I like surprising you with albums from musical genres you might not be as familiar with, so I wanted to find an album that combines multiple styles together.

Along with Frank Zappa, Joe Jackson creates music that combines elements from multiple genres. Zappa’s music is pretty wild, and often takes on controversial lyrical themes (he was the Stravinsky or Public Enemy of rock music). Jackson composes beautiful, expressive vocals and lyrics. Just like with Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life album, I listened to this first on a drive with both my Mom and Dad. At the time, I had just started listening to some Latin jazz (particularly the Afro Cuban music), along with the pop stuff on the radio by people like Alicia Keys, Usher, Mariah Carey, etc.

Before the first track “Another World” started playing, my Dad said, “This artist does jazz, pop, rock… You’ll love it.”

When Joe first sings, “I was so low,” I thought, “Wow! So you can express yourself by creating music.” I used to be very shy, and thought that singing had to be completely perfected, it was this album (along with Stevie’s Songs… album) that helped me understand that singing is not just about having technique, but bringing expression to life.

Also, I became interested in wanting to learn how to play the alto saxophone, which Jackson plays on “T.V. Age.” Even though my teachers told me the saxophone could be confusing for a blind person with perfect pitch to understand key transpositions, I was already mapping them out in my head by singing and tapping my fingers. I had been playing the flute for a while by this time, so I was able to figure it out pretty fast. It’s basically the same method as putting a capo on any fret on the guitar.

Back to this album… One thing I really enjoy about Night and Day is the mixtures of Afro Cuban rhythms, and English lyrics. This is heard in songs like the opener “Another World,” “Target,” “Breaking Us In Two,” and my personal favorite, “Cancer.” The piano solo on “Cancer” taught me a lot about playing strong, not being afraid to take risks, and just having fun!!! I still play this piano solo just for fun on my Korg keyboard, or on any piano that has a nice bright tone!

My other favorite song is the closer “A Slow Song,” because of the dynamics, and emotional vocals. This is another track where I love the sound of the Hammond organ!

Also, the bass playing of Graham Maby has had a huge impression on me, demonstrating that the bass can be very expressive simply by adding subtle chromatic shifts from one chord to the next. You can especially hear this on Jackson’s live albums where Maby was a part of several of Joe’s bands, and the many stylistic changes several of the songs went through at different time periods.

Someday, I would like to create an album like Night and Day, so I can bring all of my favorite influences together, whether it’s Keith Emerson inspired keys or adaptations of classical music, the unique early jazz singing of Ella or Sarah Vaughan, flute players like Hubert Laws, guitar improv like Frank Zappa, soulful vocals à la Mary J. Blige or Alicia Keys, Afro Cuban or Brazilian rhythms, etc.

I can’t wait for you to explore this album, and see what my next favorite is going to be.