I still remember the first time I heard 'Straight No Chaser' from the Milestones album of 1958. It was one of those moments when you realize you are experiencing something truly remarkable. Those musicians were without question breaking serious new ground. I mean, even just in terms of the horns repeating the head over and over and letting the rhythm section improvise. That would be considered pretty rad even today. Of course, I was hearing it several decades after it was released, but it was still new and eye opening to me. Something similar happened when I shot a large format camera for the first time. Several decades late, you might say. Working my way through the entire cumbersome process from loading the film to setting up the shot to developing the negatives made me feel connected to the history of the medium in a way I hadn't before. I used to wish I could have heard Miles and his band live in New York, but I'm over it now.
