and all that lovely jazz

Billie Holiday and pup

Billie Holiday and mother

Judy Garland

Keely Smith

Peggy Lee and Tramp

Peggy Lee

Kay Starr

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There's certain music that I only listen to at particular times of the year. In the summertime, that music is old-fashioned ladies, which mostly consists of jazz.

Their elegance has inspired me in countless ways. I love listening to their raspy voices and the scratchy instruments that sing behind them. There's something about old music that just didn't translate into what people listen to today. Even the chorus in old disney movies - it's so striking, so beautiful. It's always so clear that it's both men and women singing. I always picture the people who sang in those choruses, and what led their voices to be in Lady and the Tramp or Sleeping Beauty, and if they all had to dress the same or if it didn't matter.

I love having music that I only listen to in the summertime. The summer makes me feel very young again, which inevitably makes me feel like anything is possible. I like that feeling. I think that's why the jazzy ladies follow me into the summertime. They remind me of another time and place, and make way for excellent day dreams.