Jazz Best of CDs?

[GregBe]

I am just getting started in Jazz. I already own "Kind of Blue" and some newer things like Dianna Krall and Patricia Barber. I went to a used record store today with cash in hand to buy 4-5 discs to get started. I was all set to get Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Miles Davis and some others, when I was hit by how many different artists there are. I know for sure I wouldn't be happy with compilation discs by many artists, but have any of you been happy going with best of discs from a specific artist? I just stood there for about an hour and walked away with nothing.

For example I had Coltranes "My Favorite things" and "The Ultimate Blue Train" in my hands, and then I saw "The Very Best of John Coltrane".

Help!!!

Greg

 

[Figo]

Stay away from compilations. Follow the basics and find out what you like best, the go on from there.

 

[OceanEnthusiast]

yes, stay away from compilations. most of the great jazz albums are their own special entity when whole. it's not like buying pop music. each track on the entire album is often great.

i recommend starting with the bebop legends. you mention a few great ones. coltrane, miles davis, thelonious monk, art blakey, gerry mulligan, chet baker, charles mingus. 1950's to mid 1960s. charlie parker is also great, but the sound quality of the recordings usually aren't.

have fun!

 

[bigshot]

There are tons of good jazz compilations... It's just you need to know what to look for. There's a definite purpose for compilation CDs. People who are used to rock music, where everything is based on "hits" look at them as replacements for having to buy a bunch of separate CDs just to get the "good songs". But that isn't the purpose... Jazz music isn't "hit based" like rock and pop music is. Compilations are a way to sample a wide range of different styles and artists without having to go to the expense of buying hundreds of CDs. If you find something you like on a comp, the idea isn't that now you have the good song by that artist... It's to go out and explore that artist more deeply, by getting the full albums.

You can't go wrong with CDs like Moanin', Bitches Brew, Giant Steps or Saxophone Collosus, but that's just a tiny sliver of Jazz. It seems that a lot of folks on the internet are very familiar with late 50s/early 60s jazz, but that isn't the whole story by any means. There was a whole world of Jazz that existed before Bird beeped his first bop.

There's no better way to get an overview of the history of Jazz than to get the granddaddy of all Jazz compilations-- the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz. It's the best chosen overview ever assembled. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find except as a set, so it requires a pretty large investment all at once, but it's worth every penny. There is another box set called Jazz Singers that is just as comprehensive in that area.

If you need to collect a series one CD at a time for financial reasons, I'd recommend the CDs associated with Ken Burns' Jazz program. The documentary itself was godawful, but the CDs are quite well chosen. Sony/Columbia has a series of big band jazz and small group comps that have amazing stuff on them from the thirties and forties but they're out of print. There's a solid series on Rhino that fills in many of the gaps in the Ken Burns series, most notably West Coast Jazz, but unfortunately, this appears to be out of print too.

I would highly recommend picking up the Smithsonian Collection of Jazz and Jazz Singers boxes if you can afford it, or start accumulating the Ken Burns series... get all of the CDs in the set, whether you think you might like all of the different styles or not. This will give you an excellent overview of the history of Jazz. That's the purpose of comps.

See ya
Steve

 

[GregBe]

Thanks guys,

What about SACD's. How much better are they than the regular cd's. I could probably get 5 cd's vs 3 SACD's. Any thought for the beginner?

Greg

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregBe What about SACD's. How much better are they than the regular cd's. I could probably get 5 cd's vs 3 SACD's. Any thought for the beginner?

If you can afford it, get the Ken Burns box set. 5 packed CDs for under $50. That's the bargain of a lifetime. Don't worry about sound quality yet. Figure out what kinds of music you like first.

See ya
Steve

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot If you can afford it, get the Ken Burns box set. 5 packed CDs for under $50. That's the bargain of a lifetime. Don't worry about sound quality yet. Figure out what kinds of music you like first. See ya Steve

Completely agree with this recommendation. Find out who or what you like and then go from there. Watch Ken Burns Jazz documentary if you can as well. I would say the Ken Burns Jazz CD's are a greater starter set for anyone.

 

[la_marquise]

If you like jazz vocal, I'd also recommend the Verve Unmixed compilations to start. You get a lot of the old standards (like Sarah Vaughan, Ella etc) and you can build off from there.

There's so many variants and styles in jazz as well as history. Bigshot's right, start off with some quality compilations, pick your faves and really use that as your basis. I myself have never been into big band, but discovered that I really enjoy west coast, miles, and coltrane and then just started collecting and researching around that...

 

[LFF]

There is also a Verve Jazz Series which I highly recommend as well. Great place to start as well IMHO.

 

[OceanEnthusiast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregBe Thanks guys, What about SACD's. How much better are they than the regular cd's. I could probably get 5 cd's vs 3 SACD's. Any thought for the beginner? Greg

i have found that the most important thing about sound quality is the quality of the actual recording and mixing. the resolution of the medium (redbook vs SACD) is a secondary issue and not nearly as important. many albums are so well recorded and are only available in redbook that they sound better than other albums that are not as nicely recorded but available in SACD. so i agree, buy music you like, and if there are jazz albums you want to own that are available in SACD, buy the SACD (that's what i do). well-recorded modern digital recordings on redbook often sound clearer and cleaner than a vintage recording from the 1960's published on SACD, in my listening experience/opinion. however, if i were buying a recording that was available on both formats (such as miles davis -- kind of blue), I'd grab the SACD. that's what i bought an SACD player for.

all that being said, you should be able to find alot of SACD's for around $15. shop around, sometimes they're overpriced at certain stores. one of the more renowned SACD's produced was miles davis -- kind of blue, so if you want that album, i'd get the SACD version. i found my SACD copy used for $9!

 

[White Fox]

I would be careful with compilations, best ofs, essential collections, etc. The performances are generally more of wider appeal, and might not represent the best of an artist(s). Further, A CD simply titled something like 'best of' for someone like Coltrane, Davis, or Hancock is quite absurd, as their careers spanned many years/styles/labels.

The funniest compilation title/content is Best Blue Note Album In The World... Ever!. Most of the performances are great, but only a limited view of the label.

 

[bigshot]

There are a million Blue Note comps... Blue Note fifty years ago is nothing like what Blue Note is today. Their comps always end up being four CD sets with one and a half CDs I don't want to listen to more than once. That's why I didn't recommend any Blue Note comps.

Through the bulk of Jazz's history, up until 1950, jazz consisted of four minute songs on one side of a 78. The music wasn't conceieved of as "albums" back then. You aren't really losing all that much context getting a compilation, except perhaps in the very latest styles.

But that being said, everyone here seems to only really know post bop and fusion.

See ya
Steve

 

[VR6ofpain]

If you like piano check out Bill Evans (Bill Evans Trio). Portrait in Jazz is a good album to start with. I also like Sunday at the Village Vanguard and California Here I Come. Turn out the Stars is not so good. For an interesting spacial feel listen to Conversations with Myself. Sounds as though you have a piano in front of you, one to your right and one to your left. Though it was all Bill playing, just mixed together later.

As far as Coltrane goes, I find it hard to go wrong. Blue Train is great, so is Giant Steps. I really like his Ballads album (John Coltrane Quartet). I own My Favorite Things and recently picked up Standards, but they are passable. Another interesting one is Traneing In, where he plays with the Red Garland Trio. I am buying this when it comes out:
http://www.bluenote.com/detail.asp?SelectionID=10459

Miles Davis is also a good place to feel around. I have found that many of his albums are good, but honestly I have a problem with his trumpet being fatiguing on a lot of them. King of Blue is an exception. Round Midnight is another good one. I didn't care for Sketches of Spain nor Bitc*es Brew, but everyone has there own taste.

Larry Young is really good with the organ. Unity is very good. Though he has other good ones.

 

[omedon]

I have around 50 Jazz CD's. The only compilation I ever bought was 'Glen Miller: Army Air Force Band'. Which I somehow managed to lose. I would recommend it if you are into that classic style. It is the pop of the forties with hits like moonlight serenade.

However, just last week I bought my second compilation. 'Sarah Vaughn: A Miracle Happened' on the membran quadromania label. It is a 4 disc set with 24bit/96khz remastering. Only cost $12. I always wanted to get a Sarah Vaughan album but didn't know where to start. It had nearly all the songs Ken Burns chose and many many more so I went for it. Only $3 a disc.

Generally I agree with everybody else. Stay far away from compilations. Each album is really it's own entity. Many have will have 4 tracks or less. And the musicianship is usually outstanding on every one of them. So if you are buying compilations you are not so much saving money than missing out on great music while at the same time ruining it's flow.

I find that the best way to decide which album to pick up next is to look at the album you are enjoying right now. Look at who is playing on that album. Then go to allmusic.com and do an artist search. Go to the discography and pick out an album that has a pick or five stars, start there. If you like that album then check the other top rated discs or look up the other members in his band they probably made some great albums as well. It is a great way to explore music. And you will rarely if ever get burned.

That said the Quadromanias are an incredible value. If you want to see whats available go here .

Hope this helps

 

[VicAjax]

i'm going to recommend against the ken burns set. if you can rent the dvd's, it's a good way to get a very (very) superficial sense of the history of jazz... which is nice for context. however, both the cd collection and the documentary itself are exceedingly myopic, skimming over and even omitting many important and interesting jazz pioneers.

for be-bop and beyond (say, beginning with charlie parker) it's mostly best to stick with albums for the reasons already given. be-bop introduced the idea that albums could have compositional and performance unity, so you'll be less likely to "outgrow" complete albums than compilations.

however, with pre-WWII jazz (django reinhardt, louis armstrong's incomparable hot fives and hot sevens combos), compilations are perfectly fine, and often the only option. columbia's volumes of louis armstrong's early work are an absolute must-have, revealing one of the single most important jazzmen at his best.