2005, New York City. Between the legendary record stores A-1 Records and The Sound Library, between stacks of funk, soul, and jazz, I suddenly found myself not just in record shops, but in an apartment – at a private collector’s place who had new records ready to trade. And then it was lying there in front of me: Joe Pass – Better Days. One of those records I had only heard about back then, but had never seen in real life. Until that very day.

On the album, you’ll find a beautiful cover version of Carole King’s It’s Too Late. The song was one of the biggest hits from Carole King’s masterpiece Tapestry in 1971 and is one of those tunes you recognize instantly from the very first notes.

Joe Pass, one of the greatest guitarists in jazz, doesn’t treat It’s Too Late here as a pop love song, but as an instrumental story. His guitar speaks, breathes, tells a story without words, but with the same melancholy and warmth as the original.

Joe Pass is accompanied on this wonderful album by Carole Kaye. Kaye is one of the most legendary bass players in studio history, part of the famous Wrecking Crew. Her bass lines can be heard on countless classics, even if her name rarely appeared on the cover back then. Her presence gives this version extra depth and groove, an invisible but tangible pulse that makes the song even more elegant.

Better Days, discovered in 2005 in a small apartment in New York’s East Village, is a vinyl gem that has been in my collection ever since and will stay there forever.