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.
This might be slightly-better known, but wasn't in the database till I added it last fall. Drenched in jazz-blues feeling. Ellis, in 1957, bends strings like a blues player, but retains the light tone of a straight-ahead jazz guitarist. With Stan Getz and the great Roy Eldridge (who sadly seems to be fading from collective memory in the digital age) on trumpet.
Also, how do you guys find jazz albums pre 1948? Are they mostly compilations or what?
I didn't include much stuff before the 50s like Duke Ellington and the like on my list, but generally speaking, compilations are your friend. The Dorsey Brothers don't have any definitive albums, but they have definitive songs that are on nearly every compilation you find. What exactly are interested in from that time period? The big names were;
Basie
Ellington
Armstrong
Holliday
Fitzgerald
Miller
Goodman
Dorsey
Parker
Gillespie
Also just for the sake of adding some history, we can credit Ragtime and early blues for the genesis of Jazz, so if you want a true starting place then you start their. However, keep in mind that "the blues"used to be a more catch all term. For example W.C. Handy, the father of the blues, made the classics "St Louis Blues" and "Memphis Blues" in the 1910's, the pre-jazz era, but these songs are now considered to be jazz standards.
Yeah good points.
Mostly familiar with Holliday, Goodman, and Miller already (as in I already own music and have been listening to it for years), but all I have is comps. So with my limited experience with Jazz, I was curious if there were better comps or better ways to buy, etc. Like I bought this Glenn Miller box set that was pretty good. Sometimes I hear better recordings, but for the most part it's fantastic. So is the Holliday comp I have. But then I feel limited to maybe finding the right box set or a bunch of comps or what? It just seems a bit odd, especially to represent on this site. So buying vs representation on this site as chart entries... what to do?
In classical music, something I'm at least more familiar with, the orchestra/director, etc. play a huge role in which recording to buy, etc.
My ignorance doesn't really know what to do with Jazz.
Also I really dig that Soulville record, any more jazz records along that vein you like?
I'll probably keep it in that order, it's all good.
Soulville is a great record. Fun, bombastic, soulful. Despite not being his record, it really gives Oscar Peterson a chance to shine. It's a cool sub-section of jazz, bit more on the swing side of things, but still with some bebop. I'd say these are somewhat similar:
Bobby Timmons - This Here Is Bobby Timmons
Hank Mobley - Soul Station or Hi-Voltage
Gene Ammons - Boss Tenor
Kenny Dorham - Quiet Kenny
Perhaps some Jimmy Smith... Ike Quebec... Duke Ellington... Maybe even that Freddie Hubbard record mentioned previously. And of course Ben Webster & Oscar Peterson's s/t.
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."
Thanks for the recs and correcting my false jazz records. Really appreciate it... I have this spreadsheet that I guessed on and really should have taken the time to look it up. Some of it I was clearly waaaay off... hahaha.
Also really appreciate you pointing me in the direction of what I haven't really done yet.
I'll also clarify that list is what I listened to in 2016. I've likely listened to like 2 more albums ( ) not on that list (probably 10 to 20, but you know).
ALSO - this is incredibly ignorant of me, but I, for the first time, am realizing how vast and massive the impact of Jazz has had. I've really not even scratched the surface. Like for my 5th grader version of jazz it was like, oh yeah, that was the music of the 20s and 30s. You know, an over simplified view of it. But jazz is alive and well today, and there are so many artists that I haven't even listened to yet. I also haven't really gotten to know a single jazz artist REALLY well. Like enough to listen to pick them out of a jam or whatever. I really only know them at a oh he's a bassist and he's a trumpet player, but that's the extent.
Last edited by RoundTheBend on 04/21/2018 14:32; edited 1 time in total
Don't sell yourself short either. Like I said, really well-rounded list. Frankly, it seems almost scientifically engineered! When I first started buying jazz records in the eighties, I was all over the place, buying stuff on impulse (don't mean the label!) in used stores.
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) not on that list (probably 10 to 20, but you know).
