I'll explain "snobby, highbrow jazz" to you, if you explain "snobby highbrow audio" to me. |
Gents, and Ladies Charlie Haden is performing Aug 26 at Blue Note celebrating his 65th birthday so hurry-up to New York to hear him unrecorded i.e. live. |
Sonny Rollins, Way out West... has dimensionality, pace, pop, feel and atmosphere to name but a few positives it gives off. Many of the inclusions are fabulous, however I feel this disc is vital. Enjoy! |
Well, I would suggest picking up some live Bela Fleck. I have Live Art which is pretty good, though I miss the conitnuity of a complete live performance (for example, some songs have sax and the overall band lineup changes in general throughout the different songs). Though I haven't heard it, others have recommended the latest Live at the Quick to me, so that should be worth checking out.
BTW, another really good jazz band in the jamband scene is Galactic. They are probably the best show I've ever scene. |
Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" is the classic album that all jazz muscians acknowledge as one of the most important recording ever. Also, anything with Ray Brown. |
Here's 2 of the BEST. Go to the website WWW.DCCBLOWOUT.COM and buy the M&K label dual album gold cd entitled "For Duke" & "Fatha" while you are there, pick up the DCC CD title "A Portrait of PeeWee" Both of these are on sale for $17.99 & $4.99 at DCCBLOWOUT(the best prices around for these). I have both cd's and they are two of the most toe tapping Jazz recordings I have ever heard. Wilson Audio used the "For Duke" record to showcase their new Watt/Puppy 7.0's at HE2002 in NYC this year. I was there and every person in the Wilson room was astonished at how real the "For Duke" album track "Take The A Train" sounded coming out of the watt/puppy 7.0's. The DCC label PeeWee Russel cd is also incredible. The Last track has a drum solo that sounds like it is in your living room. Not only are these both very musical, they are also two of the best remastered cd's I've heard. If you love Jazz this is the best $23.00 you will ever spend. |
"Soular Energy" The Ray Brown Trio featuring Gene Harris.
Outstanding. |
The Philadelphia Experiment...if you dont own this...Santa is gonna slap ya! Merry x-mas.... |
In addition to those mentioned above:
Eric Dolphy "Out To Lunch"
John Coltrane and Milt Jackson "Bags and Trane"
Freddie Hubbard "Red Clay" |
Pat Metheny, one of the talented jazz musicians ever - and unbelievably dynamic in concert. Yet, no one has mentioned him, hmmm. Sure, Herbie and Miles are great, but Metheny's range of music is most adventurous and creative. |
I'll just quietly slip into the back of the lecture hall and take notes. Since I forget to bring the books on the reading list, I'll consult the *starters'* list of jazz standards and contemporary jazz classics at
http://amadeus.siba.fi/~eonttone/standard.html |
Pat Metheny, INDEED! - pretty much anything, except Zero Tolerance for Silence which is not for beginners or even casual jazz fans.
Keith Jarrett - the compilation "rarum: Selected Recordings" is a great overview of his work from '74 to '94, then in no particular order Live at the Blue Note, Whisper Not, Tokyo '96, Koln Concert, La Scala, The Melody at Night with You, My Song, Belonging, Arbour Zena, on and on.
Dave Holland Quintet - especially Not for Nothin', Prime Directive and What Goes Around (actually a big band recording).
Chris Potter, excellent young sax player - Travelling Mercies, Gratitude.
Charles Lloyd - recent recordings on ECM are great.
Kurt Rosenwinkel, great young guitar player - The Enemies of Energy.
Joni Mitchell, don't laugh or smirk, some of her stuff has a very real jazz feel to it - Hejira and other recordings post-1976, particularly one from 1980 with Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Lyle Mayes, Wayne Shorter, Jack DeJohnette (I think that was the line-up. |
for an online jazz source try kkjz.org. it is kkjz 88.1 in LA. jazz all the time, blues on sat and sun from 2-7pm, jazz on the latin side on friday 6-10p. the greatest hosts on the air, chuck niles, sam fields and more.
this is the cal state long geach radio station which survives mostly on member contributions. they now have a playlist to check what played and when just in case you didnt hear the announcer identify the tkune he just played.
another resource is All Music Guide at
http://www.allmusic.com
this is exceedingly valuable and its free. it is available in print but the true value is on line.
...regards...tr |
how bout another young lion not yet mentioned
saxiphonist Chris Potter
his album Gratitude (and his others) are all excellent jazz renderings
tom |
Jazz has a home in Canada at CKUA in Alberta and on the Web at CKUA.com. Mountain Standard Time MST Saturday afternoons, most days 3-6, and various shows like Voices in Jazz.
CKUA plays all music styles all day, not focusing on types of music but what the personality has decided. This is a member organized station and is supported financially by the listener. If you enjoy non corporate, no commercial radio that doesn't push you to buy the latest stuff while it supports artists this is a great listen for you.
Bill Khool is a noted CKUA radio personality who supports jazz and is recognized in the past year by his peers in the industry Canada wide.
Listen and learn! |
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A previous poster mentioned Mark C.Gridley's jazz text;it has his top jazz recordings list and is a good overview of the subject.
Here are a few to get you started:
Early jazz--Louis Armstrong, hot 5/hot 7 recordings
Swing--Ellington,Live at Newport
Bop--Charles Parker,Ornithology
Hard Bop--John Coltrane,Giant Steps
Cool--Miles Davis,Kind of Blue
Modern--Bill Evans,Sunday Live at the Villiage Vanguard |
The best place I've found to hear a wide variety of old and new jazz is Mainstream Jazz with Bob Parlocha. You can access it on jazz88fm.com. This is a public radio station in Minneapolis that plays mostly jazz. |
Pieces of a Dream/Love's Silhouette
Incredible music and well recorded. |
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just relistened to two classic jazz albums. Kenny Burrell's midnight blue and Sonny Clark's cool struttin'. Both excellent efforts from two fantastic artists. |
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I don't have anything to add to the incredible and huge list already mentioned here in terms of recordings. There is a book that I've read awhile back, however, that has helped me understand and enjoy jazz immensely and it might be worthwhile for those who are new to check it out. The book is Jonny King's "An Insider's Guide to Understanding and Listening to Jazz." King's knowledge and prose combined with his enthusiasm make for a quick and entertaining read. Higly recommended. |
Stan Getz - Getz/Gilberto
Abbey Lincoln - You Gotta Pay the Band
Phineas Newborn - The Great Jazz Piano of Phineas Newborn
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - The Inflated Tear
Horace Silver - Song For My Father
Abdullah Ibrahim - Ekaya
Jimmy Scott - All The Way
John Coltrane - Giant Steps
Sarah Vaughn - No Count Sarah
The Bad Plus - Here Are The Vistas
Betty Carter - The Audience With Betty Carter
World Saxophone Quartet - Revue
David Murray - Ming
The Modern Jazz Quartet - Farewell Concert
Joe Pass - Virtuoso
Thelonius Monk - Alone, In San Franscisco
Clifford Brown and Max Roach - Vol.1
Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool
Hampton Hawes - Hampton Hawes Trio, Vol. 1
Terry Gibbs - Latin Connection
Art Ensemble of Chicago - Les Stances A Sophie
Buddy Rich - The Roar of 74
Wes Montgomery - Live at Tsubos's
Mongo Santamaria - Sabroso
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Woody Shaw - Stepping Stones
John Zorn - Masada 8
Wynton Marsalis - Black Codes Form the Underground
Branford Marsalis - Trio Jeepy
Jimmy Smith - Organ Grinder Swing
Larry Young - Unity
Oscar Peterson - West Side Story
George Benson - Bad Benson
The Crusaders - Free As the Wind
Count Basie - Atomic Basie
Duke Ellington - Money Jungle
Coleman Hawkins - Hawk Flies High
---outta time, but the list is endless...really
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I'm a relative novice, having just begun to explore the world of Jazz. Of the 50 or so titles I now own, by far,and by a wide margin, the best selection is Wayne Shorter's JU JU. |
unless i missed other posts,their is some out-standing material out on the ecm label. |
To be totally contentious :)...
Although I like many of the recordings mentioned in the previous posts I find MANY of them boring, repetitve, and, to be frank, out of date. What was cutting edge 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago is no longer. This is not to say I don't like that music. My SACD of Stan Getz, Jobim, and Gilberto gets lots of late night airplay, as well as recordings by Miles, Mingus, Coltrane, Red Garland, Wynton Kelly..etc., etc., etc..
However...! Here are a few more comtemporary suggestions:
Dave Douglas "Freak In" And "The Infinite"
Laurent de Wilde (killer!) Stories
Brad Meldhau (any recording)
Tomasz Stanko Soul of Things
e.s.t. Somewhere Else Before
Jacky Terrason Smile and A Paris...
Jon Abercrombie (almost any recording) Tactics...best live performance I've ever heard, with Pat Martino and Joey Defrancesco Live At Yoshi's a close second
Lonnie Plaxico Melange
Charles Mc Bride Vertical Vision
Dan Wall Of The Wall (he plays Hammond Organ for John Abercrombie)
Anything by a Canadian group called Metalwood
And check out the DVD Audio recording of Medeski Martin and Woods Uninvisible. Also check out John Scofield.
IMO, although much of the older stuff is revealing of jazz's history, and possessed of much good playing it is no longer cutting edge and innovative. It is certainly the wellspring and body of work which must be mastered by anyone hoping to "play jazz" but I believe that the essence of jazz does not lay in the past, but in the present (or future), and very much in the hands of young technically accomplished musicians who mine tradition for technique but who are also fired up by more current musical trends.
BTW I offer these observations and suggestions in the spirit of friendly controversy. I mean no offense to the "trad jazz" fans.
Doug
PS anyone know the origins of the word "jazz"? |
Hi Dok,
There is nothing contentious about acknowledging the essentially modern outlook of Jazz. You are absolutely correct about that, and I think many, if not most people in the music would see it that way. Certainly many of its most important contributors (i.e. Coleman Hawkins, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, etc.) were fierce modernists that strived to remain part of the creative flow. However, I would never say that Thelonius Monk's music is dated, nor much of Miles Davis' oeuvre, nor that of many others. Their art is essentially timeless, perhaps the only useful definition of the word "classic" as it applies to Jazz.
According to an old book on Jazz by Marshall Stearns, the word Jazz is derived from the word Jass, which was a slang word in the New Orleans red light district that meant screwing.
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My all time favorite is the JVC XRCD Sonny Rollins "way out west" CD.Breath taking CD..XRCD medium is amazing.. |
One of the best sources for building a jazz collection
is the Concord Records catalog. Great artists, great sounding recordings and great deals. |
John Mclaughlin "Extrapolation".
In the similar vein to Miles "In A Silent Way"(add that to list as well)
Incredible melodic guitar . Absolute virtuoso performance.with `Sax Bass Drums.
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Ray Brown Trio. 2 fer cd live "The Red Hot", and "Bam, Bam, Bam." Just excellent piano, bass, & drums. A swinging good time and excellent sound. There is some crowd noise, but to me it doesn't detract from the performances at all. |
One more. Fritzel's Jazz Band. You probably have to go to New Orleans to get this one, at Fritzel's Europeon Jazz Club on Bourbon St. They have live jazz there most nights, really good New Orleans style jazz. Some of the best musicians in town jam there. The cd is a recording of basically the house band. Very nice. |
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I enjoy listening to Wynton Marsalis |
Return to Forever, "Romantic Warrior." "No Mystery" is also very good. This is "good" jazz fusion. The players are Chick Corea - Keyboards etc., Stanley Clarke - Bass extraordinaire, Al Dimeola - Guitar, Lenny White - Drums, percussion. Man, these guys are talented and tight. This is music from the mid 70's. It's out in re-mastered versions so the sound is superb, highly recommended. |
Jazz is really diverse. What kind of music or artists did u like b4 getting into jazz, or even now?
My experience was I loved rock when I was a teenager (and still do!), then blues, then ended up in Jazz while listening to all 3 now! |
If you love Monk, you will enjoy Bud Powell (4cd set on
Blue Note), Randy Weston "Volcano Blues", and Mal Waldron
"Hot House". |
check out "rite or strings"....Jean Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke and Al Di Meola. Just saw them live so I've been reexperiencing this classic album. Amazing. |
Check Out David Sanchez's CD titled "Obsesion"
David Sanchez's CD titled "Travesia"...
I'd also recommend Arturo Sandoval's "Trompet Evolution"... |
Well, I don't claim to be well-versed or well-schooled in jazz music by any means, but I own a lot of it. Here are my favs:
-Bela Fleck + Flecktones: Live Art
-John Mclaughlin + Mahavishnu Orchestra: Inner Mounting Flame
-Coltrane: Giant Steps
-Davis: The Complete Concert 1964 (live 2 disc set)
-Davis and Coltrane: Miles and Coltrane
-John Scofield: A Go Go
-Medeski, Martin and Wood: It's a Jungle in Here
-Chris |
Well, with due respect, most of the time folks discuss jazz, they're not really jazz fans, not straight ahead fans, that is. When artists as diverse as Duke Ellington and Boney James are included in the forum, it's like, well, talking about the merits of Johnnie Walker Red in chat about Bowemore-like single malts...
And anyway, this topic is the stuff of doctoral candidates. It's almost like asking for recommendations on high-fi cables and interconnects, where you'll get lots of opinions ("...the cables created a new sense of brightness and clarity while enhancing a greater sense of a total black background...") and even some science thrown in ("...the interconnects created an enhanced sound stage...") (the last part about science was tongue in cheek). So with that, in order to get past the mind numbing 'what is jazz?' stuff, just keep in mind, for technical 'definition' purposes a jazz composition has a beginning, middle and end. The start and finish are the central melody, known as the "head." The middle is generally the improvisation built around the head. Jazz is not, with all deference: Windham Hill, Smoothe Jazz radio stations, Tuck and Patty, the veritable cornacopia of Latin artists who play folk music but get air play on left-end-of-the-FM-dial-as-jazz-artists, Boney James, Najee, Kenny G, everything Grover Washington did post 1973 (God rest his soul), and not Diana Krall. Sorry.
Anyway, if you are into sterling recordings that cover the range of the birth of Cool in the 50s up to the fusion era of the early 70s, try these:
-Mile Davis "Kind of Blue"
-Art Blakey "Album of the Year" (pressed in Amsterdam in the early 80s. Bobby Watson, Charles Pierce, Wynton Marsalis-- when he was around 18 yrs old--an incredible recording. And good luck in finding it)
-Joe Henderson "Mode for Joe"
-Herbie Hancock "Maiden Voyage"
-Wayne Shorter "Speak No Evil" (1998 remastering by Rudy Van Gelder, contains alternate take of "Dance Cadaverous")
-Woody Shaw "Two More Pieces of the Puzzle"
-John Coltrane "A Love Supreme" (no, actually, get the entire Classic Quartet collection)
-Chick Corea "Three Quartets" and "I rememer Bud (Powell)"
-Frank Zappa "Hot Rats" ("Son of Mr Greenjeans" and "It Must Be a Camel" are among the best jazz compositions of all times)
-Weather Report "Heavy Weather" and "Mr Gone"
-Anything by: Bill Evans, Stan Getz, MyCoy Tyner and Tony Williams.
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I'm more of a Macallan's scotch drinker myself but I did enjoy the put down of Diana Krall. Let's face it Jazz is many things to many people. Here are a few recordings to look for. Maybe not as an entry point, but there are many great examples of intro to jazz here already, but if you get into trying out different things you may find some pleasure here.
Susie Ibarra - Songbird Suite - Tzadik
William Parker Violin Trio - Scrapbook - Thirsty Ear
Anouar Brahem - Le Pas De Chat Noir - ECM
Chicago Underground Trio - Slon - Thrill Jockey
hope you can track down a few of these
matthew |
There are many younger jazz artists making great music right now which is neither bland nor too abstract to listen to. They include bassist Ben Allison, drummer Matt Wilson, saxophonist Ted Nash. I also love David S Ware, pianist Matthew Shipp,and bassist William Parker. Also try trombonist Joshua Roseman, drummer Bobby Previte and others. |
There have been some wonderful recommendations here, let me add one that I just picked up last night: Joe Lovano "I'm all for you" on Blue Note. Terrific tenor sax jazz with a great supporting cast on bass, drums, piano. Superbly recorded, it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it shure got me looking at his other works. I bet he's great live. Just wanted to pass this one on. |
Jazz has many faces and atmospheres. To me, there is not much that can take away from a good evening with some 'ole scratchies (better yet if not scratched).
If someone wanted a start, I'd first tell them to get a 'entry-level' turntable (go for a used Thorens or AR with new arm or a Dual restored). The second step would be to get about $100-$150 dollars together and visit www.euclidrecords.com. They sell good condition vinyl for usually $4-8 an album. You can really rack up a collection.
Most importantly, purchase recordings such as:
Bill Evans, Sunday At the Village Vanguard
Miles Davis, Kind of Blue
John Coltane, Cresent OR Live at the Village Vanguard
Ahmad Jamal, (anything on Argo or Chess)
Wayne Shorter, Speak No Evil
Sonny Rollins, Saxaphone Colloseus
Herbie Hancock, Maiden Voyage
Miles Davis, Someday My Prince Will Come
John Coltrane, Lush Life OR Soultrane
Billie Holiday, Lady in Satin
Sonny Stitt, anything on Verve
Wes Montgomery, Bumpin
Sonny Criss, anything on Imperial
Dave Brubeck, Time Out OR Angel Eyes
Bill Evans, Interplay (I'm looking for that now in 180g)
Wynton Marsalis, J-Mood or Black Codes (from the Underground)
Sam Rivers, Countors or Fushia, Fushia Swing
Keith Jarrett, Kohn Concert OR Bremen/Lausanne
Wes Montgomery, A New Dynamic Sound
When you get past the 'intro' stuff, get a 'little' deeper:
Ornette Coleman, The Shape of Jazz to Come
Pharoah Sanders, Kharma (impluse) or Pharoah Sanders Quintet (ESP, also called Pharoah's First)
Jaki Byrd, anything in the late 50's thru 60's on Riverside or Prestige
Thelonious Monk, ...Himself
Andrew Hill, Point of Departure
Lowell Davidson Trio (Esp....almost non-existant anywhere)
Cecil Taylor, Unit Structures or any live solo work
Don Cherry, Symphony for Improvisers
Anthony Braxton, anything by him
Albert Ayler, Spiritual Unity OR Bells
Henry Grimes Trio, The Call
Patty Waters, College Tour OR Sings
Sun Ra, Space is the Place (impulse version only)
Sam Rivers, Trio (impulse)
Sonny Simmons, Music from the Spheres
I may not have my degree, but I've put-in my 15 years. Not bad for a 25 year old :-) |
Late to the scene, but some other gems that have rewarded my ears and soul over the years include:
(LPs):
Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley
Nancy Wilson/George Shearing - 'The Swinging Mutuals'
Jan Garbarek - 'Star'
Danny Thompson - 'Elemental'
Gustav Broma Orchestra (1968)
Ella Fitzgerald - 'Let No Man Write My Epitaph'
Sonnie Rollins - 'Alfie'
Peggy Lee - 'Black Coffee'
Kenny Burrell - 'Moon and Sand'
Cassandra Wilson - ANY
Abdullah Ibrahim - 'Water from an Ancient Well'
(CDs):
Tina May - 'Time Will Tell'
Keith Jarrett - 'At the Deer Head Inn'
Joe Sample - 'Old Places Old Faces'
Carmen Lundy - Self Portrait
Kitty Margolis - 'Straight Up with a Twist'
Wherever possible, I'd suggest you try to get them on vinyl. Some of these might prove hard to find (at least they did this side of the pond: England) but are all worthy of the effort. Anyway, I hope they will open up new musical vistas for you: they did for me. |
Anything with bassist Ray Brown! |
Speaking of bass players I just picked up a fairly new CD by Michael Manring called "The Book of Flame". Both the recording and performance is exception. |
Bob,Ive not heard Michael Manring,but i will look it up,Thanks! Dgob,Im a big Nancy Wilson fan!And a fan of good female vocals,you mentioned a few i have not heard yet!There is so much great music mentioned on this thread ,,a lot i have not heard,should be fun checking them out!Ray |
