Please help me start my jazz collection

Discussion in 'Movies, TV and Music' started by skipshady, May 6, 2003.

  1. skipshady

    skipshady New Member

    Apr 26, 2001
    Orchard St, NYC
    So I listen to some jazz but I only own one album, Coltrane's "Love Supreme". Especially with Apple's music service making buying albums cheaper, I want to build a collection.
    Of the stuff I've listened to so far, I like Coltrane, Monk, Miles Davis and Duke.

    What are the "essential" albums? What are the major styles and periods?

    Thanks.
     
  2. obie

    obie New Member

    Nov 18, 1998
    NY, NY
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Coltrane's Blue Train is classic and only $4.95 at the iTunes music store. Get that, without a doubt.
     
  3. TrooperBari

    TrooperBari Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2001
    Jakarta
    Don't know of anything "essential," really. It really depends on what you're into.

    I'd really recommend Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue," Arturo Sandoval's "Danzon" and anything by Maynard Ferguson. Vince Guaraldi (the 'Peanuts' guy), Wynton Marsalis and Bill Chase are all also worth a listen.
     
  4. MikeLastort2

    MikeLastort2 Member

    Mar 28, 2002
    Takoma Park, MD
    Coltrane "A Love Supreme"
    Dave Brubeck "Time Out"
    Miles Davis "Birth Of The Cool"
    Maynard Ferguson "Chameleon"
    Buddy Rich "Mercy Mercy"
    Frank Sinatra "With Red Norvo Quintet: Live in Australia"
    Thelonious Monk "Brilliant Corners"
    Weather Report "Heavy Weather"
    Coleman Hawkins "The Hawk Flies High"
    Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie "Bird and Diz" (with Buddy Rich on drums and Monk on keyboard - WOW, what an album!!!)
    Wayne Shorter "Speak No Evil"
    Sonny Rollins "Way Out West"

    These should get you started. :)
     
  5. bert patenaude

    Apr 16, 2001
    White Plains, NY
    Louis Armstrong - Hot Fives and Hot Sevens (1925-27)
    Billie Holiday - Sessions with Buck Clayton and Lester Young (1936-38)
    Count Basie Band - Decca Sessions (1937-39)
    Duke Ellington - Blanton/Webster Sessions (1940-42)
    Charlie Parker - Dial Sessions (1946-49)
    Miles Davis - Kind of Blue, Porgy & Bess, Sketches of Spain, ESP, Bitches Brew
    John Coltrane - Giant Steps, My Favorite Things, Crescent
    Thelonious Monk - Blue Note Sessions, Brilliant Corners
    Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus

    There's much much more but these are some classic pre-1970 records. There is also some great stuff after 1970 but there are more disputes over what is considered great.
     
  6. MikeLastort2

    MikeLastort2 Member

    Mar 28, 2002
    Takoma Park, MD
    Oh, I forgot Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax, who played on Miles' "Birth of the Cool"). His best is probably "Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster," with Ben Webster on tenor sax. It's probably one of the greatest sax jazz albums of all time.
     
  7. skipshady

    skipshady New Member

    Apr 26, 2001
    Orchard St, NYC
    I'll say.

    Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Obviously, it'll take a little while to get through all of them and I'm trying to take it easy on my iTunes Store shopping, so I'll be taking my time.
     
  8. FearM9

    FearM9 New Member

    Jul 14, 2000
    On my bike
    I own all three of those and they are excellent. "Birth Of The Cool" is the s***!!!!!
     
  9. needs

    needs Member

    Jan 16, 2003
    Brooklyn
    If you like A Love Supreme, you should really listen to some Mingus. A lot of his stuff has a similar feel to me, that kind of rhythm emerging from cacaophany thing. My favorites are The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (which is just amazing), Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus, and Ah Um.

    My other advice for starting a collection ... go to the public library. Most have pretty decent jazz collections you can try out a wide variety of stuff.
     
  10. bmurphyfl

    bmurphyfl Member

    Jun 10, 2000
    VT
    Club:
    Montreal Impact
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If you like Coltrane and Davis, check out Dexter Gordon's "Go".

    Murf
     
  11. Alberto

    Alberto Member+

    Feb 28, 2000
    Northern, New Jersey
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Coltrane, Giant Steps
    Miles, Miles Ahead, Sketches of Spain, Porgy and Bess, and for synergy Bitches Brew. Though Kind of Blue is probably one of the best albums in history. It's sublime particularly Blue into Green and the Flamenco Sketches.
     
  12. cj herrera

    cj herrera New Member

    May 7, 1999
    Oakland, damn straig
    You're getting some pretty good suggestions here, but they're a bit all over the map -- which they should be.

    But I'm just wondering if you have any style you want to start with or if you just want to sample everything?

    Because you can't get much more disparate than Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Weather Report.(well, actually, Einstürzende Neubauten might be more disparate, but you catch my drift.)

    Coltrane's A Love Supreme is spiritual, conceptual, at times atonal.

    Do you want more stuff like that?

    Whereas Blue Train is more "standard" 50s jazz (at it's highest improv, boppin level).

    Or Louis Armstrong and Sydney Bechet? Early New Orleans "good times" jazz?

    Duke Ellington?

    If I were you, I'd start early with basics -- Armstrong and Bechet, then Basie, Dizzy and Bird, then Miles and Monk, then Coltrane and Ellington.

    If you grab some of those guys greatest albums, you can maybe find out what directions you want to explore. You will also be instantly exposed to probably over a hundred great "side men" on these discs -- Bill Evans, J.J. Johnson, Cannonball Adderly, McCoy Tyner, Sonne Rollins, Cootie Williams, etc. etc. -- who are great artists in their own right and whose records you may want to find.

    Then you're off and runnin....
     
  13. Alex_1

    Alex_1 Member

    Mar 29, 2002
    Zürich
    Club:
    Grasshopper Club Zürich
    Nat'l Team:
    Switzerland
    "Collector Secrets" by Alex_1

    Hmm... don't believe the hype that "compilations are too commercialized". That might actually be the best place to start. With some comps, yo uget a good idea of the sort of styles of music that you like, and can get a snapshot preview of artists abilities and works. My first recommendation - check out a comp or two first.

    Having said that, what Jazz Collection doesn't have som classic latin/Brazilian Bossa Nova? You can count on me to recommend a few artists:

    Antonio Carlos Jobim: The composer, the man, so much influence on music from yesterday to today. Check out any of his older works (I'd say before 1980) including "Wave", which is IMO his best.

    Joao Gilberto: Many call him the original Bossa Nova artist. His guitar playing was always world renown - capturing the sound that you think of when the word "Braz'iu" is mentioned.

    Wanda Sa: Most recognize Astrud Gilberto (who was actually Joao Gilberto's wife) as the voice of "The Girl from Ipanema". But if you listen to the track "So Nice" (Summer Song) as sung by Wanda Sa - you hear the Girl from Brazil.

    Stan Getz: The American in the classic Brazil scene. Actually, he partially holds the poor mantle of why Astrud/Joao Gilberto are no longer married - due to her affair with Stan. The tenor saxaphonist is amazing, looping melodies around Bossa Nova and sweet Brazilian female vocalists. Insensatez, Desafinado, Menina Flor, Falsa Baiana, all classics - Getz/Gilberto is an all time classic - a must have (they were friends then).

    Elis Regina: One of the most powerful voices - amazing range. Many US artists - Sarah Vaughn, etc. sing songs that she just set the mantle for. Check out Triste and Chovenda Na Roseira (Raining in the Rose Garden) but most notably the duet she sang with Jobim "Waters of March".

    Then there are many others - Baden Powell, Luiz Bonfa (original Orfeu Negro soundtrack), Edu Lobo, etc. You have Cuban Jazz too, and artists like Cal Tjader...

    My Opinion: Pick up a compilation of Bossa Nova titled "Nova Bossa".

    [​IMG]
    Unf. I lost this one! :( But it's relatively cheap.

    It has most of the artists I mentioned here and then a few more. For new artists - well, there's loads there too. Maybe even check out Bebel Gilberto (Joao's Gilberto + Miucha's daughter) for her ocals.
     
  14. zpjohnstone

    zpjohnstone Member

    Feb 27, 2001
    Finger Lakes, NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm only giving you one, for emphasis.

    Andrew Hill - Point Of Departure

    I can't say enough about this grossly under-appreciated album. This is the best album on the whole Blue Note catalog, which is saying a lot. The composition and arrangements are impressive as is the musicianship- Some of my favorite Dolphy solos are on this recording (I've found I like Dolphy more on other peoples stuff than on his own), the drumming is super-inspired and creative and absolutely everybody is more than up to the task at hand. In addition, this is one of the more varied albums, in terms of feel, keys, time signitures, whatever . . . this album also has an incredible gestalt effect when digested as a whole.
     
  15. champmanager

    champmanager Member

    Dec 13, 2001
    Alexandria, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Kazakhstan
    Based on your tastes, I'd also ecommend Charles Mingus. I'm in agreement with whoever endorsed Best of Compilations when it comes to starting a jazz collection, though with the really big names, there's enough "classic" albums you can find without worrying about buying a dud. I'm not a giant jazz fan, and my collection is small, but there's not much worse than a failed jazz album.
     
  16. zpjohnstone

    zpjohnstone Member

    Feb 27, 2001
    Finger Lakes, NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, I can't believe somebody hasn't suggested Mingus' Ah Um yet, so I will. The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady is also considered a classic.
     
  17. bert patenaude

    Apr 16, 2001
    White Plains, NY
    Very nice. Also Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch.
     
  18. MikeLastort2

    MikeLastort2 Member

    Mar 28, 2002
    Takoma Park, MD
    Stan Getz and João Gilberto's album Getz/Gilberto is fantastic. It has the often cliched "Girl From Impanema," but I don't care what anyone says. The song is fantastic.

    [​IMG]

    It came out originally in '64. It's still a great album.
     
  19. Real Ray

    Real Ray Member

    May 1, 2000
    Cincinnati, OH
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Alex's point is pretty good. CBS has one of the great jazz catalogs and they have a series called. "This Is Jazz," with best of for Miles, Mingus, Ellington, etc.. I would check out some of those. Verve as well. ("The Billie Holliday SongBook" a good choice IMO.)

    Ellington's "At Newport," is one I would offer here. The version of "Diminuendo And Crescendo In Blue," is worth buying the disc alone.

    "The Complete Dial Sessions," I would second-although I think you might also try "The Essesntial Charlie Parker, "on Verve. Sound quality is better, and the performances , of "Bloomdido," "Star Eyes," "Loverman," and "KC Blues," are top notch.

    "Bill Evans At Town Hall," is another album I love. "Conversations With Myself," is also fantastic-him solo, but overdubbed second piano. And if your up for a flyer, his album w/Tony Bennett might surprise. It's something of a cult classic; I think it's close to masterpiece. It will for sure change any non/negative opinon re: Bennett. Evans' "At The Montreux Jazz Festival," in another of his albums I love. The version of, "I Loves You Porgy, " on this album is my favorite version of this tune.

    I'm not as big a fan of the "West Coast/Cool" style the Lastort and others are, so for another Stan Getz disc in a different mode, try "Diz And Getz." It's a nice disc with Dizzy.

    Lastly, one composer who gets overlooked but I really like is Oliver Nelson. "Sound Pieces" is a work I would checkout-similar to Mingus in some ways.

    Oh-if "Way Out West," isn't in the bin, try "Saxophone Colossus, " for a Sonny Rollins pick.
     
  20. sanariot

    sanariot Member

    Nov 19, 2001
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Modern Jazz Quartet:

    [​IMG]

    Ella Fitzgerald - Best of the Songbooks:

    [​IMG]
     
  21. Labdarugo

    Labdarugo Member

    Dec 3, 2000
    Downwind
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Skip, Can you get WBGO 88.3 out there? It's a great station and they're on the Net too. They have their own list of "must-have" recordings.
    http://www.wbgo.org/library/88_jazz_recordings.asp

    My advice: Just listen. Listen. And wherever possible listen and learn. I'm new to jazz and still discovering new things all the time and being completely knocked out by it. Recently on WGBO they had a program on Coltrane and his music. It was a revelation.

    There are good jazz programs on NPR. Check out some of these:
    http://www.npr.org/programs/jazzprofiles/
    http://www.npr.org/programs/pianojazz/

    And NPR's own list of recordings:
    http://www.nprjazz.org/links/index.html
     
  22. TheSlipperyOne

    TheSlipperyOne Member+

    Feb 29, 2000
    Denver
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Gotta have some Nina Simone.
     
  23. skipshady

    skipshady New Member

    Apr 26, 2001
    Orchard St, NYC
    Definitely.

    Thanks for the suggestions. Like I said, I'm going to be taking my time with this. Remember, I'm trying to start my collection.
    This sounds good. I just stopped listening to non-NPR radio so it really didn't occur to me.
     
  24. IMissTheFusion

    IMissTheFusion New Member

    Jun 21, 2002
    South Florida
    Alot of things I would have suggested already have, but I'll something here..

    Don't know if you're into jazz-rock fusion, but one of my all time favorite albums is the Mahavishnu Orchestra's The Inner Mounting Flame. John Mclaughlin on guitar, Billy Cobham on drums, Jan Hammer on Keys, Rick Laird on bass, and Jerry Goodman on violin.

    One of the best 'guitar albums' you'll ears will ever hear.
     
  25. nancyb

    nancyb Member

    Jun 30, 2000
    Falls Church, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Washington Post had an article about just this a few months ago. I printed it out to save, but couldnt' find it when I looked for it. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to jazz, but would like to get more educated.
     

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