Hoagie
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2009
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80 % of my listening is jazz and blues. People who know me often ask for my opinion when they discover jazz. So I thought I would put some of my opinions down. As I start this thread, I warn you that it may get long.
Background.
I'm not a computer guy by any means, so you might want to keep this fact in mind. I know nothing about sound cards etc which likely may cause some of you to disagree with my opinions on equipment.
Equipment.
I'm not concerned about sound signatures. Jazz is performed in many types of venues which influences sound signatures, so why limit headphones to neutral only. The real world is not neutral. Recordings mainly reflect what a sound engineer thinks is best. Why shouldn't my tastes be just as valid. Lastly music is supposed to be fun, so why not play around.
What I do care about, is that the music be detailed. By this, I mean that the notes be like they were cut with a sharp knife, rather than muddy or cut with a dull knife. I want to be able to follow distinct lines in the music. I also want the tones to be full. This is like the difference between a good Italian or french roast coffee vs. MacDonald's. I think most headphones with the right amp can deliver.
I think amps are important. On the go when I'm at a coffee shop or library, I use my IPod, and I disagree with the idea that headphones such as the M50's can be used without an amp. To my ears and with the IPod, a line out, and an amp is necessary to get the detail. However I admit I know nothing about sound cards so take this into consideration if you use another source. The amp does not need to be expensive. My hornet is better than the Fiio 11 that I recently bought, but not by a whole lot, at least to my challenged ears. This is not about volume, but about detail and fullness.
Music
Jazz has so many flavors, and sub genres, that my advice is to experience a wide variety of styles before concentrating on one. Eventually you may narrow your scope to a particular style or instrument but in my opinion that should come later.
You should also recognize that jazz is a acquired taste. There have been many times where I did not like an album at first. However if I went back to it a month or so later, I really enjoyed it and "wonder what was I thinking?". On the other hand it does not always come out this way. I still dislike Bitches Brew no matter how many times I listen to it.
My top 10 recommendations for a beginner are as follows.
Dave Brubeck. Dave Brubeck with his unusual time signatures took jazz in a new direction. Also the music is so interesting that even people who don't like jazz like Brubeck. Most people would suggest Time Out. I would suggest either The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall, or the Greatest Hits album. My reasoning is simply that some of my favorite tracks such as unsquare dance are on Time Further Out, but not on Time Out.
Louie Armstrong. He was there pretty much at the start and took the music to a whole new level, both with his horn and with his singing. You have to have Louie in a collection. My recommendation is the Carnegie Hall Concert, or Live At the 1958 Monterrey Jazz Festival.
Jelly Roll Morton. He once proclaimed that "there ain't no jazz but Jelly's jazz" Not true, but he is a good representation of early jazz especially the piano. He did not last long, but it's my list and I like him. I am suggesting Jelly as representative of an era. A lot of people forget that jazz started off as dance music. The kind of music that young people loved and upset parents. Partially a race thing and partially a style thing.
Duke Ellington. He is the best representative of big band swing. There are others who are outstanding, but most albums will have a mixture of swing and the pop music of the time. It's the difference between Bennie Goodman's band playing Sing Sing Sing, or A Tisket A Tasket. As far as a recommended album, I don't have one that really stands out head and shoulders above the rest.
John Coltrane. What can you say. My favorite sax player is Sonny Rollins, but it's hard to ignore the influence of Coltrane. My choice for a starter is Giant Steps.
Miles Davis. Another big influence pick. Miles had a vary long career and recorded across so many styles. He was not afraid to experiment. Kind of Blue is a classic and you can't argue with it, but in my mind a close call with Birth of the Cool.
Charles Mingus. Major composer and arranger for modern big band, defined as groups or 8 or more. Ah Um is my choice.
ReBirth Brass Band. This is a representative of the New Orleans street corner band. This is not the Preservation Hall Band type of style. This is the mobile band that gets hired for funerals etc. If you can't march with the instrument, it doesn't make the cut. The instruments making up the band is modified a bit with Rebirth, but not by much. They are not the most commercial brass band (The Dirty Dozen) or the most traditional, (Treme Brass Band) but I suggest The Main Event, Live at the Maple Leaf. This is the stuff of Mardi Gras, the second line, and shake your butt jazz.
Charlie Parker. BeBop is the start of taking jazz from dancing music to listening music, and the Bird was one of the best. The Original Recordings of Charlie Parker is where I would start.
Herbie Hancock. This is my final top ten pick. Once again for influence on the music. Head Hunters is my recommendation
After Thoughts
If you really get into the music. I suggest getting a copy of the book, The All Music Guide to Jazz. There are on line sources of information, but with the biographies, lists of recordings and essays this is the best source of information My copy is 1425 pages long. I don't believe can you get all this in one site on the Internet.
The Ken Burns series from PBS is worth the money in learning the history and how the influences blend.
I apologize for the length of this post. Have at it with the disagreements.
Background.
I'm not a computer guy by any means, so you might want to keep this fact in mind. I know nothing about sound cards etc which likely may cause some of you to disagree with my opinions on equipment.
Equipment.
I'm not concerned about sound signatures. Jazz is performed in many types of venues which influences sound signatures, so why limit headphones to neutral only. The real world is not neutral. Recordings mainly reflect what a sound engineer thinks is best. Why shouldn't my tastes be just as valid. Lastly music is supposed to be fun, so why not play around.
What I do care about, is that the music be detailed. By this, I mean that the notes be like they were cut with a sharp knife, rather than muddy or cut with a dull knife. I want to be able to follow distinct lines in the music. I also want the tones to be full. This is like the difference between a good Italian or french roast coffee vs. MacDonald's. I think most headphones with the right amp can deliver.
I think amps are important. On the go when I'm at a coffee shop or library, I use my IPod, and I disagree with the idea that headphones such as the M50's can be used without an amp. To my ears and with the IPod, a line out, and an amp is necessary to get the detail. However I admit I know nothing about sound cards so take this into consideration if you use another source. The amp does not need to be expensive. My hornet is better than the Fiio 11 that I recently bought, but not by a whole lot, at least to my challenged ears. This is not about volume, but about detail and fullness.
Music
Jazz has so many flavors, and sub genres, that my advice is to experience a wide variety of styles before concentrating on one. Eventually you may narrow your scope to a particular style or instrument but in my opinion that should come later.
You should also recognize that jazz is a acquired taste. There have been many times where I did not like an album at first. However if I went back to it a month or so later, I really enjoyed it and "wonder what was I thinking?". On the other hand it does not always come out this way. I still dislike Bitches Brew no matter how many times I listen to it.
My top 10 recommendations for a beginner are as follows.
Dave Brubeck. Dave Brubeck with his unusual time signatures took jazz in a new direction. Also the music is so interesting that even people who don't like jazz like Brubeck. Most people would suggest Time Out. I would suggest either The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall, or the Greatest Hits album. My reasoning is simply that some of my favorite tracks such as unsquare dance are on Time Further Out, but not on Time Out.
Louie Armstrong. He was there pretty much at the start and took the music to a whole new level, both with his horn and with his singing. You have to have Louie in a collection. My recommendation is the Carnegie Hall Concert, or Live At the 1958 Monterrey Jazz Festival.
Jelly Roll Morton. He once proclaimed that "there ain't no jazz but Jelly's jazz" Not true, but he is a good representation of early jazz especially the piano. He did not last long, but it's my list and I like him. I am suggesting Jelly as representative of an era. A lot of people forget that jazz started off as dance music. The kind of music that young people loved and upset parents. Partially a race thing and partially a style thing.
Duke Ellington. He is the best representative of big band swing. There are others who are outstanding, but most albums will have a mixture of swing and the pop music of the time. It's the difference between Bennie Goodman's band playing Sing Sing Sing, or A Tisket A Tasket. As far as a recommended album, I don't have one that really stands out head and shoulders above the rest.
John Coltrane. What can you say. My favorite sax player is Sonny Rollins, but it's hard to ignore the influence of Coltrane. My choice for a starter is Giant Steps.
Miles Davis. Another big influence pick. Miles had a vary long career and recorded across so many styles. He was not afraid to experiment. Kind of Blue is a classic and you can't argue with it, but in my mind a close call with Birth of the Cool.
Charles Mingus. Major composer and arranger for modern big band, defined as groups or 8 or more. Ah Um is my choice.
ReBirth Brass Band. This is a representative of the New Orleans street corner band. This is not the Preservation Hall Band type of style. This is the mobile band that gets hired for funerals etc. If you can't march with the instrument, it doesn't make the cut. The instruments making up the band is modified a bit with Rebirth, but not by much. They are not the most commercial brass band (The Dirty Dozen) or the most traditional, (Treme Brass Band) but I suggest The Main Event, Live at the Maple Leaf. This is the stuff of Mardi Gras, the second line, and shake your butt jazz.
Charlie Parker. BeBop is the start of taking jazz from dancing music to listening music, and the Bird was one of the best. The Original Recordings of Charlie Parker is where I would start.
Herbie Hancock. This is my final top ten pick. Once again for influence on the music. Head Hunters is my recommendation
After Thoughts
If you really get into the music. I suggest getting a copy of the book, The All Music Guide to Jazz. There are on line sources of information, but with the biographies, lists of recordings and essays this is the best source of information My copy is 1425 pages long. I don't believe can you get all this in one site on the Internet.
The Ken Burns series from PBS is worth the money in learning the history and how the influences blend.
I apologize for the length of this post. Have at it with the disagreements.
