[headbob]

For a while now I've wanted to do this, but I have no idea where to start.
If you guys could, can you recommend me some good jazz artists?  (I prefer to explore specific works by myself)
 
Thanks alot

 

[classakg]

Im not too much into jazz, but i could recommend some stuff of Louis Armstrong and John Coltrane. 

 

[TJ Elite]

Since you only requested names of good jazz artists and not names of great albums, this should be relatively easy. I'll list a bunch of names below and the ones that are my personal favorites or otherwise highly recommended artists will be written with bold letters. Some names listed as vocal jazz might not be vocal jazz in the eyes of some people.

 

Groups: Count Basie and His Orchestra, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, The Five Corners Quintet, Portico Quartet, Trio Töykeät, Weather Report

Vocal jazz: Billie Holiday, Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Prima, Patricia Barber, Sarah Vaughan

Guitar: Django Reinhardt, Grant Green, Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery

Trumpet: Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Louis Armstrong (also sings), Miles Davis, Tomasz Stańko

Saxophone: Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Eric Dolphy, Hank Mobley, Jan Garbarek, Joe Henderson, John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, Oliver Nelson, Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Tina Brooks, Wayne Shorter

Piano: Ahmad Jamal, Alice Coltrane, Andrew Hill, Art Tatum, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver, Jan Johansson, Keith Jarrett, Krzysztof Komeda, McCoy Tyner, Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk

Bass: Charles Mingus, Dave Holland, Paul Chambers

Drums: Art Blakey, Billy Cobham, Tony Williams

 

[moouers]

The name may sound a bit ominous, and I suppose the music is too, but if you want some good, heartfelt, slow, deep, brooding, somber and dark jazz, I'd check out Bohren & der Club of Gore. Another one that's pretty good, yet not overtly bright and fast, would be Cannonball Adderly's album "Somethin' Else". Another one I like is Tomasz Stanko Quartet .

 

[headbob]

Thanks so much guys, TJ especially.  I think I'll look into one artist in each of those categories.  I'm still kinda flummoxed- I look at that list and think-"Hmmm...maybie I'll try Herbie Hancock-but what about Ella Fitzgerald, or maybe Miles Davis?  Jazz Sax sounds good, but what about guitar or bass?"  And so it goes...

 

[Omega]

Great list!
 
Quote:

Since you only requested names of good jazz artists and not names of great albums, this should be relatively easy. I'll list a bunch of names below and the ones that are my personal favorites or otherwise highly recommended artists will be written with bold letters. Some names listed as vocal jazz might not be vocal jazz in the eyes of some people.

 

Groups: Count Basie and His Orchestra, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, The Five Corners Quintet, Portico Quartet, Trio Töykeät, Weather Report

Vocal jazz: Billie Holiday, Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Prima, Patricia Barber, Sarah Vaughan

Guitar: Django Reinhardt, Grant Green, Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery

Trumpet: Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Louis Armstrong (also sings), Miles Davis, Tomasz Stańko

Saxophone: Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Eric Dolphy, Hank Mobley, Jan Garbarek, Joe Henderson, John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, Oliver Nelson, Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Tina Brooks, Wayne Shorter

Piano: Ahmad Jamal, Alice Coltrane, Andrew Hill, Art Tatum, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver, Jan Johansson, Keith Jarrett, Krzysztof Komeda, McCoy Tyner, Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk

Bass: Charles Mingus, Dave Holland, Paul Chambers

Drums: Art Blakey, Billy Cobham, Tony Williams

 

[Dev Avidon]

Quote:

Since you only requested names of good jazz artists and not names of great albums, this should be relatively easy. I'll list a bunch of names below and the ones that are my personal favorites or otherwise highly recommended artists will be written with bold letters. Some names listed as vocal jazz might not be vocal jazz in the eyes of some people.

 

Groups: Count Basie and His Orchestra, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, The Five Corners Quintet, Portico Quartet, Trio Töykeät, Weather Report

Vocal jazz: Billie Holiday, Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Prima, Patricia Barber, Sarah Vaughan

Guitar: Django Reinhardt, Grant Green, Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery

Trumpet: Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Louis Armstrong (also sings), Miles Davis, Tomasz Stańko

Saxophone: Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Eric Dolphy, Hank Mobley, Jan Garbarek, Joe Henderson, John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, Oliver Nelson, Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Tina Brooks, Wayne Shorter

Piano: Ahmad Jamal, Alice Coltrane, Andrew Hill, Art Tatum, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver, Jan Johansson, Keith Jarrett, Krzysztof Komeda, McCoy Tyner, Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk

Bass: Charles Mingus, Dave Holland, Paul Chambers

Drums: Art Blakey, Billy Cobham, Tony Williams

That's an impressive list to be sure (though I still don't get why people like Diana Krall...she has no chops...), but that's also mostly old school cats.  Should get some new school in there too!  Looks like you've got your hands full already, so start with Brad Mehldau, Aaron Goldberg, Oz Noy and the Twisted Blues Band and Maria Schneider.
 

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

That's an impressive list to be sure (though I still don't get why people like Diana Krall...she has no chops...), but that's also mostly old school cats.  Should get some new school in there too!  Looks like you've got your hands full already, so start with Brad Mehldau, Aaron Goldberg, Oz Noy and the Twisted Blues Band and Maria Schneider.
 

I agree about Diana Krall.

 

[GiantSeaPanda]

I'de add Sun Ra

 

[Razeus]

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/503117/if-someone-were-to-ask-me-to-get-them-started-in-jazz/15#post_6807255

 

[tru blu]

 
Quote:

Since you only requested names of good jazz artists and not names of great albums, this should be relatively easy. I'll list a bunch of names below and the ones that are my personal favorites or otherwise highly recommended artists will be written with bold letters. Some names listed as vocal jazz might not be vocal jazz in the eyes of some people.

 

Groups: Count Basie and His Orchestra, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, The Five Corners Quintet, Portico Quartet, Trio Töykeät, Weather Report

Vocal jazz: Billie Holiday, Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Prima, Patricia Barber, Sarah Vaughan

Guitar: Django Reinhardt, Grant Green, Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery

Trumpet: Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Louis Armstrong (also sings), Miles Davis, Tomasz Stańko

Saxophone: Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Eric Dolphy, Hank Mobley, Jan Garbarek, Joe Henderson, John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, Oliver Nelson, Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Tina Brooks, Wayne Shorter

Piano: Ahmad Jamal, Alice Coltrane, Andrew Hill, Art Tatum, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver, Jan Johansson, Keith Jarrett, Krzysztof Komeda, McCoy Tyner, Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk

Bass: Charles Mingus, Dave Holland, Paul Chambers

Drums: Art Blakey, Billy Cobham, Tony Williams

Not only is this a good list; it's an extremely thoughtful endeavor. I could disagree with minor stuff (like I'd rather hear Tomasz Stanko's work on his own rather than with Polanski film-scorer Krzysztof Komeda), but that would just be quibbling.

 

[wantmyf1]

I agree about Diana Krall.  I've long maintained that it she wasn't a tall blonde woman we never would have heard of her.
 
Another ominuous name but a great, modern band in the jazz genre is:  Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.  Not much improvisation and great upbeat tunes.  I've had numerous jazz hating friends who admitted that maybe they could get into jazz after I've played them BBVD.  Great band for the beginner.

 

[DannyBuoy]

I like the list, and not to confuse things, but for me it is difficult to find the "type" or "genre" of Jazz I enjoy.
When I was younger I lived in the Yale district of New Haven CT and there were several Jazz clubs that would get visiting musicians to play with locals on their way to and from Boston or NYC.
Most everything I had listened to was a kind of Avant garde, Free Jazz that seemed as though the musicians were jammin' but highly structured jamming. Passing the solos from one to another building on or breaking down previous rhythms or starting a new line of progression. I never knew what the label was for this kind of Jazz but I sure do miss the style and I have spent years (not continuously, but as the urge strikes me) to find that style and feeling of Jazz out there and I have touched on it, but never felt like I hit gold in finding it.
Most recently my searching has lead me to Ornette Coleman (vinyl-This is our music) but I have gone through Chrlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Stanley Clark, and many others trying them out, listening to a cross section of albums they were the main focus of or colaberated with others on and I have yet to tap into that fun, energetic, spontanious, mathematically complex music that I listened to back in the early '80's. I am sure it is out there, I am just not very good at locating it.

 

[Uncle Erik]

This book has a bit of background and lists of excellent recordings to start with:
 

 

[alternatesurfer]

 

Go find some analogue or FLAC recordings of Dave Brubeck. 

 
You won't be disappointed