I want to expand my jazz collection

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ice nine
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I want to expand my jazz collection

Post by ice nine »

I have a few jazz recordings, but not enough. I've heard good things about Art Tatum and The Oscar Peterson Trio. Who shoulld I start out with?

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Boy With A Problem
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Post by Boy With A Problem »

If you're looking for great jazz piano, I don't think you can do any better than "Waltz For Debby" by the Bill Evans Trio.
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BurnishedGold
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Post by BurnishedGold »

I'm relativley new to jazz, but I'm sure it couldn't hurt to have a little Etta James and The Ray Brown Trio in your collection.
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A rope leash
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I like Jazz

Post by A rope leash »

I like Jazz from the 20's and 30's, like Fats Waller or Jango Rhinehart.

I'm also a fan of Jazz fusion, which is a big reason why I'm into Frank Zappa. You might try some guys that have worked with him, namely Jean Loc Ponty and George Duke.

As for Zappa, if you can get past the humor and commentary, I recommend these:

Burnt Weenie Sandwich
Hot Rats
Weasles Ripped My Flesh
One Size Fits All
Jazz from Hell
Lather
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noiseradio
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Post by noiseradio »

My favorite stuff is bebop. I recommend anything by Dizzy Gillespie or Charlie Parker, especially if they're playing together. Groovin' High is a good collection of tunes featuring both of them. Dizzy Gillespie Live at Newport is one of the best liver performances by anybody ever. Miles Davis Kind of blue is a classic, with which you can't go wrong. And John Coltrane Blue Train or A Love Supreme are quite possibly my favorite jazz records of all.
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BlueChair
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Post by BlueChair »

I think my favourite jazz album is Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto's Getz/Gilberto album. "The Girl From Ipanema" has become a bit of a schmaltzy standard, but the original is very cool, and the rest of the album is great as well.

I know many on this board are fans of The Best Of Chet Baker Sings, which is up there for me as well.

Miles Davis is good (Kind Of Blue, Sketches Of Spain, etc0, though I always find myself leaning more towards sax players like Coltrane (My Favorite Things, Giant Steps).

I really like early Charles Mingus... Mingus-ah-um is a great record.
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LessThanZero
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Post by LessThanZero »

I really recommend Miles Davis: Love Songs, and of course, anything by the Nat King Cole trio.
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Post by laughingcrow »

Fats Domino - Teenage Party....essential listening.
ice nine
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Post by ice nine »

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. My jazz collection is comprised of My Favorite Things (Coltrane), Kind Of Blue (Davis), Take Five (Brubeck), and a best of Billie Holliday. I will take all the suggestions under advisement.
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so lacklustre
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Post by so lacklustre »

If you want to try something new and jazz tinged then Robert Wyatts' Cuckooland is excellent.
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TheComedian
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Post by TheComedian »

Night Train by Oscar Peterson is great; Rip Rig And Panic by Roland Kirk; any of the Bill Evans albums with Scott LaFaro (Portrait In Jazz, Explorations, Sunday at the Village Vanguard, Waltz for Debby); Miles Smiles, The Great Paris Concert by Duke Ellington, From The Soul by Joe Lovano; any of the recent Dave Holland Quintet CDs; Brilliant Corners by Thelonious Monk; any of the Ornette Coleman CDs on Atlantic; Mingus Ah Um is great but so are Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus and Blues And Roots (actually, there are lot of great Mingus CDs) any Sonny Rollins from the 50's.... Songs We Know by Bill Frisell and Fred Hirsch... Have A Little Faith, by Frisell is a must... there are a lot...
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Post by martinfoyle »

Anything with Eric Dolphy on it.
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Otis Westinghouse
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Post by Otis Westinghouse »

I'm with the Mingus and Davis recommendations, both were geniuses, and both very accessible. You don't need to be a big jazzophile to git some o' that in your soul. I was lucky enough to see Davis three times in his last few years, and it was wonderful each time. I started out pretty much with the same three as you. I also have and love Night Train. I love Moanin' by Art Blakey (who I also saw, in a smallish club in Berlin, perfect, what a fantastic man). I don't have and absolutely want to get Davis In A Silent Way - I've heard it a few times, unique stuff with an amazing band, and Bitches Brew, and Coltrane's A Love Supreme - the reissue looks like a great bet.
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Jack of All Parades
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Re: I want to expand my jazz collection

Post by Jack of All Parades »

This came out well before I joined this site but will gladly offer some suggestions if you are still looking to expand your jazz listening.

All the previous suggestion are good, solid ones. I will also add you cannot go wrong with Art Tatum- he is a father of jazz piano and any real player of the last 50 years will acknowledge his influence if they are honest. His older recordings are the most vibrant before the massive consumption of beer he enjoyed started to rob him of some of that vibrancy.

I say just start exporing old Riverside or BlueNote recordings. So many are available these days at deeply discounted prices. Lee Morgan, Hank Jones, Zoot Sims, Joe Henderson, Thad Jones, Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, Paul Chambers, Sonny Stitt, Hank Mobley, too many to mention have excellent records out there to explore.

You cannot go wrong with the big three- Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Count Basie--just make sure you go back to the 'ur' texts like Armstrong's Hot Fives and Sevens recordings or Ellington's Okeh recordings or Basie's Thirties recordings out of Kansas City with his storming big bands . Once you have a familiarity with them you can then begin to explore the solo work of so many of the musicians these artists employed- giving you acess to the Lestor Youngs, the Charlie Christians, the Teddy Wilsons, the Johnny Hodges, the Ben Websters, the Clark Terrys, etc.

This is how I learned to expand my listening. Perhaps it will work for you. Good luck and happy listening if you choose to expand your listening in this manner. :)
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ice nine
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Re: I want to expand my jazz collection

Post by ice nine »

I don't know why I came bace onto this thread, but thank you JOAP, and everyone else, for the suggestions. My jazz collection has grown by two dozen. I'm enjoying Stan Getz, Sarah Vaughn, Monk, Coltrane, Corea, Tatum, etc.. One of my favorite jazz pianist is Pittsburgh"s own Erroll Garner
It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think that you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt
- M. Twain
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