Quality, innovation, collaboration, inspiration. Have a look into 1959.

How inspiring is it to look backwards? It depends on what you are looking for. If you have some time and you want to relax, have a look into the year 1959. For me it is a lesson in starting things up, quality, innovation, collaboration and for sure inspiration.

America was on the brink of great social and political change. Integration, Vietnam, the Cuban Missile Crisis — they were all coming around the bend, and sometimes figures like Mingus and Coleman commented musically on these events. But it was also a pivotal year for jazz. Musicians started moving away from bebop, exploring new, experimental forms and collaborations. Four absolutely masterpieces were recorded that year: 

• Kind of Blue by Miles Davis
• Time Out by Dave Brubeck
• Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
• The Shape of Jazz to Come by Ornette Coleman. 

If you (don’t) like Jazz you should watch this approx. 60 minutes documentary:  1959: The Year that Changed Jazz. And if you want you can see the musicians as coworkers, the albums as projects or start ups, enjoy!