[Shizdan]

I am new to this type of music. What are the MOST popular albums in 1-5 order that I should pick up for classical and jazz for ENTRY level listening......like something that will pull me in!

 

[scytheavatar]

For jazz:

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

These 3 are the big 3 of jazz and a good starting place for any collection.

Classical music is a bit more complicated. I suggest that you start with Beethoven, not that he is the best classical composer out there but because his stuff is popular and easy to get and has a good mix of accessibility with "depth". I suggest that you get Karajan's 1963 Symphony Cycle first, cheap and still one of the best you can get. Then maybe check out some Schubert, Mozart, Bach and Tchaikovsky, all which are quite accessible. Search around this forum for more recommedations.

 

[Oteil]

Jazz:
Miles Davis - A Kind of Blue
John Coltrane - Blue Train
Louis Armstrong and the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens - any vol.
Thelonious Monk - Genius of Modern Music Vol.1 and Vol.2
Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius

- you can't go wrong with any Herbie Hancock, all his stuff is pretty much stellar

Classical(I will just list some pieces that you can't go wrong with, you might want to seek out what might be the best recording or performance):

George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings
Claude Debussy - Prelude to an Afternoon with a Faun
Mozart - Symphony 40 & 41
Beethoven - Symphony no. 3 (Eroica)

this is just the tip of the iceberg, I am sure lot of others will have great suggestions

 

[Uncle Erik]

First, I'd recommend you pick up the NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music and the NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Jazz. Both are terrific introductions for the new listener. They include historical and background information and give you lists of very popular titles to build a library around.

Classical recommendations are tough - the genre is huge, there's so much to cover and the styles are really, really different. Classical might seem staid and stodgy, but it is anything but. You can sample a few hundred years of development, from conservative styles to some of the most radical music ever written.

For a sampling of classical, try Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, Mozart's Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter," Beethoven's Fifth (the Sixth, Seventh and Ninth are wonderful, too), Chopin's Nocturnes, Shostakovich's Firebird Suite, Arvo Part's Alina, and give Holst's Planets a try. That covers a lot of ground, though it leaves out a couple hundred incredible works you also need to hear. But you'll get to those in time.

For jazz, pick up the two jazz albums everyone loves and go from there. Those are "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis and "Time Out" by Dave Brubeck. Both have deep, excellent catalogs.

One neat trick to jazz is that if you love an album, pay attention to the other players on it. For instance, if you love "Kind of Blue" (and I think you will), you'll notice that John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly and Bill Evans play on it. You'll find that all three of them recorded a bunch of other discs, so go check those out. Bill Evans is a real favorite of mine; his "Waltz for Debby" gets a lot of spins and the recording is wonderful, too. So give those two a listen and start branching out from there. Get other discs, learn about other musicians, get their recordings, and just let it branch out from there. There's so much overlap between musicians and their projects that you won't hit any dead ends.

You'll probably hate me for this, but if you want to get into classical and jazz, there's another piece of hardware you should pick up.

See if you can find a good price on a Sony SCD-CE595 SACD player. I got one a couple years ago for about $70. You should be able to find one between $100-$120, sometimes less if Sony is clearing out refurbs. It's not the best player out there, but it's plenty good enough to deliver the benefits of SACD. If you want to build a classical collection, SACD is a terrific way to go. Classical really pays off with hi-rez and the recordings tend towards the excellent. Even better, you can find a bunch of RCA Living Stereo re-releases of absolutely classic albums on SACD for about $10 each, sometimes less. There's also a fair amount of jazz on SACD, but the format really pays off if you love classical.

Oh, and you might also want to keep an eye out for a used AKG K-501.

They do classical and jazz better than just about anything short of the K-1000. They go between $100-$150.

Apologies for working hardware recommendations into a music thread.

 

[DBrim]

It might help to know what genres you prefer, because there can be good bridges into jazz (I don't know anything about classical).

For example, if you like rock, you may want to look into Fusion, such as Miles Davis' late 60s and early 70s albums, especially Bitches Brew and A Tribute to Jack Johnson.

 

[holyharry]

I've been slowly easing myself into Jazz and Classical for a while now, and I would strongly urge you to try to find a good Jazz club locally and go see a couple of performances.

Jazz is a different experience live, there's tremendous fission and interplay between an audience and the musicians, and you get a real feeling for the brilliant artistry and sheer fun of it all. That becomes a point of reference for future listening at home.

Same with classical, but in a different way. Your first experience of a symphonic orchestra in full flight right there in front of you will lift you off your feet. And as for Opera... I used to hate it. If it started to play on the radio, or TV, I'd change stations. Then, a couple of years back I got a job working for a local festival and was lucky enough to see five full scale opera's, best seats in the house. One of them was only ok, but the other four brought real tears to my eyes, I couldn't believe it!

Here's two contemporary recordings I recommend...

Gorecki, Symphony No. 3 (Classical)

Marcin Wasilewski, January (Jazz)

Enjoy!


[Edit] Just realised both of those are Polish. Don't know why, pure coincidence! Or, maybe the Poles have something to tell us...

 

[Shizdan]

Hey thanks guys for taking the time to write the great things you wrote. As for style's i like, I listen to ALOT of Pearl Jam. There is no better singer I believe that brings o much emotion into his or her work. As for the SACD stuff, I have no clue what it is. Could somebody provide me with a description. I googled it but am still unsure.

Edit - SACD is pretty much a CD on Steroids? Like Blue Ray is to DVD?

 

[DBrim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shizdan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey thanks guys for taking the time to write the great things you wrote. As for style's i like, I listen to ALOT of Pearl Jam. There is no better singer I believe that brings o much emotion into his or her work. As for the SACD stuff, I have no clue what it is. Could somebody provide me with a description. I googled it but am still unsure. Edit - SACD is pretty much a CD on Steroids? Like Blue Ray is to DVD?

SACD has a higher sampling rate than CDs, not sure of the rest of the technical aspects. As with 99% of audiophillia, some people can hear the difference and some do not.

I think you'll really like A Tribute to Jack Johnson. It's more rock-jazz than jazz-rock, but it's still a really nice album. Bitches Brew is a bit denser and takes a few listens to really "get", so you may want to skip it and go for In a Silent Way instead.

I also came from rock, and one of the first Jazz musicians I've taken a big liking to is Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He's a hard bop jazz musician and one hell of a showman (who else can play 3 saxes at the same time, or flute and nose recorder, and also be competent at clarinet, oboe, and trumpet). You can basically throw a dart at his catalog and find something good, but I really like his live stuff.

 

[xaval]

Great suggestions here already, so I'll just chime in a bit more.

The one record that brought me closer to both jazz and classical was Porgy & Bess with Ella and Louis doing the singing. It's pure magic although not exactly audiophile material, it's the music and soul on it that matters and I just had to get more from here.

On the jazzy side of thinks, try and pickup some Keith Jarret material. My favorite pianist in the genre and usually with nothing but the best performers. I've got almost every recording he ever did and is really hard to recommend where to "begin" - have a go at Live Standards 1 or 2...

As for the classical material, wow, you have centuries to run through... have a go at Wagner for intensity, scale, release, drama, pursuit... Symph 1 or 5. Really hard to recommend...

 

[whaleyboy]

FWIW, I personally like Sonny Rollins more than Miles Davis for a beginner jazz enthusiast. I am no expert - just a budding enthusiast who is sticking a foot into the water (after sticking various toes in from time to time).

I got introduced to jazz from DJ friends who were big hip hop fans (as I was) and the speed at which Rollins plays really appeals. I started going to jazz shows and was blown away at how much fun they were to see - particularly Rollins who, despite being a little older, can rip it up on stage. Sort of a Holy XYXZ moment for me.

Heck, I am listening to some Sonny Rollins right now and I hope that he brings as much pleasure to you as he has to me.

EDIT: I really like Miles Davis, too, it is just that Rollins plays really fast (most of the time) and that speed is easy to "get" if you are into rock bands that jam. Mr. Davis is next in the queue this afternoon...

 

[RonMiller1]

Instead of giving you an album recommendation, I will say that with both of these genres, Wikipedia can be a great resource. I'm pretty new to both myself, and when I find an album I like, I will go to it's article on wikipedia.

With Jazz it's great because you can learn who else played on the album, who influenced who. It's a never ending musical tree, branching off all over the place.

For Classical is it great because you can learn about the different time periods, the styl changes within them, and again learn who influenced who, which will help you appreciate parts of the music that may have overlooked otherwise.

Okay, I lied about not giving a recommendation. I say listen to some Dave Bruback, as he does Jazz with classical influence.

 

[tdogzthmn]

Just wanted to say this is a great thread! I love finding new Jazz artists. My personal faves are: 'Round Midnight - Thelonious Monk, off the Columbia Years Disc, Softly, William, Softly - Dave Brubek Time In, So What - Miles Davis Kind of Blue.

Keep posting!

 

[TubeStack]

I've been dipping my toes into jazz waters a bit lately, too.

One album that really has me under its spell is Idle Moments by Grant Green.

 

[nekomura]

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Bill Evans - Portrait in Jazz
Bill Evans - Waltz for Debby

The thing heard easily compared it was chosen.

 

[plonter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scytheavatar /img/forum/go_quote.gif For jazz: Miles Davis - Kind of Blue John Coltrane - A Love Supreme Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady These 3 are the big 3 of jazz and a good starting place for any collection. Classical music is a bit more complicated. I suggest that you start with Beethoven, not that he is the best classical composer out there but because his stuff is popular and easy to get and has a good mix of accessibility with "depth". I suggest that you get Karajan's 1963 Symphony Cycle first, cheap and still one of the best you can get. Then maybe check out some Schubert, Mozart, Bach and Tchaikovsky, all which are quite accessible. Search around this forum for more recommedations.

HI. i am also looking for getting into jazz, till now i have been only listening to steely dan ("aja" and "pretzels logic") and donald fagen's "the night fly" which i found good sounding but not as good and dynamic as steely dan's "aja" album.

are those albums mentioned above are smooth jazz or more to the fast dynamic stuff?