[Quinto]

 

[GearMe]

Sultans of Swing. Not sure what the genre is on this version--3 elite guitarists...flamenco, acoustic, & electric having some fun


[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFDFpS9_ZWY[/VIDEO]


with Martin Taylor...a little more straight-up jazz


[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GroSlypa2vo[/VIDEO]

 

[wuwhere]

George Benson
 

 

[icebear]

...back to topic

 
I listened to this one for the first time. It's a 2010 remastered version, Sony Legacy.
A red book CD and besides the music - which is quite free at times, so not for everybody - the sound of the 1957 recording is just jawdroppingly good.
There is also an SACD edition tbr in August (without all the alternate bonus takes) but I'm not yet sure if I splurge out 5x what I paid for this CD.

 

 

[Terja]

Just in case someone missed this, the following two posts by TJ Elite are excellent descriptions on how to listen to jazz and get into jazz (or get jazz). Thanks TJ ... (see original posts for video links).
 
Quote:

 

It took me a long time to be able to appreciate jazz but nowadays it is by far my favorite genre, and I listen to anything from drone to trance, black metal to modern classical – just don't throw an average pop album my way, thank you. For several years I only had a couple of jazz albums in my collection and I can't remember if I ever got anything out of them back then. Then some years ago I devoted a lot of time and effort into acquiring more jazz records and trying to listen to them, trying to figure out what they were all about. I can't remember what inspired me to do this, but I'm truly glad for doing it. It probably took me close to a year of active listening to learn how to listen to jazz, what things to pay attention to and how to interpret what I'm hearing. Based on my own experiences, getting into jazz can take its time and it certainly takes active effort on one's part, but once you one day realize something has just clicked for you, it is a genre that will give back so much more than you had to give it, and then some.

 

Before I get to recommending you some stuff you can get started with, a quick word to dispel a misconception that some people getting into the genre, myself included, can have when they are first getting familiar with jazz. Some people have the impression that jazz along with classical is a genre you can only be able to appreciate if you have in-depth knowledge of music theory. Instead of trying to say in my own words how that simply is not true, I'm going to quote Art Blakey, one of my favorite jazz musicians and jazz drummers:

 

"You don’t have to be a musician to understand jazz. All you have to do is be able to feel. If you pass through life without hearing this music, you’ve missed a great deal."

 

Well said. All you really have to do when you listen to music, any music, is feel it. For me jazz 

– and just art in general 

– is first and foremost about expressing yourself, expressing your feelings and thoughts. That is why the improvisational aspect is integral to jazz for me. Since each solo is unique, you are expressing what you are thinking and feeling right at that moment, and because each performance is different, you have to always be constantly listening to what the other people in the group are playing and adapt your own playing to support what they are doing. This means there is always interplay going on between the members and therefore it is like everyone is having a conversation via music. There is of course music that is played on instruments typically associated with jazz, but with minimal or even no improvisation involved. This kind of music can certainly sound jazzy, but I have always found it difficult to decide whether I consider it to actually be jazz. Whether it is or isn't of course has no bearing on how good or bad the music is, but to me such music seems to lack the spirit of jazz.

 

But now to some music you can listen to. Below are some personal selections organized into a groups. Things that should be relatively easy to approach, slightly less straightforward stuff, and a couple of wild cards which with good fortune might resonate with you right away but might also likely require a bit more experience under your belt before coming back to them. I've also mentioned a couple of modern less traditional jazz albums which might strike a chord, you never know. Feel free to tell about your impressions and I'll be only happy to share more things based on your feedback. Also apologies in advance, I have no idea what is and isn't available on MOG, so if any of these albums mentioned are not on there that is simply unfortunate.

 

Also, why not check Rate Your Music's jazz chart on your own? Simply taking a look at the top 100 should keep you busy for a while. → Link ←

 

---

 

Simply essential basic albums

 

Art Blakey

 - Moanin'

Bill Evans

 - Waltz for Debby

Dave Brubeck - Time Out

Dexter Gordon - Go

Hank Mobley - Soul Station

John Coltrane - Blue Train

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue [The best-selling jazz record of all time. Need I say more?]

Oliver Nelson - The Blues and the Abstract Truth

Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus

Thelonious Monk - Monk's Music

 

Once you've gotten your feet a little wet

 

Alice Coltrane

 - Ptah, the El Daoud [It is far too seldom that you get to hear harp in jazz like on this album's latter half. I also wouldn't mind there being more female jazz musicians in general.]

Art Blakey

 - Free for All [The title cut is simply a torrent of youthful energy.]

Charles Mingus - Blues & Roots

Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um [Pure brilliance from start to finish. Mingus was a genius.]

Dave Brubeck - At Carnegie Hall

Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage

Horace Silver

 - The Cape Verdean Blues

Jackie McLean - Destination Out!

John Coltrane - My Favorite Things [I think that the rendition of the title track on this album is one of the most important recordings in the still quite brief history of recorded music on our planet. It is simply an essential part of our musical heritage.]

John Coltrane - Crescent [One of my favorite John Coltrane records. This one often gets overlooked in his quite vast discography.]

Keith Jarrett

 - The Köln Concert [One of my personal top 10 albums of all time. I'm not religious, but this album simply sounds like god descended from heaven and played an hour for us.]
Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mounting Flame [One of THE classic fusion albums and something a fan of progressive rock might find it easy to get into.]
Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson [Another fusion record a rock fan shouldn't necessarily have too much trouble getting into. I enjoyed this record long before the world of jazz opened to me.]

Pete La Roca - Basra

Wayne Shorter - Juju

 

More demanding must-hear albums

 

Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch! [One of the greatest pieces of music ever recorded.]

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew

 

Vocal jazz

 

Diana Krall - Live in Paris [You mentioned Diana Krall, but in case you haven't heard this one.]

Patricia Barber - Café Blue

Patricia Barber - Modern Cool

 

More modern jazz records

 

E.S.T. (Esbjörn Svensson Trio) - Viaticum

 
Hilary Hahn & Hauschka - Silfra [I'm not sure if this can be called strictly a jazz album, but it is completely improvised and blurs the line between classical and jazz. Also one of the best sounding albums I've heard in my life.]
 
Hiromi - Another Mind [Also search YouTube for videos of her performing live. It is seldom that you will find a person as joyous and full of life as this girl.]
 
Iiro Rantala - Lost Heroes [Only some sections contain improvisation, but an album well worth hearing. "Tears for Esbjörn" is dedicated to fellow jazz pianist Esbjörn Svensson who passed away and was Iiro's good friend. Iiro has said that he was depressed for a long time after his friend's passing and it had a large impact on his music.]
 
Iiro Rantala New Trio - Elmo [Just watch the video and you'll understand why this is not your typical jazz trio.]

 

Pekka Kuusisto & Iiro Rantala - Subterráneo
  And there you have it. If that seems like a lot, trust me, it isn't really in the grand scheme of things.

 
 

 

I'm happy to see so many posts in this thread so far because there simply are no words to describe how much I love jazz. Here are some live performances which might be of help to those of you who are only just getting accustomed to the genre. Jazz is of course many things, but two things that I think are really important to jazz are passion and living in the moment. Live videos will hopefully help emphasize the uniqueness of each and every performance and the interaction between the players. In addition the visuals should help newbies follow what instruments are being played and how, and who's soloing. Believe it or not, when I first started listening to jazz I didn't even know that typically in jazz you first introduce the basic melody at the beginning and proceed to different members taking turns soloing, finally returning back to the main melody from these explorations in the end. Even when listening to the music the fact that different instruments were being given time in the spotlight sailed right past me. I guess I was trying to focus solely on what was going on collectively without paying any mind to individual instruments.

 

When listening to jazz, what I recommend trying to learn to do is pay attention to what every player is doing individually – at the same time – while also following what is going on collectively. If this sounds like an impossible thing to do, just listen to a new song a couple of times just trying to familiarize yourself with it, then listen to it only paying attention to a single instrument through the whole track, the drums for example. Listen to how the drummer adapts his or her playing to support each person who is taking turn playing a solo. Then move on to another instrument and do the same thing. If the person you are listening to is playing a solo, try to listen to what they are "saying" in their solo. Through their playing the players are trying to communicate things that words cannot express. Learning to understand what is being said isn't something that anyone can really teach you; it is simply something that takes time to learn to do on your own.

 

After familiarizing yourself with each individual part, now try listening to the song paying attention to everything at the same time. Feel how the group reacts to what the others are doing and how the song just comes together organically even though none of the members know exactly what everyone else is going to play (Traditionally at least. Some modern-day jazz is very carefully written down and planned in advance.), so everyone has to listen to what the others are doing and respond to that on the fly. With groups where the members have known each other and played together for a really long time, it sometimes seems like some people have almost telepathic abilities with how well they play in sync without any prior discussion about what everyone is precisely going to play.
.......

 

[Quinto]

The Complete Living Room Tapes, by Lenny Breau on guitar, Brad Terry on clarinet..
 
A private, but very well made recording and superb music ..no rehealsals, just two musical minds talking..
 
I was stunned the first time I heard it

 

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

It took me getting into audiophile level headphones to really appreciate jazz. I can say that long ago as a teenager, hearing jazz would either cause musical confusion or absolute boredom. Hard to place what clicked, the need for well mastered albums, being able to sit down and listen to albums front to back, changing tastes, whatever.. it is however now my favorite genre to listen to. Although I do still listen to a lot of other genres

Worth a mention is the OJC Remaster album of Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (LINK). For $10 at Amazon it's such an excellent disc from the music, production (audiophile level), and an interesting story as well behind the making of the album which was all done in one day.

First track, audio quality is below actual CD quality obviously but just to sample: (switching to HD 720P or 1080P will get you 256kbps codec)

 
Click to open below:
The story behind this album was Art, who was a heroin user, was just coming off a night/day of use. Unknowingly booked by his wife, he gets a surprise when his wife barges in during his sleep and tells him she had booked Miles Davis's quintet for a recording that day. What comes of the recording is something spectacular... the rhythm section is on top of their game while Art was on another game

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

(a reenactment)
 

 

[icebear]

  It took me getting into audiophile level headphones to really appreciate jazz. I can say that long ago as a teenager, hearing jazz would either cause musical confusion or absolute boredom. Hard to place what clicked, the need for well mastered albums, being able to sit down and listen to albums front to back, changing tastes, whatever.. it is however now my favorite genre to listen to. Although I do still listen to a lot of other genres

.
....

 
When you are in it for the music and all the equipment is just a tool to get closer, then the enjoyment just gets bigger. In jazz, as well as in classical, a lot of the energy and most importantly the fun the musicians are having gets transported in small details on how they react to each others playing and the timing. If you don't pay attention or the music is just background noise, this gets lost easily or the set up doesn't transport these details. The more you can hear how much the musicians enjoyed themselves during the session, either studio or even better live gig, the more you enjoy it when listening to the recording.
 
Not Jazz but a perfect example for details being important ... Glenn Gould.
He has a very particular way of playing and unless you hear the final decay of the previous note before he plays the next note, everything sounds pretty odd. Pauses seem too long and don't make sense and when you hear it on better equipment suddenly everything does make complete sense because it is so obvious why he chose this timing.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

I think you've hit it on the head. To be honest the subtleties are a big part of these jazz recordings and listening to these same recordings through say an FM radio or lesser speaker rig, is not as enjoyable.

Another tidbit on that Art Pepper CD is supposedly it's encoded by JVC's K2 system? Or as one of the reviewers state. I believe it or at least I can say it sounds as good as some of the K2 cds I've acquired..
 

When you are in it for the music and all the equipment is just a tool to get closer, then the enjoyment just gets bigger. In jazz, as well as in classical, a lot of the energy and most importantly the fun the musicians are having gets transported in small details on how they react to each others playing and the timing. If you don't pay attention or the music is just background noise, this gets lost easily or the set up doesn't transport these details. The more you can hear how much the musicians enjoyed themselves during the session, either studio or even better live gig, the more you enjoy it when listening to the recording.
 
Not Jazz but a perfect example for details being important ... Glenn Gould.
He has a very particular way of playing and unless you hear the final decay of the previous note before he plays the next note, everything sounds pretty odd. Pauses seem too long and don't make sense and when you hear it on better equipment suddenly everything does make complete sense because it is so obvious why he chose this timing.

 

[Spyro]

Terja......most entries are 40-50 years old?  This is what always frustrates me about "jazz recommendations".   
 
The modern jazz?...... Never heard of any of them but Hiromi but is she even jazz?   any more than Keiko Matsui?  No Chris Potter, Jason Moran, Antonio Sanchez, Eric Harland,  Christian McBride, Donny Mclasin, Dave Weckl, Pat Metheny Unity Band, Joshua Redman?..... to name a few.........these are the guys steering modern jazz today IMHO.

 

[icebear]

Originally Posted by Soundsgoodtome /img/forum/go_quote.gif
...
Another tidbit on that Art Pepper CD is supposedly it's encoded by JVC's K2 system? Or as one of the reviewers state. I believe it or at least I can say it sounds as good as some of the K2 cds I've acquired..
 

I have a Concord Rec 2010 edition that is labelled "24bit" remaster. It sounds very good to me but I have no comparision.
So I don't have the K2HD version you mentioned but I have a few others remastered by the JVC folks and they sound indeed gorgeous.
 

  Terja......most entries are 40-50 years old?  This is what always frustrates me about "jazz recommendations".   
 
The modern jazz?...... Never heard of any of them but Hiromi but is she even jazz?   any more than Keiko Matsui?  No Chris Potter, Jason Moran, Antonio Sanchez, Eric Harland,  Christian McBride, Donny Mclasin, Dave Weckl, Pat Metheny Unity Band, Joshua Redman?..... to name a few.........these are the guys steering modern jazz today IMHO.

 
Jazz is more or less timeless - that's the beauty of it.
 
You can listen to stuff that is more than 50 years old and it still is fresh and every bit as interesting as if it was composed and played today. A lot of musicians are gone, sadly but a few of this area are still around. A big favorite of mine is Charles Lloyd ... just as you mentioned Eric Harland and Jason Moran, some of his band mates. 
 
The recommendations in this thread cover a wide array of all things that can be described as "Jazz". Of course a lot will cover the big names of jazz. These have the advantage of being time tested. The young guns have to wait another 40 years to prove that they are still relevant in 2055.
 
If you get easily frustrated by the Davis, Coltrane, Monk & Co. just search for Jazz with release date later than e.g. 2000. And btw also not a fan of Hiromi

 

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Playing fast is not jazz..which seems to be what Hiromi sounds like she's doing? I need to listen again but it was not something I liked either when I listened to a few albums on Spotify Premium.

 

[Spyro]

   These have the advantage of being time tested. The young guns have to wait another 40 years to prove that they are still relevant in 2055.
 
 

 

I understand your point but disagree just as much as (like in sports) you cant compare eras.    What is your criteria for "time tested."?  In rock, Journey, REO Speedwagon and host of others are still popular and touring today (GAG,,,,,,).  Are THEY among the best of the best in ROCK music?   Whitney Houston has sold more records and is more popular than Joni Mitchell (or Patricia Barber).  Are her accomplishments to music more worthy?
 
Whatever time tested means......I am confident that guys like Chris Potter and Antonio Sanchez will match or eclipse guys like Coltrane or Elvin Jones.   I think Sanchez already has at 40 years old( as a player).
 
Good discussion though.......

 

[Quinto]

   
.....................
 
Not Jazz but a perfect example for details being important ... Glenn Gould.
He has a very particular way of playing and unless you hear the final decay of the previous note before he plays the next note, everything sounds pretty odd. Pauses seem too long and don't make sense and when you hear it on better equipment suddenly everything does make complete sense because it is so obvious why he chose this timing.

So agree

  good example would be his 1981 Goldberg Variations.

 

[icebear]

  ...
 
Whatever time tested means......I am confident that guys like Chris Potter and Antonio Sanchez will match or eclipse guys like Coltrane or Elvin Jones.   I think Sanchez already has at 40 years old( as a player).
 
Good discussion though.......

... nobody ever will eclipse Coltrane

.