Jazz for someone who doesn't like jazz.
Greetings! I’m also new to Jazz and have been doing a lot of research and listening on YouTube in order to help me decide which albums to buy. Like many others, I started with Miles Davis- Kind of Blue, my mom turned me onto Ramsey Lewis- Wade in the Water as a young boy which I love along with his “The In Crowd” album. Here are some that I’ve picked up that I really dig: Stanley Turrentine- Hustlin’ Charles Mingus- Blues and Roots Cannonball Adderly- Somethin’ Else Kenny Burrell- Midnight Blue Herbie Hancock- Headhunter i highly recommend all of these as great starters! Here’s a good video listing other great starter albums for someone’s Jazz Collection. Happy Listening! https://youtu.be/NEBnEKdMO9w |
Well I love me some Danny Gatton but he is not a classical Jazz geetar player but is influenced by Jazz. Best guitar player I have ever met. Crusin' Dueces is the first to listen to if you are a geetar player for sure. If you are looking for something that is blues/jazz/rock/soul influenced then it is Ronnie Earl time. This is not even close to Miles sounding. Ronnie is a fantastic blues geetar player with jazz influences. One of the best to see live also. First the Colour of Love you should listen to first. Then you can wiki his CDs and for from there. Let us know what you think after you listen to all of the recommendation to see what you prefer and then we can all offer better suggestions for you. Happy Listening. |
The first two songs will get you going. I use these two songs to demo my system. What is nice about these two songs is the artists develops the them of the song gradually to make things interesting. The waiting for the song to develop is what makes it exciting. "Nasty" by Vincent Ingala Coast to Coast albumn Watermellon Man by Herbie Hancock "Like Someone in Love" by Diana krall |
I have to agree with what I’ve read here. Watch the Ken Burns Series!!!! Some many great stories are told in this series. The first episode is about the historical roots of jazz and may seem a bit removed, but hang in there. I don’t know your age and who you’ve grown up with, but I have a huge appreciation for Louis Armstrong because of this series, as well as more enjoyment of many artists because of his perspective. Also, Clint Eastwood’s movie “Bird” helped get me into Charlie Bird. I was in HS 2971-74, an era where “jazz” was associated with the stuff mothers did not approve - thus entered the era of the “stage band” in high school. We barely played any jazz, and the only ones keeping jazz alive were big band stars like Woody Herman, Buddy Rich and Maynard Ferguson, who were wise enough to add some rock tunes to keep us youngsters listening. My advice: Find a “way in” that you like and continue to expand your horizons. Mine was through Buddy and Maynard and their high power big bands, learning what I liked, and slowly branching out. Find some standard 40’s big band tunes you like. This is an easy “pop” way in toward appreciating swing time. Like Latin? Head that direction - lots and lots to choose from in that venue. About all that soloing...it will grow on you. Really. Not all of it, but some. I still can’t stand - i.e. understand - “A Love Supreme” by Coltrane, but I’ll listen to most of Miles all day long. (This next section is pure jazz sacrilege, but too bad...) A few more thoughts about that soloing stuff. I like to divide soloing (improv) into two camps (and of course this is way too simplistic, but bear with me). There are solos/soloists that “play around with the tune” and those who just “play the changes”. If you’re having difficulty with the likes of Bird and Coltrane et al, it might be because they tend to leave the tune behind and focus entirely on the chord changes. Other soloists like Miles, Stan Getz and Wynton Marcellis for example solo “around the tune” while they improv over the changes. Many find this much more accessible. It is NOT better or worse, but if your having trouble with one, try the other camp. A final note (shhh...this one is really, really sacrilegious)... you ARE allowed to fast forward through the solo (I’m checking over my shoulder for the jazz police as I write this). Other approaches: Find a tune you like, and listen to several versions of it. Nutville (Nuttville), Autumn Leaves, I Can’t Get Started are a few that come to mind. Try WATCHING some jazz - that approach can make it more appealing. In this day and age of streaming music “learning to like jazz” is a lot easier and infinitely cheaper than 50 years ago. Skip through some “Essentials” of some artists Here are some tunes/artists I find to be “more approachable”: Enjoy the journey... Miles Davis - So What, Freddie Freeloader, Walkin’, Cannonball Adderley - Autumn Leaves (weird intro) Stan Getz - Girl from Ipanema, Four Brothers Sonny Rollins - St. Thomas, The Eternal Triangle, Chet Baker - Autumn Leaves Dave Brubeck - Gone With the Wind, Bill Evans - Waltz for Debbie, Autumn Leaves, Horace Silver - Nutville, Cape Verdean Blues, Song for My Father Big Band Sounds: pick a few and see what gets your foot tapping. 40’s Benny Goodman - Stompin’ At the Savoy, Artie Shaw - Begin the Beguine 50’s - 60’s Stan Kenton - The Peanut Vender, Dizzy Gillespie - Manteca, Night In Tunisia Count Basie - April in Paris, One O’clock Jump, Shiny Stockings 70’s Woody Herman - My Favorite Things, Somewhere, Maynard Ferguson - MF Horn 1 @ 2 Buddy Rich - Big Swing Face album, West Side Story Suite |
Well, covid 19 precautions are in place, and older, they have to be careful. Perhaps you can call/talk to them now, hook up later. Eventually, I think you should have that mighty fine couple over for dinner, ask for some recommendations, let them see/hear your system, let him see you handle/play, lift tonearm, .. IOW, they know you know how to carefully handle LP's, because, eventually he might offer to bring some of his lp's over to play on your system, or eventually borrow/lend with you. I always want to know not only handling skills, but the cartridge/stylus shape/alignment skills before I loan my lp's to my audiophile friends. Not bore with technical discussion, just assure awareness/skills of the methods to get the best out of lps. |
If you only listen to one jazz tune, and you wish to be converted, make it "Mister Magic," by Grover Washington Jr. It’s about 9 minutes long. It is possibly my overall favorite track, definitely favorite instrumental. Listen to the studio album version, not live versions (though those are good as well). The way it builds, and then eases off, and builds again, the crescendos, the dynamics -- I just love it. Kick back with your favorite beverage - sooo soothing. |
Oh , how could I forget Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, They have So many good albums and many are very different Studio albums[edit]
You'll find them categorized as Jazz/Country/Folk/Bluegrass |
2nd Herbie Hancock Headhunter and Donald Byrd Blackbird as easy to listen to, if you like female vocalists check out Cold blood, Lydia Pense singing "I’m a good woman" Always thought John Mayall’s Turning point was more jazz than the blues he is known for, lots of great stuff on offer but none of those 3 mentioned above are way out there good listening ,be safe. frothy tune on John Mayall LP to check out is "California" |
Thanks again guys. This is why I always come back to Audiogon, even when I've been gone for a while. You guys have given me days of listening "assignments". Random thoughts so far: I like Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. Easy to listen to. Heard some of it before. But it isn't pulling me in deep. I will keep listening. Often my favorite music takes a while to hook me. Listening to Ronnie Earl right now. I dig it but if no one had told me I would have just called it straight up blues. Great idea about the Ken Burns documentary. I've watched quite a few episodes of the country music documentary and enjoyed them all even though I don't like country music. So the one on jazz should be perfect for someone who is trying to develop a taste for it. I wish he would do a full series on the blues! Still exploring Marcus Miller. Some of it is too funky for me. Listened to some of Brubeck's Time Out. Recognized a lot of those songs. Will definitely go back to that. For some reason I find I'm not into female vocals much. Its never been a conscious thing. But, even looking back at my current music collection there just aren't a lot of female vocalists. I do like Nina Simone but for whatever reason some of the other female vocalists recommended here just don't do it for me. Anyway, looking forward to moving down through these recommendations and again, I sincerely appreciate them. George |
@n80 "Listening to Ronnie Earl right now. I dig it but if no one had told me I would have just called it straight up blues" There are many categories of Blues just like Jazz or any genre. I absolutely love Ronnie Earls music, and I would place him in the Jazz/Blues, or Blues/Jazz, or straight up Blues if you wish. Ronnie is one of the most under-rated Blues guitarists in the world! Kudos to him! |
+1 Weather Report +1 Swiss Movement McCann/Harris sound great! The Speakers Corner pressing is lovely. Very Fun. And Heavy Weather is another very enjoyable piece to put on. Ben Webster has a great tone and soulful style of playing. Lou Donaldson is another that has a super cool tone. "Blues Walk" would be a good one to start with. |
@onhwy61 said: "If you don't like what you've heard, then why bother?" Well, a couple of things come to mind: At first I didn't like beer, bourbon, Scotch, asparagus, caviar, oysters, foie gras, etc etc. Over a lifetime I've come to value and appreciate those things. Second, it would be distinctly possible for someone who had never listened to the blues or never listened to rock to be presented with any number of songs that they didn't like that were not representative of the entire genre and then assume, possibly wrongly, that they didn't like rock or the blues. So the answer is, that my experience with jazz might be insufficient to know whether there are types and songs I would like more than others and that keeping an open mind I might find that jazz is an acquired taste that is worth acquiring. Like single malt Scotch. @onhwy61 said: "Life is short, you should listen to music you like." Agreed. But I also think life is too short to limit one's enjoyment. That can get repetitive. @onhwy61 said: "By your own admission your question is insane. That said, there's easy access to any number of streaming services or even FM that will give you a taste." Well, as insane as the question was I've got two pages of excellent recommendations for which I am thankful. George |
Absolutely guarantee you will love this album if you favor Steely Dan type music--Michael Franks Time Together It is a double winner--great music and great sound in your style. Fourplay Elixir great music, OK sound. After you hear the MF album, I have many more in that style I could tell you about. Bob |
For timeless classic jazz: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue & Sketches of Spain For chill saxophone: John Klemmer, Touch For jazz-inflected pop: Michael Franks For piano: Ellis Marsalis, Thelonius Monk, Marcus Roberts Brazilian Jazz: Bebel Gilberto, Nando Lauria, Gabriela Anders Classic vocal jazz: Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington |
I got into jazz not long ago when I turned some on doing chores around the house. Now I’m head over heels for it, and am learning about new and great artists everyday. I love a good ballad/slower tempo jazz and created a nice sized Spotify playlist of selections. Here are a few excellent albums I have listened to lately. Paul Chambers - Bass On Top - the first song Yesterdays is incredible Ike Quebec - Blue And Sentimental and also Heavy Soul - very beautiful and accessible Jazz Duke Pearson - Tender Feelin’s - beautiful jazz pianist Yusef Lateef - Eastern Sounds - Interesting album and I play the song Love Theme From Spartacus almost everyday. Something about his playing... Joe Pass and Oscar Peterson - Porgy and Bess - if you love guitar you will love Joe Bill Evans and Jim Hall - Undercurrent - beautiful album from start to finish. Excellent piano via Evans and guitar via Hall. Dexter Gordon - Biting The Apple - Dexter has a magical way with Ballads. His rendition of Georgia On My Mind is stunning Gene Ammons - Boss Tenor - Gene’s plating is beautiful and touching. He can give me chills and My Romance is a great song off this album. Ben Webster & Associates - this album, specifically the song Time After Time really got me into Jazz. The subtlety and beauty of his playing made me feel jazz, and his playing was like beautiful lyrics. Coleman Hawkins Quartet - Today and Now - A great song is Love Song From “Apache”. I could go on but there’s a few ideas. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/70s6FreBdsDocjdjJWcxgf?si=6eCfCkXtT_-DHSQmmOMoEQ |
So, Miles Davis. I like Kind of Blue and like Porgy and Bess. Most definitely do not like Big Fun or Bitches Brew. Those two seem very abstract to me, discordant, uncomfortable. I know that’s heresy but that is not the direction for me. Not yet anyway. Watched the first episode of Burn’s Jazz. I liked it. My wife was not all that interested but episode two is about Louis Armstrong and that generation which is what she likes so she is looking forward to it. Liked David Sanborn’s Another Hand. Listening to Coltrane’s Beautiful Star In Town and liking it so far. |
@oregonpapa I thought Pat Metheny's assessment of Kenny G was classic: He had major rhythmic problems and his harmonic and melodic vocabulary was extremely limited, mostly to pentatonic based and blues- lick derived patterns, and he basically exhibited only a rudimentary understanding of how to function as a professional soloist in an ensemble. |
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