for that era, blue note is your friend. go to your local used CD store and just buy up anything put out by blue note in that time period and you'll likely be impressed. their roster list back then dosn't just read like the who's who of jazz, it WAS the who's who of jazz! doody.
You can't go wrong with Louis Jordan, as most of his music is pretty fun to listen to with such hits as 'Open the door Richard', and more! He's a mix of jazz & blues. Please check out: Louis Jordan Hits - Louis Jordan - No. 1 Hits: R&B Charts #1 What's The Use Of Getting Sober, 1942 Ration Blues, 1943 GI Jive, 1944 Caldonia, 1945 Buzz Me, 1945 Don't Worry 'bout ... http://www.jumpinjive.com/html/archiv/louis_jordan/jordan_hits.htm
wine: It's an acquired taste. To me, straight-ahead (modern) jazz is wine with corks, "smooth" jazz that's typically heard on commercial jazz stations is wine that comes with a twist-off cap. The more educated you become by listening (or tasting), you will start to prefer the former to the latter. I'm not a huge '40s-era "Big Band" fan but it's important to understand it to gain a sense of context of what happened in the 1950s with "Bop," Charlie Parker for example. There is quite a contrast in adjoining styles, not exactly a seamless transition, ie. After Bop came Modern jazz. Miles Davis's Kind of Blue was a radical departure from the frantic speed of bop to the introspective, modal sounds of Kind of Blue. Sort of like jumping from a carbed Boxer and into a 550. From modern jazz, the players like Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis ushered in the electronic era with "Bee-ot-chez Brew" (a filter prevented the correct spelling of the first word in the title) and groups like Weather Report. In my opinion, the most pivotal album in post 1950-jazz is "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis (with John Coltrane). It links the sounds of the '50s with the '70s. Thelonious Monk is worth listening to as well. Once familiar, you can pick out a Monk tune after a few (music) bars. Kind of like a Harley among Yamahas. The most important thing you can do is listen, listen and listen some more. See it live if you can, whether its a piano bar in a hotel lobby or a jazz club. Gotta start somewhere! Good luck. KevFla
Dean Martin Dave Brubeck Gato Barbieri Astrud Gilberto Bossa Nova (Brazilian style) Diani Krall is modern but sounds like an old crooner
Oscar Peterson Gerry Mulligan John Coltrane Duke Ellington Nat King Cole Ben Webster Count Basie Doc Cheatham Ella Fitzgerald Sarah Vaughan
I've got chitloads of Jazz and double-chitloads of Blues, and I recommend you dive right in. However, a warning: Kenny G is not Jazz. Blue Note wasn't the only label with big names and killer albums, not by a stretch. Fantasy, Pablo, Prestige (or combinations thereof such as Fantasy/Pablo, Fantasy/Prestige) are also good labels to look at for very highly regarded artists and their 5 star Jazz albums. For instance, John Coltrane has @ 4 dozen albums, (whether "solo" or compilations) on the above labels. If you dig his stuff, some similarities can be found in sound of Booker Ervin, Clifford Jordan, Eric Dolphy, Hank Mobley and Harold Land. 'Trane looked to Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Don Byas, Lester Young and Miles Davis for inspiration. Along with numerous compilations, Miles had 18 "solo" albums between those above labels himself. Some who followed in 'Trane's Giant Steps were Airto Moreira, Anthony Braxton, Art Pepper, Benny Golson and Blue Mitchell. Any of the above should have Billy Eckstine, Cole Porter, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and Elvin Jones in their repertoire. Every one of these people is well-represented and widely available on the Independent labels cited. See, independent would be bought by independent would be bought by ind... well, you get the picture. So, today, you have Fantasy/Prestige, for example, which had already swallowed smaller labels - but kept the music alive, rather than tossing it aside. They, in turn, are well-repped by U... keeping it alive and easy to find instead of the alternative. If it was me going to the store one blessed day to start from scratch and pick out a handful of albums - I'd llok for Coleman Hawkins - The Hawk Flies High; Miles Davis - *****es Brew and Kind of Blue; John Coltrane - Love Supreme or Giant Steps; Wes Montgomery - The Incredible Jazz Guitar; Chet Baker - Lonely Star (a great introduction to Chet, IMHO); Earl "Fatha" Hines - Another Monday Date; Thelonius Monk - Alone in San Francisco. Nothing too odd or corny - all is good and available & will make you think and drink something good & say "damn" & get you laid & bring you good luck & make you want to hear them again & hear something you didn't hear the first or hundredth time.
I am surprised you missed the genius of all, Miles Davis... and a few others: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk...
Miles and Bird were already mentioned. I used to play sax and piano, guess I have a bias...not too many trumpet players on my list.
"I am surprised you missed the genius of all, Miles Davis... and a few others:" Miles was a Ferrari fan. Does anyone have data on his cars? Somewhere I read about one that had tailfins of sorts. A SuperAmerica? And possibly a 275. Any info out there? At one of the Mt Dora (Florida) Concours was a blue Jag XK 140 once owned by Chet Baker. KevFla
a friend of mine taught music at Choate in CT when Brubeck's kid was there so Brubeck came to Chaote & they got to jam Sweet
I really like The Rippingtons Boney James Euge Groove Nelson Rangell Paul Hardcastle Down To the Bone Pieces of a Dream George Benson Grover Washington Jr Stevie Wonder Robert Palmer Richard Elliot Earth, Wind & Fire Paul Taylor Acoustic Alchemy Sade Sting Chieli Minucci SpecialEFX Yanni
Jason: Chris Botti is maybe the best horn player around right now in my opinion. As for 50's/60's you guys have already named most of the greats but I'll second a couple of them and add a few. Anything by Juan Carlos Jobim-the Godfather of Brazillian jazz(bossa nova), almost anything from Brazil at that time like: Luis Bonfa, Jao and Astrud Gilberta, etc Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd (local boy for us) Bobby Hutchinson (very San Fran funky) on vibes Stan Kenton (although his prime was a little earlier than that IMO). Regards
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass - Always a classic Frank Zappa - Has a few that are great. Yoko Kanno - Modern but with a classic blues & jazz style all her own.
"Way Out West"- vintage Sonny Rollins, with Shelley Manne and Ray Brown. Listen to this on a big system capable of throwing a stage sized image- the record was mixed in early, wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide stereo, and you can hear the placement of each player very distinctly in space. Ray Brown is standing vertical, and the image has height. Oh, and the music doesn't suck.... I got a million of 'em- on vinyl.....
My wife gets all wonky over Dave Koz. We went to AMA superbike nationals at Laguna Sega about 5 years ago and got a nice suite at the Monterey Plaza where Ducati was having their gatherings. My buddy and I went to the races and when we got back we found Koz was doing a sold out concert there on the plaza. I feared the unhappiness I was to encounter until I looked up to the balcony on the 3rd floor and saw she had a nice private (and free) vantage point, with my bud's wife and plenty of wine.
I just recently got into jazz and have found Chris Botti's works to be mind blowing. Along with Botti, Koz has influenced my interest in jazz as well. I'm waiting until they come back up to Providence or Boston for a show.
