Home / Music / Kathleen Brennan pushed Tom Waits toward the avant-gardeMusic linernotes album music tom-waitsKathleen Brennan pushed Tom Waits toward the avant-gardeWaits’s wife, Kathleen Brennan, introduced him to Captain Beefheart and Harry Partch, pushing him toward the radical sound that defined Swordfishtrombones. Search Amazon As an Amazon Associate, Work Notes may earn.Related NotesNighthawks at the Diner peaked at No. 164 — Tom Waits' highest chart position yetRain Dogs is Tom Waits at his most sprawling — 19 tracksTom Waits was just 25 when he recorded Nighthawks at the DinerClosing Time barely registered on release — Tom Waits' debut went largely unnoticedTom Waits wanted Closing Time to be a jazz album. The folk influence won.ExploreNeighbourhood is jazz where It's About Time was rock and funkVicki Brown's Nightjar rocks harder than SongbirdNightporter is Weather Report's contemplative sideOut to Lunch! didn't sound like anything else on Blue NoteParts Work goes experimental with programmed drums and layered keysPrevious Kevin Parker made Currents entirely aloneNext Ivo Watts-Russell advanced The Breeders $11,000 to make Pod.