Can you recommend Jazz for some one that doesn't like Jazz?

@allenf1963 

Funny you mention GYBE, my kid just caught them live in Montreal. He loved it. He texted me he loved opening act BIG|BRAVE too, so I took a delve and I liked what I heard a lot. Reminds me of an Acid King / Melvins mashup, if that makes any sense. Interestingly they started off as an acoustic folk act. Here is one song I like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1S-xH_3-qQ

Thanks for the tip on Gift, I'll check them out

@devinplombier -- My GY!BE show on Nov. 17th in NC was postponed. One of the founding members, Efrim Menuck, became ill, causing them to cancel the shows in Nashville, Knoxville, and Atlanta. The night before my show was supposed to happen, they attempted to play Charleston, SC, but quit after about 70 minutes. I got an email the morning of my show saying it was off. Alan Sparhawk (of the fabulous band Low) played his set as a "pay what you can". GY!BE postponed all remaining shows except for the last 2 -- in their hometown of Montreal. I opted to keep my tickets to be used when they reschedule hopefully in the Spring.

If you ever get a chance to see them live...do it. It is an experience you’ll never forget. At their shows, I feel like I enter a trance -- the sound and visual effects are reminiscent of 1960’s Pink Floyd concerts. Every album is a must listen, but this is a great start: "Lift Your Skinny Fists like Antennas to Heaven"

https://youtu.be/JMDmaUO4hno?si=swE9zM25Si-S33dT

I also heard BIG|BRAVE was wonderful at those Montreal shows. I did a deep dive as well.

@allenf1963 

Lift Your Skinny Fists like Antennas to Heaven is fantastic. I got it some 20 years ago, my first GYBE album. Later I put it on my son's musical radar, because that's what dads do :)

Sorry about the cancellation, hope you catch them next spring.

All, jazz is such a broad and inclusive music genre, isn't post-rock like part of it? Almost? Apologies for the hijack and thanks for the great recommendations :)

Medeski, Martin, and Wood - Shack Man. 

@devinplombier 

Yes, it gives me great joy when my adult sons put on an album and say, "I remember when you turned me on to this, Pops!"  Be it Led Zep, Neil Young, Talk Talk, Psychedelic Furs, Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater, Bowie, Queen, Soup...the list is endless.  They've already started calling dibs on who gets which system and which albums.  That's better than hearing a lot of old farts like me on here saying no family member is interested!

So glad to discover another GY!BE fan.  I'll never forget seeing "28 Days Later" in the movie theater and realizing Godspeed was part of the soundtrack.   I didn't have any other friends who had heard "F♯ A♯ ∞". 

Mose Allison. He was a songwriter/singer/pianist whose fans include the likes of Pete Townshend. His style was mix of Jazz and Blues, and he had a very distinctive sound and feel.

@mooncrikit really good list, I've got some of those also, but I'm gonna check out the ones you listed I don't have or I'm not as familiar.  The contemporary Jazz genre is something I've really enjoyed exploring into.  Another one I'm sure you've heard of, Keiko Matsui, she's become one of my favorites in this genre. 

I would just jump in with later John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders playing' Live in Japan'. By the end of the record if your brain is not completely rewired, play it again. If after several days, this transformation has not happened, call your wife and tell her it is safe to return home, and just listen to something else.

☺️

@acman3

I wonder if the OP realizes you’re joking. . .

You ARE joking, right? 

I was introduced to jazz in the 70s with Windham Hill artists, like George Winston, William Ackerman, etc. Then I added many of the artists mentioned above. 

Great start!

The album "Chet" from Chet Baker...

Or any album of pianist Bill Evans will do the job...

if one of these 2 dont work, try French Flemish school of choral music , Obrecht "Missa super maria zart", stunning...Almost jazz because of ascendent  rythm

A particularly good Windham Hill album is Michael Hedges’ “Arial Boundaries” a terrific acoustic guitar album with extremely good sound on top of great music.

I really like Grand Piano Canyon by Bob James. I'm not a big fan of jazz either. One of my first jazz albums was one by Grover Washington Jr "A Secret Place" and I still listen to it. Every musician on it is top tier. 

I am also not a traditional jazz fan, but I do like groups/people like Bob James, Weather Report, and Spyro Gyra.

Let's Get Acquainted with Jazz (For People Who Hate Jazz) 

https://youtu.be/xEzdyTBRmJw?feature=shared

my suggestion is start listening to the smooth jazz stations on your radio, after a while you will hear certain musicians that you really like, follow them, for example I learned I really liked Sade, never heard of her until i listened to the smooth jazz station, I suggest you do that. 

@rwwear

Thanks for introducing me/us to Madeleine Peyroux. All this time I thought she was a French Parisian singer because the youtube algorithm gave me this tune sung in French: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2m_3OQtFNc Turns out she’s from Athens Georgia, USA! She has a playful and at the same time haunting voice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7UlbMu4eew&list=PLf-ZSfxxZo5nZinA-dz9bsm5fMdIm_BWf&index=1

Glad you like Madeleine.  I didn't know she's from Athens either. So thanks for that. 

I think one must really like to listen and appreciate the sound of instruments to begin to like Jazz. Take saxophone for instance. Once the listener starts to engage with the tones and rhythm of a really good saxophone player, it gets addictive to an extent. Then the style of the player begins to emerge. Illinois Jacquet is one of my favorite players. Even vocalists will use their voice like they are playing a jazz instrument. Ella Fitzgerald is a good example. Try her album with Louis Armstrong “Ella and Louis”. If you listen to jazz that seems disjointed, think of the artists conducted an experiment like a scientist. Great Jazz artists usually dislike conventional ways of playing. If you are having trouble, start with an artist who has branched across genres, like Ray Charles, try “Soul Brothers”. For a more modern player, try Boney James, Cecil Mclorin Salvant or Diana Krall. Good luck.

@2psyop 

Tones and rhythm are probably not enough if one doesn't grasp the significance of the notes being played. This seems to be a major stumbling block for those who do not like Jazz. It apparently sounds like a random jumble of unrelated notes, rather than a cogent expression utilizing a recognizable language. It's difficult to become addicted to something that one experiences as inherently off-putting.

Flimm and the BB’s. Can’t miss!!