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I'm mostly into bop/hard bop from about 1955-1964 and within that narrow timeframe jazz is still a huge blackhole. Start w/ some stuff then find stuff from the guys that played on it, then find other guys....it goes on and on.

 

That's a reason I haven't got much jazz on vinyl...shit is expensive (the reissues) and there's just too much.

 

I got a bunch of jazz CDs tho. They are cheap and plentiful. The "remastered/deluxe" reissues are often a scam and the original CDs are just fine (just not as loud). Everyone knows about Kind of Blue tho, but it'd prob be hard to find one that is the original messed up pitch version now.

 

I'd have to go look at album titles but some of the artists I dig:

 

Miles

Coltrane

Hank Mobley

Elvin Jones

Horace Silver

Donald Byrd

Thelonius Monk

Mingus

Lee Morgan

Cannonball Adderly

Freddie Hubbard

Stanley Turrentine

Sonny Clark

Red Garland

Dexter Gordon

Sonny Rollins

Jimmy Smith

Dave Brubeck 

Chet Baker

Bud Powell

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Indeed. There's so much by those guys alone you will never catch up to the 21st century haha.

 

Ari Hoenig kills it though, especially when he plays with Jean Michel Pilc...just nasty.

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Roy Ayers is the shit. Check out this LP:

 

Also, trade me that Davis record. I want it very badly!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I still have not found an og pressing of Stoned Soul Picnic.

I need to clean the Miles record because there is some gritty dirt on it. Pretty sure it will clean up nicely on the record cleaner, so I doubt I will part with it :) . It's the West 50th pressing and he sold it to me for $13. For some reason he priced Springsteen's "Nebraska" at $83? He was just wacky with his prices. I wish I had more time to carefully shop it all because my gal was waiting for me to finish and since we were in Hawaii on vacation I felt bad and rushed through the collection. I'm pretty good at spotting rarities in any genre, so I think I got the best of the lot.

I feel sorry for people who don't have a wide appreciation for music, they are missing out on so much. Whenever I come across a record collection there is always a good chance I will find something cool.

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See. I had to google Ari Hoenig. But, since he's a modern drummer in the vein of Elvin Jones, I think I'll check out some of his stuff.

 

Okay, so at this point, the newest jazz record I own is from two New Orleans guys, Terrance Blanchard and Donald Harrison. The record, "Black Pearl" was recorded in the early 80's and is freaking great: http://www.allmusic.com/album/black-pearl-mw0000652086

 

BUT, modern jazz, this German guy, Till Bronner, mixes bop, pop, fusion and other things to make a really great modern jazz sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APiBfD9c_p8

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I still have not found an og pressing of Stoned Soul Picnic.

I need to clean the Miles record because there is some gritty dirt on it. Pretty sure it will clean up nicely on the record cleaner, so I doubt I will part with it :) . It's the West 50th pressing and he sold it to me for $13. For some reason he priced Springsteen's "Nebraska" at $83? He was just wacky with his prices. I wish I had more time to carefully shop it all because my gal was waiting for me to finish and since we were in Hawaii on vacation I felt bad and rushed through the collection. I'm pretty good at spotting rarities in any genre, so I think I got the best of the lot.

I feel sorry for people who don't have a wide appreciation for music, they are missing out on so much. Whenever I come across a record collection there is always a good chance I will find something cool.

I found a huge haul at a thrift store, tons of semi-rare jazz/soul LP's. None of it was valuable, but $2 a piece and I sold all of them for $15-25. Anyway, found an original Stoned Soul Picnic but let it go 'cause I wasn't on a big soul kick a few years ago.

Well, I figured you were keeping Davis but I had to try.

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First, thank you, Somethingvinyl for making this thread.

 

I know nothing about jazz, but I want some good records to listen to.

 

Can anyone give me some recommendations? I like big-band sounding stuff. Don't keyboard/electronic jazz.

 

You're welcome moonbeams. Hey, you can now say, "Posting in a somethingvinyl thread."

Secondly, big band is a huge 20-30 year period of jazz. Though it was huge and Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington ushered "black" music into white America with it, I am hard pressed to say that any of it matters more than the contributions from Davis, Coltrane, Parker, etc. Swing had less improvisation and was very plain, stale and 'poppy' (in my opinion). 

Some classic jazz records that are essential music albums to own:

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

John Coltrane - Blue Train

Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz To Come

Hank Mobley - The Turnaround

Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else

Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil

Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder

Max Roach - We Insist: Freedom Now Suite

 

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Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

John Coltrane - Blue Train

Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz To Come

Hank Mobley - The Turnaround

Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else

Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil

Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder

Max Roach - We Insist: Freedom Now Suite

 

5/8...not too shabby B)

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And Amazon has a 100 greatest list of jazz records that you can download but I think it forgets some important contributions (Sonny Rollins' Way Out West, for one): http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000369991

 

 

5/8...not too shabby B)

 

Which 3 don't you think, lemme guess: Wayne Shorter, Max Roach and Ornette Coleman.

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Close...missing Max Roach (would love to own that one on LP), Blue Train (just haven't picked it up yet), and Mobley. If I see any of them I will be sure to grab them asap... :ph34r:

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Love the version of Autumn Leaves on that Adderley LP.

 

From what I understand, this session was pretty much led by Miles, but since he was still under contract with Prestige, Blue Note had to credit the lp to Adderley. Great record.

 

Speaking of MIles, one of the things I love about his work is that if you listen to one record, you still don't know his work. He was really like Picasso with all of the stylistic changes he went through in his career. Exploring his catalog alone is a great primer for understanding modern jazz.

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  • 1 month later...

I just recently bought this lot to kind of jump-start me into Jazz, since I have close to zero knowledge about the genre:

01. Carla Bley - Dinner Music, Watt/6 '77 DE, Insert, m-/vg++

02. Frank Sinatra - Sinatra swings, CBS '86 NL, m-/vg+

03. Eric Gale - Part of you, Columbia '79 USA, Insert, m-/m-

04. Kenny Clarke - Meets the Detroit Jazzmen, RCA '84 DE, m-/vg++

05. Al Di Meola - Splendido Hotel, 2 LP, CBS '80 NL, FOC, m-/m-

06. Glenn Miller - Glenn Miller Story Vol.1, RCA '75 DE RI, MONO, m-/vg++

07. Billy Gorlt & His Whispering - Ballroom Sound Orchestra, Amati '84 DE, SIGNIERT, MINT

08. Crusaders - Those Southern Knights, MCA/Ariola '76 DE, m/m-

09. Brecker Bros. - Don't stop the music, Arista '77 UK, OIS, m-/vg++

10. John McLaughlin - The Best Of, CBS '80 NL, m-/m-

11. Casino Lights, V/A Live Montreux, David Sanborn, AL Jarreau, Larry Carlton, Neil Larsen, Buzz Feiten, Yellow Jackets, OIS, Warner '82 DE, m-/m-

12. Egberto Gismonti - Works, ECM '79 DE, m-/vg+

13. Benny Goodman - Greatest Hits, CBS old orange 70's DE, Re-Channeled, m-/m-

14. Lee Ritenour - On the line, Elektra Musician '83 DE, Insert, m-/m-

15. Monty Sunshine - Portrait, WAM '72 DE, m-/m-

16. Jelly Roll Morton - Blues and Rags from Piano Rolls 1924/25, Musidisc '70's F, vg++/vg

17. Kenny G & G Force - Gravity, Arista '85 DE, m-/m-

18. Lionel Hampton - 1937-1940, Sarabandas '84 Italy, m-/m-

19. Duke Ellington - The Far East Suite, RCA Jazz Line '83 DE, m-/m- kl. Archiveintrag innen

20. Tania Maria - The Real Tania Maria - Wild, Picante /Bellaphon '85 DE, m-/vg+

Paid around $60 including shipping, they should arrive in a few days. I only know a couple artists in this lot, and even from them hardly more than a handful of songs. If I end up liking even three or four records it'll be money well spent.

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I just recently bought this lot to kind of jump-start me into Jazz, since I have close to zero knowledge about the genre:

Try picking up albums from Verve and Blue Note, you can't go wrong. Instead of Eric Gale you should check out Eddie Gale if you like stuff influenced by Free Jazz.

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I just recently bought this lot to kind of jump-start me into Jazz, since I have close to zero knowledge about the genre:

01. Carla Bley - Dinner Music, Watt/6 '77 DE, Insert, m-/vg++

02. Frank Sinatra - Sinatra swings, CBS '86 NL, m-/vg+

03. Eric Gale - Part of you, Columbia '79 USA, Insert, m-/m-

04. Kenny Clarke - Meets the Detroit Jazzmen, RCA '84 DE, m-/vg++

05. Al Di Meola - Splendido Hotel, 2 LP, CBS '80 NL, FOC, m-/m-

06. Glenn Miller - Glenn Miller Story Vol.1, RCA '75 DE RI, MONO, m-/vg++

07. Billy Gorlt & His Whispering - Ballroom Sound Orchestra, Amati '84 DE, SIGNIERT, MINT

08. Crusaders - Those Southern Knights, MCA/Ariola '76 DE, m/m-

09. Brecker Bros. - Don't stop the music, Arista '77 UK, OIS, m-/vg++

10. John McLaughlin - The Best Of, CBS '80 NL, m-/m-

11. Casino Lights, V/A Live Montreux, David Sanborn, AL Jarreau, Larry Carlton, Neil Larsen, Buzz Feiten, Yellow Jackets, OIS, Warner '82 DE, m-/m-

12. Egberto Gismonti - Works, ECM '79 DE, m-/vg+

13. Benny Goodman - Greatest Hits, CBS old orange 70's DE, Re-Channeled, m-/m-

14. Lee Ritenour - On the line, Elektra Musician '83 DE, Insert, m-/m-

15. Monty Sunshine - Portrait, WAM '72 DE, m-/m-

16. Jelly Roll Morton - Blues and Rags from Piano Rolls 1924/25, Musidisc '70's F, vg++/vg

17. Kenny G & G Force - Gravity, Arista '85 DE, m-/m-

18. Lionel Hampton - 1937-1940, Sarabandas '84 Italy, m-/m-

19. Duke Ellington - The Far East Suite, RCA Jazz Line '83 DE, m-/m- kl. Archiveintrag innen

20. Tania Maria - The Real Tania Maria - Wild, Picante /Bellaphon '85 DE, m-/vg+

Paid around $60 including shipping, they should arrive in a few days. I only know a couple artists in this lot, and even from them hardly more than a handful of songs. If I end up liking even three or four records it'll be money well spent.

 

Interesting mix of stuff. Looks like they went from early big band swing straight to smooth jazz. My favorite decades for jazz are the 50's and 60's with a bit of the soul jazz from the early 70's.

 

As an audiophile I am surprised you aren't already completely into jazz. You may have opened up an expensive can of worms for yourself. Forget about $2,000 audio components and start worrying about paying the same for a rare original Blue Note record! Let us know what you end up digging from that collection.

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Interesting mix of stuff. Looks like they went from early big band swing straight to smooth jazz. My favorite decades for jazz are the 50's and 60's with a bit of the soul jazz from the early 70's.

As an audiophile I am surprised you aren't already completely into jazz. You may have opened up an expensive can of worms for yourself. Forget about $2,000 audio components and start worrying about paying the same for a rare original Blue Note record! Let us know what you end up digging from that collection.

Yea, that collection really skipped the golden age of jazz from around '58-'72. Sometimes you get lucky with Blue Note's. I bought an original Lou Donaldson Blues Walk for $1 about 2 months ago because one of the record stores here in town doesn't know shit about music that isn't played on the radio.

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Glad to see this thread on here.

 

The first jazz album I bought in high school was Coltrane's Giant Steps. I HATED it -- especially the title track and Countdown. It sounded like random noise with no melody to latch on to. The only track I liked was Naima, but I rarely put the CD on just to listen to that track. Needless to say, I didn't understand it at the time.

 

I was heavily into a Hendrix phase at the time, and loved blues guitar. A friend recommended that I give Grant Green's Idle Moments a shot. I was hooked after that. The title track is one of the greatest songs ever recorded, IMO. The hazy, contemplative, laid-back soulful playing was a perfect mood-setter for me. Any time I was feeling introspective, I'd throw that song on. Hell, I still listen to it to this day, over after hearing it for the first time, after a long day at work paired with a glass of Highland Park. 

 

Next up for me was Miles's Kind of Blue. An album that deserves all of the praise it gets, as it is essential listening. Such an amazing lineup, all contributing such inventive solos. Supposedly Mobile Fidelity is working on a re-issue of this album, which I'm impatiently awaiting. This is my go-to recommendation for anyone wanting a taste of good jazz, except for folks who I know like more uptempo music (as the lack of momentum in the modal arrangements makes this a "sleepy" album).

 

To me, the pinnacle of jazz music is contained in the Village Vanguard recordings of the Bill Evans Trio (Waltz for Debby and Sunday at the Village Vanguard). This session is one of the best instances of telepathy between musicians and the interplay between Motian, La Faro and Evans is ridiculous. 

 

I agree with others here that the Blue Note recordings from the 50's and 60's represent some of the golden era in jazz. They had such a talented stable of artists, and a strong brand and house sound that it's an easier jump to other artists on the same label (as opposed to say, jumping from Coltrane's to Mingus's Impulse recordings). 

 

It's sort of a golden age in jazz vinyl, as the likes of Analogue Productions, Music Matters, Classic Records, and ORG are doing very high quality (from a fidelity standpoint) reissues of tons of jazz classics. They are pricey, but do represent the definitive versions of the greatest jazz recordings (and are cheaper than finding mint first pressings on the gray market). 

 

But getting into jazz does NOT have to be costly. For some inexpensive stuff, look no further than the OJC reissues which are priced anywhere between $10-$15 (most are $12 at my local store). A great majority of them are mastered from the original analog tapes and sound damn good. 

 

Here are some cheap OJC recommendations for anyone wanting to get into jazz:

 

Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus (Rollins's clinic on jazz improvisation. This uses the same stampers as the DCC reissue mastered by Hoffman/Gray)

Sonny Rollins - Tenor Madness (uses DCC stampers as well -- contains the great Sonny Rollins / John Coltrane battle of the title track)

Bill Evans - Sunday at the Village Vanguard (essential jazz trio that manyjazz pianists afterward aspired to)

Bill Evans - Waltz for Debby (same live sessions as the Sunday at the Village Vanguard recordings)

Bill Evans - Portrait in Jazz (same trio as the Village Vanguard in a studio setting)

Wes Montgomery - The Incredible Jazz Guitar (possibly the greatest jazz guitarist ever in regards to technique)

Miles Davis - Steamin'/Cookin'/Relaxin'.Workin' (from the famous Prestige sessions that Davis cut to get out of his Prestige contract. Excellent bop recordings with his first great quintet)

Thelonious Monk - Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane (great recording from Coltrane's short stint with Monk's band. You can hear Coltrane developing some ideas that would be fleshed out later in his career)

Art Pepper - Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (Art Pepper's smooth, cool jazz sax with the Miles Davis rhythm section backing him. Great stuff)

 

All of those OJC's are less than $15, so it's easy to jump in and explore.

 

As far as Blue Note recordings, there's way too many to name. Here are some of my favorites:

Andrew Hill - Point of Departure / Judgment

Art Blakey - Moanin' / Indestructible / Free for All (i love the lineups with Lee Morgan / Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter)

Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else

Dexter Gordon - Go! / A Swingin' Affair / Our Man in Paris

Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch 

Freddie Hubbard - Open Sesame / Ready for Freddie

Grant Green - Idle Moments / Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark / Matador

Hank Mobley - Soul Station

Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage / Empyrean Isles / Takin' Off

Horace Silver - Song for my Father

Jackie McLean - Jackie's Bag / Let Freedom Ring

Joe Henderson - Page One

Larry Young - Unity

Lee Morgan - Search for a New Land / The Sidewinder

McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy

Sonny Clark - Sonny's Crib / Cool Struttin'

Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil / Night Dreamer

 

Alright, I'll shut up now. 

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