I agree that is a classic LP. May I suggest you will also like any/all LP's by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers. Solo work by Lee Morgan. Grant Green's LP Idle Moments. Just to name a few.
Jazz Music Question
Hi All,
I have been listening to music for 50 plus years and just don't have the jazz styles and artists locked in my mind like I do for rock.
So, anyway, I acquired Cannonball Adderley's "Somethin Else" and I think that it is fantastic.
What style/genre of jazz is this album?
I want more of the same - what artists or albums might you recommend?
Thanks for listening,
Dsper.
I have been listening to music for 50 plus years and just don't have the jazz styles and artists locked in my mind like I do for rock.
So, anyway, I acquired Cannonball Adderley's "Somethin Else" and I think that it is fantastic.
What style/genre of jazz is this album?
I want more of the same - what artists or albums might you recommend?
Thanks for listening,
Dsper.
24 responses Add your response
@dsper, This genre or era (Basically early1950s to early 1960s) is classified as "Hard Bop". This genre evolved from the "Be Bop" of the mid to late 1940s. There’s a ton of superb musicians and recordings to explore. Record Labels from this timeframe such as "Blue Note", "Prestige" "Riverside" "Contemporary" Artists from this era, Saxophonists, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Rollins, Harold Land, Johnny Griffin, Benny Golson, Jackie McLean, Jimmy Heath, Gerry Mulligan , Pepper Adams, Art Pepper. Trumpeters, Clifford Brown, Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, Miles Davis (1950s pre Modal era) Joe Gordon, Chet Baker, Nat Adderley (Cannonball’s brother), Art Farmer. Vibraphonist Milt Jackson I believe you’d enjoy. There are many, many more from this fantastic period of jazz. Charles |
Thanks for doing the heavy lifting there, @charles1dad . I got bored with straight-ahead stuff that was common audiophile fodder, didn't completely understand "big band" and did not get into fusion after various hard rock. What got me re-interested in jazz was the post-'70s era, when jazz was really off the map mainstream wise, and all these players were doing it for the music and the community (in the sense of the whole political and cultural movement at the time). What turned me on was "spiritual jazz," now a commercial term though when applied to the records from certain labels, such as Strata-East (with stratospheric prices) was a cool era. I just started surfing artists. One I dig-- still alive as of this writing- is Cecil McBee, who appeared on myriad jazz albums, mainly in the '70s and into the '80s. Most are small combo, spare, with improvisation. The classics are worth revisiting- current Blue Note reissues can be analog and cheap, ditto the more offbeat Tone Poet (Katanga! is worth buying now, while still in print). Read. Listen. Do more research about what you like. Hell, I got back on to Art Pepper on a record he did late, with Cecil M. in 1979 rendering "Patricia" in a spare, modern style. Pick a lane. It's fun stuff to listen to, and there is a wealth of information accompanying it. |
"What artists or albums might you recommend?" Tony Williams Quintet - Civilization, also Angel Street. Michael Brecker - Tales from the Hudson, also Two Steps from the Edge Mike Manieri's Steps Ahead - the self-titled first US release but also Smokin' At The Pit (originally, a Japan release only) All these were recorded much later than "Something' Else" but I believe they are considered "hard bop". Check out The All Music Guide for a given album and click on the "Similar Albums" tab for suggestions (although AMG casts a pretty broad net in terms of what they consider "similar"). https://www.allmusic.com/album/somethin-else-mw0000247835/similar Hope you find some new music to enjoy. |
Hi All, This is great stuff! I have albums by some of the artists you mention like Art Blakey, Chet Baker!, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Grant Green!, Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper, etc.; so I guess I am starting to get on the right track. However, there are many names mentioned here that I do not know. This is super; I can be like a kid in a candy store! I have been concentrating on my digital front end the last few years but finally got my KAB modified Technics SL1200 mk5 up and running so who knows what I might find in the vinyl stacks. One off topic comment is that my PWT and Mojo Mystique V3 DAC sound better than the table with an old Ortofon Pro s40 cartridge. Not sure if it is a bad old cartridge or the digital is just better. Anyway, your responses are great! Thanks, Dsper. |
A couple of corrections to my comments. The Michael Brecker album title is "Two Blocks From The Edge". Tony Williams’ quintet is hard bop but Brecker is post bop and I see Steps Ahead classed as fusion (though not fusion as I tend to think of it). "Generally speaking, the difference between Post Bop and Hard Bop is that Hard Bop carries a stronger trace of the blues and a more straight forward driving rhythm...."Above from the article at the link here: https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/subgenre/post-bop FWIW - I have a KAB mod’d Technics table w/Heed Quasar phono pre and a couple of Grado carts. I enjoy analog sessions but listen to digital probably more than 90% of the time. Seems to me getting great sound out of an analog rig might be more challenging (set up and $ invested?) than required to get good sound from digital - my O-pinion. Will be delighted if that doesn’t attract the usual carrion eaters. |
@dsper wrote, ’One off topic comment is that my PWT and Mojo Mystique V3 DAC sound better than the table with an old Ortofon Pro s40 cartridge. Not sure if it is a bad old cartridge or the digital is just better’. You have a very good digital front end. The P.S.Audio PWT is one of the better sounding CD transports around. Your DAC is well regarded. Your front end is definitely capable of getting into the core/essence of the music. 2nd point is that fortunately most jazz recordings transferred very well to Redbook CD (Thank goodness!). No doubt you can achieve terrific sound with a quality analogue/ turntable front end as well. But don’t sell your digital front end short. I can enjoy either format but my digital most certainly gets me eemotionally engaged in my jazz collection quite deeply. There’s literally a ton of "Hard Bop" jazz to be found on Redbook CDs😊. Charles |
@charlesdad1I had some eye surgery and needed to take it easy so I listened to vinyl all day Saturday (wife out of town). Actually found a Sonny Rollins album I had not opened among other things... Snap, Crackle, and Pop! It seems like a real step up in vinyl is going to cost at least $4 or $5 thousand. Not sure it is worth it given the smooth, full bodied sound I am getting with digital. For me, I think it comes down to catching that last bit of treble in the right way to sound like live music. Not there yet! Maybe I should try a Grado cartridge and call it a day. The wood bodies always intrigued me. Thanks for listening, Dsper |
"This genre or era (Basically early1950s to early 1960s) is classified as "Hard Bop". This genre evolved from the "Be Bop" of the mid to late 1940s. There’s a ton of superb musicians and recordings to explore". Excellent advice. Be aware that a good number of the players mentioned in this thread went on to release considerably more adventurous music so sticking to chartles1dad's time frame is your safest bet. |
Welcome to JAZZ! Okay, here’s a can’t miss recommendation. McCoy Tyner and Jackie McLlean’s, 'You taught my heart to sing.' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG9YKhD7A_s It’s a 1985 release, when jazz was "coming back" to a modern audience. Not many even know Jackie McLean. He and both McCoy were around forever. And who can forget the great bassist, Marcus Miller! Hey, there’s nothing like a nice ballad to get your jazz juices going. If you like it, I’ve many more recommendations. Okay, since I’m a nice guy here’s another that's a little known GEM. Chico Freeman’s ’To Hear A Teardrop In The Rain.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrFRdQeGgw0 Let me know what you think. Both of these are very rare finds today. |
Jackie McLean (Alto saxophone) has quite a number of recordings on Prestige and Blue Note labels from mid 1950s through the early 1960s. Many in the quintet grouping with the following 4 Trumpeters. 1 Kenny Dorham 2 Donald Byrd 3 Lee Morgan 4 Freddie Hubbard Very good Hard Bop/ballads/blues mixture. Charles |
dsper, many of the newer artists and recordings suggested here may be good jazz, but they are not "more of the same" as your Cannonball album. The "closest" was already suggested, the ubiquitous "Kind of Blue". Other similar recordings will be the Prestige albums by Miles -- Similarly, the "Bags Groove" recording with Milt Jackson and other period stars is worth a listen. Regarding analog playback, I don't believe $4-5K is necessary for a decent system. Your KAB modified Technics is a good foundation. Adding a new Grado, Audio-Technica, etc. cartridge (MM can be fine), carefully set up, with a decent phono unit and you should be set. Except a good record cleaning device should also be added. There you can spend a couple of hundred or thousands. |