For the jazz/blues thing, if you haven’t got it already, Kind of Blue by Miles Davis is essential. In the same vein, Giant Steps by John Coltrane and Different Corners by Theloneus Monk should all be on the same playlist. All three albums are ‘growers’; given three listenings they are in you. Technically, I believe they’re actually bebop, but that’s really just a reawakening of blues for a more modern era, so I think they’re relevant.
King Curtis’ final album, Live at Fillmore West, is more of an easy listening disc, but is very beautiful. It includes the version of A Whiter Shade of Pale that plays over the opening of Whitnail and I. It is also interesting, because it is the live disk recorded the week before he was stabbed and killed. Morbid, but true.
The term ‘Texan’ sends shudders up my spine, whether related to music or politics, but I know what you mean. There is an Italian Blues band called Strozzini who did a wonderful album called Murphy’s Law, which is really intensely good; the final track, Go Away, was used on a Mountain Bike Video a few years ago and is a huge, camp blues anthem, like a parody of American self-pity rock. Unfortunately, Strozzini have since changed labels and Murphy’s Law is not easy to get. I bought it through the Ubuntu Music store on Rhythmbox, but I’m not sure whether that is still up and running.
Any search for jazzy blues that doesn’t include SoulIISoul is incomplete. Their third album, Just Right, went very jazzy and is a perfect album for the headphones on a solo mountain biking day out.
