@ho249:
I'll look into the Mingus and Bley (if they're available on CD).
I have the Kenny Wheeler, along with three others.
I bought the Pepper Adams years ago but the CD sound was terrible so I didn't keep it.
The CTI Joe Farrell albums are not my favorites but no doubt many would like them. I prefer his work with Jacki Byard, Chick Corea and Andrew Hill. For one reason or another, I don't tend to like anything on CTI.
"Extrapolation" has long been my favorite McLaughlin release. Wish it sounded better on CD.
I haven't gotten around to picking up the Gil Evans but will soon.
@acman3:
Thanks for your well-wishes.
Haven't yet been able to locate an online listening opportunity for Rob Blakeslee.I like the Marcel Ivery, though.
@gsm18439:
re: Yonnet: Very adventurous in terms of range of material. I find his tone kind of thin-sounding but most of the harmonica playing I typically listen to is Blues playing with a very fat tone through tube amps (aside from S. Wonder).
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Carla Bley: Anything by her, but particularly the large group recordings.
Gerry Mulligan: Walk on the Water, Age of Steam
Frank Zappa: Grand Wazoo, Hot Rats - both of these feature
large groups and no vocals. Yes, it's jazz.
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@jrosemd:
Yes, I've had Fleur Carnivore in my collection, before.
I'm not a big Zappa fan but I do enjoy G. Wazoo.
I've heard Age of Steam but not Walk. Will look into it. Thanks for the suggestions! |
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Dave Holland Quartet: Conference of the Birds
A 1973 ECM release featuring Holland with Barry Altschul, Anthony Braxton and Sam Rivers, One of 2 records I bought when I was in high school that opened my ears to different flavors of harmony.
The other being
Alice Coltrane: Universal Consciousness, from 1971. With Jimmy Garrison, Jack DeJohnette, Rashied Ali, Clifford Jarvis, Leroy Jenkins. Otherworldly string arrangements by Alice, transcribed by Ornette Coleman. Her harp arpeggios at the end of the last track on side 2 are like she is flying off into the sky as the record ends.
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I view jazz as an evolving living art form, and not a museum piece, so, I will try to focus my recommendations on recent artists and music. But i will still recommend some older stuff too, that I feel may be more obscure.
It's not that I don't love all the 50's and 60's post-bop giants (Coltrane, Miles, Mingus, Dolphy, Evans, Shorter, Hill, etc. But there is so much incredible jazz being made now to discover.
ECM: I include this sort of a subgenre since so much of ECM's releases have a similar aesthetic.
Michael Formanek - great bass player lead quartet. 3 releases on ECM, with Craig Taborn on piano, Gerald Cleaver on drums, Tim Berne on sax. Complex time signatures abound, with great playing by all. Pretty progressive stuff, without being too out there. He also has a big band called Ensemble Colossus that is very good.
All the other players listed above, have their own discography, which are very good, and progressive.
Dominque Pifarely - lesser known French violinist, with excellent chops and creativity. Haven't heard all his releases, but what I have heard has been very good.
Eberhard Weber - might be better known here, but he can't get enough press, AFAIC. Colors of Chloe is brilliant, but all his releases are worth checking out.
Tomasz Stanko - Polish trumpet player, known as a free jazz innovator, but for ECM, he tends to be less out there. Still very creative.
M-Base collective: this is a school of jazz started by Steve Coleman in the 90's. It tends to quite rhythmically complex, but still retains a groove.
Steve Coleman (2014 MacArthur winner) - records in small ensembles, and larger ones. His sax playing is as good as it gets, but his composing is truly innovative. His more recent releases; Functional Arrhythmias, Synovial Joints, Morphogenesis are incredible.
Other artists to check out: Ravi Coltrane (John's son), Greg Osby, Jonathan Finlayson, David Gilmore (a guitarist but not the Pink Floyd guy), Andrew Milne, and others.
Fusion:
Iceberg - Spanish band from the 70's, lead by the great, Max Sune on guitar. Fiery, RtF influenced stuff, with great guitar and key interplay.
Alex Machacek - one of the most innovative of the modern crop of fusion guitarists. Writes and plays a quite complex version of fusion. His FAT trio recordings, and his work with Terry Bozio, and his CD [sic] are all great.
McGill/Manring/Stevens - released a few recordings in the 00's. Very intense fusion, that at times can seem a bit dissonant. But loaded with jaw dropping musicianship.
Forgas Band Phenomena - French fusion band, with keys, guitar, violin, trumpet, sax, drums. Great melodies all over their their releases.
Hiromi - Japanese fusion phenom. She's got Chops from hell, with great sense of melody.
Spaced Out - Canadian band, with one of the best current bass players, Antoine Farfad. Started as a pretty straight forward fusion band, but has added more metal influences into their heavy brand of fusion.
I like this thread. I will continue to add to it, in other subgenres in the near future. |
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@psion:
Thanks-- these might be too "outside" for some listeners but both are indeed classics of their respective genres.
@simonmoon:
"I
view jazz as an evolving living art form, and not a museum piece, so, I will try to focus my recommendations on recent artists and music".
This thread can only benefit from your open-eared/open-minded approach. I expect many here are unfamiliar with many of the artists you mention. I hope you will indeed check back in with more recommendations!
@jjss49:
Thanks for the suggestion-- I was only able to sample one track but in light of a review I found on the All About Jazz site, the track I heard is very representative of the release, overall-- pretty mellow/"late night" (or is that "late nite"?) I suspect it would appeal to many, here.
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Ben Webster - Live at the Renaissance
Avishai Cohen - Continuo |
@jjss49:
Thanks for the suggestion-- I was only able to sample one track but in light of a review I found on the All About Jazz site, the track I heard is very representative of the release, overall-- pretty mellow/"late night" (or is that "late nite"?) I suspect it would appeal to many, here. worth listening to in its entirety imho... there is good variability among the tracks |
The Cookers- Look Out. Bunch of old school guys (museum pieces?)*still playing hot, 3 sides, well made, cheap and not too out there. Released in the last week of Sept, 21.
Cochemea- All My Relations- been out for a few years- Dap Kings horn player, mixes Native American with drums, sax on wah-wah. Strangely interesting and should hook you out of the gate.
Among my "rare groove" stuff is a really nice copy of Milt Ward & Virgo Spectrum. Not easy to find. Soon to be reissued inexpensively.
Oddball makes me laugh every time I put it on: Ronnie Boykins, The Will Come, Is Now. Sounds totally out of tune, but they pull it together. On ESP Records.
Have fun.
_________
*Billy Harper, Donald Harrison Jr., David Weiss, Eddie Henderson, George Cables, Cecil McBee, and Billy Hart.
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@whart:
Yeah-- those "old guys" play so damned loud I had to retreat to the lobby for most of the show. Ridiculous-- they must not realize they're nearly deaf!
Thanks for your contributions.
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@gosta:
That Webster is a good one -- gonna have to buy it!
Although not to my tastes, I'd guess many others will enjoy the A. Cohen.
Thanks for your suggestions. |
@whart:
Cochemea strikes me as fairly "uncategorizable" . . . don't know if it's Jazz or not. Don't know if I like it or not-- I have the sense it's something I'd need to hear several times before pronouncing judgement.
I do like the Milt Ward, though.
Very interesting suggestions. Got any more ?
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Vocals allowed?
Karin Krog - Something Borrowed....Something New
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@stuartk - Hi Stuart, thanks for the nice words. I have a blog if you look up my name-bill hart- and "vinyl" you should be able to find it. There is easily 5 years worth of writing there, not necessarily all jazz.
In the meantime, I'll give some thought to the question of "more."
I like stuff between the cracks, got bored with straight ahead stuff and some of the soul jazz and spiritual jazz has really caught fire in the last few years. Some of the Lloyd McNeill records are wonderful but now stratospherically priced. Nathan Davis was wonderful- not just his Paris years, but when he came back to the States and set up the jazz studies program at the University of Pittsburgh.
I had spent time collecting Vertigo Swirls, partly because some of them were really good musically and sonically (mostly psych and prog rock, but some jazz rock, including Ian Carr) but not on the radar of most people except for collectors; did manage to get some of the Strata-East and Nimbus catalogs before the prices went crazy.
My learning process has hardly been linear--but I'm listening to more different music than ever and enjoying it. This is a good thread in looking for more offbeat stuff, which is what I find appealing, personally. |
@gosta:
Of course, as long as you do not mention D. Krall or P. Barber. All references to those two will be cheerfully ignored. Call me elitist but audiophiles really need to over their tunnel vison-fixation on those two.
Karin Krog is great. The only one by her I have is "where You At"
I'll check out your suggestion.
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@whart:
Thanks for suggesting further avenues of exploration! |
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For something more current,
Hugh Ragin ‘An Afternoon In Harlem’ |
In no particular order
Eliane Elias Plays Jobim
Milt Jackson Detour Ahead
Jeff Lashway Reunion
Bill Charlap Live at the Vanguard |
I like the mention of Joanne Brackeen. She is pretty unknown and underappreciated.
Those recordings of original material she did in the 80's were great. Ancient Dynasty, Special Identity Fi-Fi Goes to Heaven are pretty special.
Unfortunately for my tastes, she has gotten into recording after recording of "standards". Boring...
Darcy James Argue and Secret Society - very creative 18 piece big band. Three recording released so far, of very creative stuff. Even uses 12 tone classical methods from time to time.
Octafish - very progressive German fusion band influenced by Frank Zappa. They call their style, "Fake Industrial Jazz". World class musicianship, complex arrangements and time signatures, but they don't take themselves too seriously.
Gonzalo Rubalcaba - Cuban pianist with otherworldly chops. If there is a current player with better chops, and understanding of advanced jazz language, I'd like to know about it. "Rapsodia" and "Antiqua" are great recordings of original material. He also has plenty of recordings of standards too. |
Here’s a few more.
Jonathan Finlayson - one of the best contemporary trumpet players. Whether a sideman or leader, his playing is never boring, and his technique is as good as it gets. His latest release as a leader, 3 Times Round, was placed near the top best releases of 2016 by the NY Times.
Tim Berne - excellent contemporary sax player. Interesting thing about Berne, is, he never had interest in playing an instrument, until he got to college at the age of 19, when he heard a Julius Hemphill playing on a dorm stereo system in 1973. Pretty late to pick up an instrument, and to get as good as he is, is really difficult. His group, Snakeoil is really good. But his entire discography is worth checking out. |
Here's a couple of older ones.
Arti e Mestieri - Italian band, that is one of the best at straddling the line between jazz-fusion, and prog. Their first album from '73, Tilt!, is their best. So many great melodies, and world class playing, especially by monster drummer, Furio Chirico. But keys, violin and guitar are incredible too. Might be a little too prog for many jazz fans, so, YMMV. Their 2nd release, was actually more on the jazz side.
Passport - probably the best known German fusion band, lead by sax great, Klaus Doldinger. Their albums are a little hit or miss, but the best tracks are worth the price of admission. Much better live, when they added guitarist, Volker Kreigal.
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@simonmoon:
Terrific ! This thread is greatly enhanced by your participation.
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No mention of Louis Sclavis? |
Terrific ! This thread is greatly enhanced by your participation.
Thanks! I will continue to post more, even if not too many people are interested. It is still fun! |
Probably not in the category of "not well known" but I am throroughly enjoying listening to Till Brönner "On Vacation". Fairly recent release and I’m on my third pass through this album. |
Great thread, thanks for the many interesting suggestions.
For Brazilian jazz, Quarteto Novo (s/t) on emi/odeon is indispensable (late 60's seminal group with Hermeto and Airto), as are the first two Airto albums on buddah: 'Natural Feelings' and 'Seeds on the Ground'. Again with Hermeto, Sivuca, Flora and Ron Carter.
Fairly obscure but marvellous is Walt Dickerson's 'Impressions on a Patch of Blue' on verve (with Sun Ra at the keyboards no less!).
Also somewhat under the radar is Paul Bley's 'Blood' on Fontana, with one Mark Levinson on bass! Fantastic trio record. Equally good, but perhaps more familiar is Chick Corea's 'Now He Sings, Now he Sobs' on solid state, with Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes.
Because no jazz list can be complete without blue note, a lesser known title not to be missed is Andrew Hill's 'Andrew' (with John Gilmore).
More to follow.....
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“The Junior Mance Trio”. 3 albums on 2 CDs. Excellent performances and strong production quality.
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Madhouse 8 and Madhouse 16 by Prince and Eric Leeds. These were released by Prince without any marketing. Sheila E actually plays drums on The Madhouse 16 album. |
Lou Rawls Les McCann, They Call it Stormy Monday. (Be careful with some of the Capitol label releases--some sound amazing some are flat; the Blue Note (under Capital) sound sublime.
Super Bass (most any of them), Ray Brown and others
Sackville Records (look for stuff from the '70s--very high quality)
John Lamb, Conversations North of the Border. (Sounds right there with the best recordings ever--must try!)
Allen Tousaint, American Tunes (marriage of jazz and folk, stunning sound quality)
Buddy Tate, The Ballad Artistry of Buddy Tate
King Curtis, Soul Meeting
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto (Haven't heard a bad one by this guy)
Dizzy's Big 4 (self titled)
Curtis Fuller Quintent, Blues-ette
Kermit Ruffins, A Beautiful World
Tom Harrell, The Art of Rhythm
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continues to be one of the best threads on this forum imo
+1 @jbhiller!
curtis fuller and t harrell are awesome!
makes me think about the endless joy that streaming brings, being able to call up each and every one of these titles/artists
darned good time to be a music lover and audiophile |
Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra-The Capital Studios Sessions
Honestly don’t listen to much current stuff, but the sq and fun quotient on this is off the charts.
Roland Kirk-A Meeting of the Times
features Kirk, Carter, Hibbler, Lonnie….
I don’t think Ramsey Lewis gets enough mention. The In Crowd from 1965 is easily and cheaply acquired and one of many really enjoyable RLTrio records. |
What a great thread! I’m looking at so much great music. I’d call myself familiar with the genre for certain, yet I’m seeing some albums I’ve glossed over or didn’t know about. Keep them coming!
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Thanks to everyone for continuing to contribute to this thread. I've continued to keep my eye on it and am enjoying discovering new sounds. |
