I have a fucking DISTURBING version of this song on Gilles Peterson’s Kings of Jazz, sung by a white guy in the style of Mary Poppins, that makes the entire thing sound racist. Like, it’s so unbelievable that this guy would sing a line like “shades of delight, cocoa hue,” sounding like he’d just come out of Saks. I often consider playing it as a sort of test for people coming over, to see how they would respond (there’s just no appropriate response—the whole thing is so unbelievably awkward and intense, but that’s the point…it’s like a rorschach blot, you see what you are, etcetera). Still. Here’s the Coltrane version:

Anyway, the reason I bring it up is that I work with a remarkably talented art director called Justin “Scrappers” Morrison. Seriously. He’s the shit. And on press day he’ll occasionally send a ridiculous gif or jpeg over instant messenger, just to pass the time while he’s waiting for me to file. The. Fucking. Copy. So today he sent this picture, and it made me think instantly of that song, and feel the same way I feel when I listen to it. Which is dreadful. But also, slightly…no. Dreadful:

IMAGE: Somebody thought this was a good idea at some point in history.

I just wanted to share the moment with you all.