My vote is that we leave them for later but I'm down for whatever.
I would say that Borbetomagus can definitely fit in a jazz conversation, but if I were to tell people what Jazz was, then they would be at the bottom of the list. Since free improvisation is a lot of times performed with jazz instruments (although it can be performed with virtually anything, right?) I would consider it a subgenre of jazz music.
While we are on the topic of jazz instrumentation and genre boundaries, what does that mean for guys like these?
Straight Life is a delightful jazz funk album. I'd hate to have to choose between it and Red Clay as my favorite Freddie Hubbard album. All-star band.
rkm wrote:
Truth! Straight Life is also my favourite Benson album.
Except there are so many great musicians on it he only gets a couple of solos. This, released the same year and with the same bassist, Ron Carter, and drummer, is mine:
Borbetomagus is really on the line. Think they are better left for the avant-garde thread (which is a much smaller genre), but ultimately jazz is whatever a member chooses to include in their top 10, within reason (am I correct?).
I don't think the James Chance & the Contortions are jazz, though they come close.
Some of these are loose definitions of jazz, like Vocal Jazz for Frank Sinatra, but if anything is incredibly off, let me know as I really am just a beginner when it comes to appreciating jazz
Not Jazz:
Down And Out Blues - Sonny Boy Williamson II (Definitely Chicago Blues)
At Home With Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
That Bad Eartha - Eartha Kitt
Sleep Warm - Dean Martin
Calypso - Harry Belafonte
At Newport - Ray Charles
I'd say Louis Prima's peripheral to jazz, though he played New Orleans jazz and swing early in his career. His best-known music is more R&B/Jump Blues.
sethmadsen wrote:
Kind Of Blue Miles Davis 1959
Lady Sings the Blues Billie Holiday 1956
Harmony Of Difference Kamasi Washington 2017
Dinah Jams Dinah Washington 1954
Mingus Ah Um Charles Mingus 1959
Saxophone Colossus Sonny Rollins 1956
Soulville Ben Webster 1957
Time Out The Dave Brubeck Quartet 1959
Bitches Brew Miles Davis 1970
Clifford Brown and Max Roach Clifford Brown & Max Roach 1954
Ellington At Newport Duke Ellington 1956
Pithecanthropus Erectus Charles Mingus 1956
The Shape Of Jazz To Come Ornette Coleman Trio 1959
Way Out West Sonny Rollins 1957
Brilliant Corners Thelonious Monk 1957
Ella & Louis Ella Fitzgerald And Louis Armstrong 1956
Ellington Uptown Duke Ellington 1953
Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1 Thelonious Monk 1951
Giant Steps John Coltrane 1960
Jazz At Massey Hall The Quintet 1953
My Favorite Things John Coltrane 1961
Sketches Of Spain Miles Davis 1960
Somethin' Else Cannonball Adderley 1958
Songs For Distingué Lovers Billie Holiday 1957
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady Charles Mingus 1963
The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert Benny Goodman 1950
All Or Nothing At All Billie Holiday 1958
After Midnight Nat King Cole 1957
Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud Miles Davis 1958
Bird & Diz Charlie Parker 1952
Birth Of The Cool Miles Davis 1957
Blue Train John Coltrane 1957
Chet Baker Sings Chet Baker 1956
Cookin' Miles Davis 1957
Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook Ella Fitzgerald 1956
Lady In Satin Billie Holiday 1958
Miles Ahead Miles Davis 1957
Milestones Miles Davis 1958
Porgy And Bess Miles Davis 1958
Relaxin' With The Miles Davis Quintet Miles Davis 1958
Round About Midnight Miles Davis 1957
Stay With Me Billie Holiday 1955
The Atomic Mr. Basie Count Basie 1958
Workin' Miles Davis Quintet 1959
I'm not incredibly knowledgeable about Jazz.
Seth, this is an excellent well-rounded selection of mainstream jazz (I took off some of the poppier vocal stuff). The biggest gaps are Blue Note albums and 60s Miles. Some recs:
Blue Note Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (aka Moanin') – Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (Fischman's #1)
Song for My Father - Horace Silver (on Tha1ChiefRocka's pre-list)
Maiden Voyage - Herbie Hancock (one of the most famous)
Speak No Evil - Wayne Shorter (one of my faves)
Midnight Blue - Kenny Burrell (aptly named; on Fischman's list)
60s Miles - "The Second Great Quintet" Miles Smiles
ESP
Nefertiti
Not Blue Note, but belongs in the illustrious company of the above list. Wes Montgomery is the greatest jazz guitarist, at least since the advent of the LP:
The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of - Wes Montgomery (or Full House or Fischman's pick, Smokin' at the Half-Note)
Trivia most jazz fans already know: The intro to Steely Dan's "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" was borrowed from Horace Silver's "Song For My Father."
While I love Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell and Grant Green, I often feel like Guitar was a bit of a second class citizen in 60’s jazz, purely because of the great number of soloists on other instruments at the time. In contrast, a lot of my favourite jazz albums from the 90’s on, are by guitarists over other instruments as soloist.
Kenny Wheeler seems a bit under-appreciated in my opinion. This album has a timeless feel about it to me, where every note is perfect, similar to the feeling I get from Miles’ Kind Of Blue. Not flashy solos, just perfect mood and feeling.
would say that Borbetomagus can definitely fit in a jazz conversation, but if I were to tell people what Jazz was, then they would be at the bottom of the list. Since free improvisation is a lot of times performed with jazz instruments (although it can be performed with virtually anything, right?) I would consider it a subgenre of jazz music.
I dunno, I think the connection to this particular strand of improvisation is more important than the instruments but I'm personally going to just save it for the next thread. Though it is a hard call, like that Blurt track isn't too far off from some Natural Information Society stuff, and that's going to be making my list. At the end of the day I don't think the fringe stuff is really going to have that much of an impact on the voting but if anyone has anything more to say about it then I want to read it for sure.
I have been really enjoying the activity here, I'm sampling stuff of the lists that I haven't heard and really enjoying what I'm hearing.
Can we keep this thread going for at least two weeks? I want to write something up about Ilhan Mimaroglu's connection to great jazz albums but I'm going to need a minute.
Well, to keep the ball rolling, instead of having as big a lists as some of us initially put, maybe we could all pick one or two that we like a lot that don't appear on many other charts?
The Cedar Walton original 'Bolivia' that opens this album is some really upbeat, bright stuff. This is probably the sound in jazz that I enjoy the most. The Coltrane ballad "Naima" has rarely sounded better than from Coltrane himself, and the other band members contribute an original as well. I think this would be a good album for people who are trying to get into jazz as well as more experienced listeners who might have skipped over it.
My jazz collection doesn't go far beyond the canon, so I'm going to abstain from voting in the qualifying round, but I'm excited about listening to and ranking the ten albums that come out of this! 😄 _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
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