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Nai no Kami · Oct 24, 2002, 02:09 PM

This is intended for Jazz lovers. I really like jazz and I am in the search for new music and horizons to explore.
Name your three favourite composers/performers. From there, anyone interested in their discography may ask deeply then.
Well, here I go:

Egberto Gismonti
Brad Mehldau
Chick Corea.

scaught · Oct 24, 2002, 02:17 PM

i dont have any favorites, and to be honest, in my brief perusals of jazz and trying to really listen to it...i just dont get it. it confuses me. i try and listen for meter, timing, rhythm, soul, feeling, something and i kinda come up dry.

ive liked some of the chick corea stuff ive heard. and some mahavishnu orchestra stuff too.

zigzag · Oct 24, 2002, 02:27 PM

Miles Davis
Bill Frisell
Charlie Haden

maxelson · Oct 24, 2002, 02:37 PM

Thelonius Monk
Charlie Parker
Miles Davis (50s-late 60s era)
Coltrane
Charlie Mingus
Ornette Coleman

See the theme? Kind of 50-60's "beat" jazz.

Zimphire · Oct 24, 2002, 02:41 PM

Wow me and max and zig have something in common after all. Let me mark this on my iCal... ok it's taking forever to launch, what was I supposed to be marking again?

Nai no Kami · Oct 24, 2002, 03:07 PM

I have a superb record featuring Charlie Haden and Egberto Gismonti live in Montreal. Really good stuff.

putamare · Oct 24, 2002, 03:13 PM

Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters
Lester Bowie / Art Ensemble of Chicago
Mcoy Tyner w/ Elvin Jones & Richard Davis

scaught, try "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis, if that doesn't do the trick, give it another couple of years (not an age thing, I don't know if you're 14 or 40, tastes just evolve over time) and repeat as necessary. Also if you dig that, try "Somethin' Else" By Cannonball Adderly which is pretty much the same line up.

zigzag · Oct 24, 2002, 03:31 PM

Brad Mehldau sounds great - his cover of "Dear Prudence" has been getting a lot of airplay on my station (which plays a variety of music, not just jazz). It occurred to me that he was sorta like a piano version of Bill Frisell, although I've only heard a couple of his tunes.

Frisell is the first new jazz musician to have interested me in a long time (I know he's been around for a while, but that just goes to show you how long it's been since any new jazz musician has interested me). I recommend Good Dog, Happy Man. It doesn't hurt to be under the influence of psychoactive substances.

I don't know how he rates as a composer or bandleader, but I adore Charlie Haden's playing, most notably with Keith Jarrett on Arbour Zena and Pat Metheny on Beyond The Missouri Sky. Surprising that a bass player could sound so moving all by himself.

Miles - no introduction needed. I've listened to all of the greats but he's the only one who keeps me interested. Also, he once told Wynton Marsalis to bugger off. What's remarkable is that so many other of my favorite players - Coltrane, Bill Evans, John McGlaughlin, etc. - did their best work with him, which I think is a testament to his brilliance. McGlaughlin's playing on Bitches Brew still floors me.

I'm also partial to John Abercrombie's playing. There have been so many great ones - Armstrong, Monk - I hate to leave anyone out. But jazz isn't my main thing.

zigzag · Oct 24, 2002, 03:35 PM

Originally posted by Nai no Kami:
I have a superb record featuring Charlie Haden and Egberto Gismonti live in Montreal. Really good stuff.

Yeah, I should check that out. I owned Gismonti's first two ECM albums but haven't listened to him in over 20 years. I could listen to Haden all day.

Joshua · Oct 24, 2002, 03:43 PM

Gerry Mulligan
Dave Brubeck
Ben Webster

Mulligan and Webster are, in my opinion, vastly underrated. Check them out if you haven't already.

kovacs · Oct 24, 2002, 03:54 PM

I have only one favorite Jazz CD and that's a live concert of Louis Armstrong in Paris ( vol. 1 ). It's a must have for every jazz lover...

This is one of the best CD's ever. period.

zigzag · Oct 24, 2002, 04:05 PM

Originally posted by putamare:
Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters
Lester Bowie / Art Ensemble of Chicago
Mcoy Tyner w/ Elvin Jones & Richard Davis

I first became acquainted with Richard Davis when I learned that he played bass on Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. A great musician.

I once got to see Ron Carter lead a quartet at Sweet Basil's in NYC. Tasty.

Nai no Kami · Oct 24, 2002, 04:07 PM

I really loved Brubeck's experiments in Time Out and Time Further Out. Truly remarkable. I am still astonished with "Take Five".

zigzag: the Montreal album is really incredible. If you have a chance, go and check it out. You won�t regret it.
And I agree: Haden does magic with the bass. You can also check another live album featuring Haden with Kenny Barron: "Night and the City".

vault86 · Oct 24, 2002, 04:38 PM

Armstrong, Davis, Coltrane, Gerry Mulligan, and MILES DAVIS!!!

funkboy · Oct 24, 2002, 04:40 PM

Miles Davis
Herbie Hancock
Chick Corea & Bobby McFerrin (and I also love Tito Puente, though he's more Afro-Latin Jazz, as he called it)

Miles. Wow. I love all of his work. If you've only listened to 50s-and-early-60s era Miles, try out Bitches Brew if you're in the mood for something different. Some love it, some hate it, and personally, I really don't understand it much at all. But it's the most inventive music I've ever heard.

Herbie Hancock I may hold dearer because he's a piano player, like me. The definitive work of his, I believe is the live CD entitled "Flood," which was recorded in Japan over two nights in 1975. The stuff he does with a live band there is phenomal... I heard one song from it, "Butterfly," and was convinced I needed the CD. That song is still one of my favorites of all time, so beautiful.

Chick Corea and Bobby McFerrin made a really cool album called "Play." It's another live album, and it's just neat. Very fun stuff. However, it's not for all tastes, as it is McFerrin doing only noises made by him. It's a piano and a man, and I find it very entertaining. The track "Spain" is great, it's one of Chick's classics, and the collaboration is great.

Nai no Kami · Oct 24, 2002, 04:52 PM

funkboy: I also heard once that Play album. Really nutz, but really cool. Spain (based on "Concierto de Aranjuez" and other pieces by Rodrigo is great also. I have the '70s version (and it is the favorite of my little brother).
This is really great. I am learning so much and I feel really happy to be able to share my preferences with others!.
I also like Hancock's stuff. But I only have "Dis is Da Drum"

el lindo · Oct 24, 2002, 05:17 PM

I second Bill Frisell. He is a must.

GRAFF · Oct 24, 2002, 05:28 PM

My all time favorite (which has just been remastered, BTW) is Ella Fitzgerald sing the Harold Arlen songbook. The best singer in the world singing the songs of one of the world's best composers is a real gem.

Mr. Blur · Oct 25, 2002, 12:06 AM

(the late) sun ra
carla bley
michael mantler
annette peacock

Mac Zealot · Oct 25, 2002, 12:25 AM

Bona Fide
Marc Antoine
Acoustic Alchemy
Boney James

NosniboR80 · Oct 25, 2002, 01:35 AM

I feel out of my league in this thread; y'all know so much about jazz. I'll be coming back to this thread for sure, before i go to the record store.

Dave Brubeck's Take Five is my all time favorite song. Simply breathtaking. It stops me in my tracks everytime I hear it. I'm a sucker for it - not quite sure why. Everything else is just too harsh - at least the limited sample that I've listened to.

Jim Paradise · Oct 25, 2002, 01:48 AM

My favs-
Charlie Parker
Lenny Breau
Dave Brubeck
Billie Holiday
Diana Krall (I've seen her twice now! ^_^)

People that should be listened to/that I love (but aren't my top favs)-
Miles Davis
Ahmed Jamal
Thelonius Monk
Che Baker
John Coltrane
Dizzie Gillepsie
Stan Getz
Oscar Peterson
Edith Piaf
Ella Fitzgerald

Anyway.... those are my recommendations.

Jim Paradise · Oct 25, 2002, 01:51 AM

Originally posted by NosniboR80:
I feel out of my league in this thread; y'all know so much about jazz. I'll be coming back to this thread for sure, before i go to the record store.

Dave Brubeck's Take Five is my all time favorite song. Simply breathtaking. It stops me in my tracks everytime I hear it. I'm a sucker for it - not quite sure why. Everything else is just too harsh - at least the limited sample that I've listened to.

Take Five is one of my all-time fav jazz songs too. Such a gorgeous, lush and sexy song. ^_^ It can be listened to at any time and fit what's going on at that time so well.

Mastrap · Oct 25, 2002, 02:19 AM

Got broadband?

Go here. Excellent jazz station on the net, broadcasting high quality mp3 streams from Berlin, Germany. From 6pm local time they switch to English as their main language.

Jim Paradise · Oct 25, 2002, 02:26 AM

Originally posted by Mastrap:
Got broadband?

Go here. Excellent jazz station on the net, broadcasting high quality mp3 streams from Berlin, Germany. From 6pm local time they switch to English as their main language.

My two favourites are CJRT which is based in Toronto. Then there's WDET out of Detroit which you can listen to via QuickTime! ^_^ http://www.wdetfm.org/content/listen_live.php I'll check out the link you posted soon. Thanks!

v0id7 · Oct 25, 2002, 08:02 AM

dont forget grant green

MrBenn · Oct 25, 2002, 09:13 AM

Great stuff. Really enjoyed reading this thread. Don't know if I've paid enough dues' to really form an opinion, but, so far.

Herbie Hancock.
Miles Davies.
Thelonius Monk.

I usually listen to more err... 'modern' stuff, but musical paths I've followed have often taken me to jazz. I love it.

Some of you might like - Cinematic Orchestra or Yesterdays New Quintet

funkboy · Oct 25, 2002, 01:30 PM

Originally posted by NosniboR80:
Dave Brubeck's Take Five is my all time favorite song. Simply breathtaking. It stops me in my tracks everytime I hear it. I'm a sucker for it - not quite sure why. Everything else is just too harsh - at least the limited sample that I've listened to.

I don't like the speed jazz stuff, either. Really really fast stuff is just too fast for me, personally.

That said, I think "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis would be great for you. At least one of the tracks on there, "All Blues," is somewhat similar. At least, I like it a lot

Herbie Hancock's "Butterfly" (the song) is really good, too. Has a relaxed feel.

I hate to say it, but I got much much much more interested in jazz only once I had Napster/Mactella. If I could not have downloaded music then, I would not be nearly as interested in it now. Miles Davis would simply be a guy I had maybe heard of once, but I would have nowhere near the knowledge I have on him now... and, for the record company's (and his estate's) sake, I would not have owned all the albums I now do of his

MrBenn · Oct 25, 2002, 01:50 PM

yeah, I bought a lot of new music because of Napster.

putamare · Oct 25, 2002, 05:54 PM

If you're feeling really spunky try Naked City: John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, Bill Frisell, Fred Frith, Joey Baron and Yamatsuka Eye. Hatchi-matchi those guys make a lot of noise.

daimoni · 05:43 PM

.

thunderous_funker · Oct 25, 2002, 06:54 PM

Great list here already. Some are new to me so that is especially nice.

Modeski, Martin & Wood anyone?

Nai no Kami · 07:29 PM

Sure!. "Combustication" is my fav, followed by "Friday afternoon at the Universe" and I also think that "Uninvisible" is cool, but not as creative as the others.
People: I am very grateful for the acceptance of this thread!. I have tried so may things this days. I still have to dig more into the Frisell's stuff. Any record to recomend?. I prefer trios and live recordings. Thanks!.