I'm a huge jazz fan, so it was a thrill to be able to plunk in SKETCHES OF SPAIN with no crossings. (There are rumors that I tried ...
read moreI'm a huge jazz fan, so it was a thrill to be able to plunk in SKETCHES OF SPAIN with no crossings. (There are rumors that I tried BITCHES BREWWWWW first, but I'll never admit that.) It's not one of my top five Miles Davis albums, but some people love its dreamlike qualities. If you're interested in broadening your musical horizons, I'd listen to these first:

Kind of Blue. The best-selling album that defines cool jazz.
Walkin'. Impossible to get the opening trumpet declaration out of your head!
The Complete Concert: 1964. Hard-driving rhythms, led by a young Tony Williams on drums.
Miles Smiles. This album, while too cutting-edge for mainstream listeners, features one of the few pics of him smiling, and one of his best tracks ever, "Footprints."
Bitches Brew. Not for the faint of heart! Some might call it noise, I call it genius.
And if you get a chance to read his autobiography, definitely check it out — as long as you don't mind copious f-bombs.
Thinking about Miles's music put me in my HAPPY PLACE. IN A GROOVE is so apt.
There were a few too many DEAD SPOTs in the grid, long slots filled with neutral entries like INDICATE, PAYMENTS, ADD A LINE — a risk you take venturing into 68-word territory with such big corners like the SW — but I appreciated so much of the sentiments Stella incorporated. Wanda SYKES speaks volumes right now. And in the vein of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), I'm hopeful that from all the turmoil and protests comes more landmark civil rights legislation.
I enjoy it when a constructor's personality comes through. I'm rooting for Stella to debut the CROSSFIT GAMES or a MUSCLE UP.