Floating Points’ Sam Shepherd on the first and last records he bought, and his emergency pick
FIRST
Kenny Wheeler
‘Music For Large & Small Ensembles’
(ECM, 1990)
“My parents gifted me this album when I was 13. I think my piano teacher had suggested it to them. I loved Kenny Wheeler’s writing and his sense of harmony and melody. I used to play along to John Taylor’s solos, it was incredibly instructive to me. Fast forward 15 years and, by coincidence, John’s son Leo would become the drummer in my band!”
LAST
Kelsey Lu
‘Blood’
(Columbia, 2019)
“Kelsey Lu is a singer-songwriter-producer based in LA and this is a beautiful debut album, it’s incredibly delicate at times. The production is excellent, there’s even a Pierre Dutour sample in there, he’s an avant-garde French trumpet player, which is pretty hip. She’s an amazing singer and cellist too. ‘Why Knock For You’ is a standout track for me, her sense of melody on this is unique.”
ALWAYS
Max Roach
‘Members, Don’t Git Weary’
(Atlantic, 1968)
“I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I bang on about this album to everyone. It’s so amazing, there’s little else to say other than it’s a beautiful listen from start to finish, a sublime example of jazz and it has the highest level of musicianship. It’s a record that just carries you along from beginning to end.”
