Krzysztof Komeda, Astigmatic (Polish Jazz)

A singular achievement of 60s jazz, Astigmatic stands with E.S.P. and Out to Lunch and yes, I'll say it here, A Love Supreme as one of the best albums of the decade. Compared to those discs, Komeda crafts psychoanalysis jazz based on refracted structural images. Vague ideas float in from a haze, cut at acute angles, then come into focus and dissipate back into the ether. Compositional structure breaks down and then is transferred back into useable form. And two young lions - Namyslowski on sax and Stanko on trumpet - tug away at the composer (and each other) like Eros and Thanatos. The overall effect is rather Wagnerian, yet underneath beats the repetitive thud of some infant beating pots and pans and pining away for his lost Jocasta. And no resolution. But perfect balance. I wish I could cry.
Suggested Wine Pairing: One requires something far more analytical than wine for this one, so here's what you do: One happens to have a dinner party where the conversation grows particular intense over the course of the evening, without, however, becoming difficult or negative in tone or manner, preferably a discussion of aesthetics or philosophy, but nothing (directly) sexual or political. This then requires two key elements to take the edge off of things without disrupting the flow: Astigmatic and a new bottle of Chateau de Polignac cognac. Make that the X.O.