered early on in my life, but that has followed me throughout all these years. I don’t think there are words beautiful enough to describe this song. For me personally, it is one of those songs that you put on, close your eyes, and get completely lost and consumed by it. It’s almost like a spiritual experience, you can feel your soul being touched by every note, and it takes you on this magical journey where you suddenly forget about all your problems, your surroundings, all the things in your life that weighs you down… It’s like you and the music becomes one, and for those odd 10-11 minutes, nothing really matters, because all you can feel is pure happiness.
