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Jazz Recommendations?

Printed From: Graham Slee Hifi System Components
Category: Music
Forum Name: All that Jazz
Forum Description: Such a wide genre, but if it fits talk about it here
URL: https://www.hifisystemcomponents.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4076
Printed Date: 28 Mar 2024 at 2:55pm
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Topic: Jazz Recommendations?
Posted By: miT
Subject: Jazz Recommendations?
Date Posted: 06 Dec 2016 at 4:25pm
Good afternoon all,

As jazz was never one of my music "specialities", I thought where better to turn than the wealth of knowledge here. I'm not sure why but since building my new PC and finally accessing my music collection again for the first time since February, I find that I've been drawn to the relaxing vibes of jazz and other "easy listening" genres which typically fall into the lesser populated end of my collection.

I know jazz can be grouped into different categories but I've never been keen on the "plink-plonk" jazz club stuff where everyone seems to be doing their own thing (although I do appreciate great musicians). Before I ask for recommendations though, it would probably make sense to establish what I do like?

I was brought up on a lot of 50s music and film so Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, etc are ok although I do prefer velvety female vocals (I already have Norah Jones' back catalogue). My recent demo of the FH3 speakers introduced me to Anouar Brahem (world jazz?) so his name was noted for my next shopping spree. I half-heartedly discovered Marta Gomez a few years ago but listening to her Cantos de Agua Dulce album yesterday was a treat.

Mongo Santamaria's - Watermelon Man is also fantastic and is one of my longer-owned albums. Apart from Latin jazz I also like instrumental types, with Jimmy Smith being a favourite. Looking at his immense discography though, I have no idea if his style remained the same or not as the only full album I have is The Cat which I absolutely love. I also know a few songs from his Virginia Woolf album which is on my shopping list but as they are the same style, I guess it is safe to put me down as a fan ("big band"?). But can you recommend any other of his albums for me to get stuck into? What other artists/albums should I consider?

Thanks in advance of your suggestions.


Tim



Replies:
Posted By: Godra
Date Posted: 06 Dec 2016 at 11:50pm
Try Gregory Porter 'Liquid spirit' or 'Take me to the alley' album. Also, one of Cecile McLorin Salvant album.

Let me know how you find them! 


Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 07 Dec 2016 at 2:14pm
Thanks Godra. I sampled both on YouTube this morning. Loving Gregory Porter! The intro for the video of Liquid Spirit perfectly demonstrates the jazz I don't like, he does it as a joke.

I have added him to my shoppin list as well.


Posted By: morris_minor
Date Posted: 07 Dec 2016 at 4:14pm
I go to this https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGp2F5ykCWtGE6jpQzwjNKg" rel="nofollow - You Tube channel for my new jazz ideas. Loads of good stuff here. I found out about jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby from this channel, and now have four of her albums on vinyl. I have been known to download the videos from this channel and rip the soundtrack into FLAC files . . . EmbarrassedWink

Try this:



-------------
Bob

Majestic DAC/pre-amp
Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links


Posted By: Godra
Date Posted: 07 Dec 2016 at 10:26pm
@miT :I'm happy that you loved Gregory Porter. I've been listening to his lp for one years and still find it great!

@morris_minor : Great channel, I just subscribed to it. Thanks!


Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 08 Dec 2016 at 9:03pm
morris_minor: Thanks Bob! Also subscribed.

Godra: I've started annoying my wife by playing Hey Laura so often already. Very soulful, which happens to be another of my favourite genres. The CD is already on my Amazon wish list; hope to buy a few albums today.


Posted By: Godra
Date Posted: 09 Dec 2016 at 12:13am
miT : Hey Laura is one of my favorite too (and of my girlfriend too) Big smile ! Try to listen to 'Time is ticking' on Youtube. It's a bonus song on Liquid Spirit LP. I love it.


Posted By: morris_minor
Date Posted: 09 Dec 2016 at 3:46pm
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDF0i99yFj1yVuAwx6UyXQ/videos" rel="nofollow - Here's another good YT jazz channel, and one of the offerings:






-------------
Bob

Majestic DAC/pre-amp
Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links


Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2016 at 8:11am
Thanks morris_minor. I shall work my way through that one too.

After extensive sampling of Jimmy Smith's back-catalogue via AllMusic.com it's safe to say his big band albums during the '60s are definitely my favourite (foot-tapping, smile inducing goodness), although I understand that these are less "jazz" than his others. In light of this revelation, can anyone recommend any other big band artists for me to sample next please?

Thanks,


Tim


Posted By: morris_minor
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2016 at 8:49am
You're welcome Tim . . 

I love Jimmy Smith's "The Cat". Are you of an age to remember the BBC TV "Money Programme"? One of the tracks (The Carpetbaggers, I think) was used as the theme . . . 

For a "laid back" big band you can't beat this:



-------------
Bob

Majestic DAC/pre-amp
Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links


Posted By: morris_minor
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2016 at 4:17pm
Two more big bands come to mind:

Quincy Jones, and John Dankworth

QJ's The Birth Of A Band is great album - the first one I played when I installed Graham's Era Gold V into my system many moons ago, prompting a mile-wide smile that stayed for weeks Wink.

Here's Bobby Timmons' "Moanin'" (most likely heard on Art Blakey's album of the same name) from that QJ album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXnfy3J3KzE" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXnfy3J3KzE

and a version by the John Dankworth band:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7z1nQPiUTI" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7z1nQPiUTI

And as a piece of shameless self-promotion ( LOL ) here's a video of mine from 2013 of Tickle Toe from Birth of A Band, playing through that same EGV:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMgkIzX0eWo" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMgkIzX0eWo


-------------
Bob

Majestic DAC/pre-amp
Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links


Posted By: miT
Date Posted: 19 Dec 2016 at 1:49am
moris_minor: Thanks for the recommendations. I'll watch the YouTube clips later. Sadly I wasn't around in time for that program but you are right about the theme tune.

I've discovered a few sites to purchase lossless music so bought a few Jimmy Smith albums. As jazz styles constantly evolve, I'm mainly focussing on his discography first (while still looking into others) which is actually proving quite educational in understanding my (instrumental) jazz tastes.

If I've got this right "hard bop" and "soul jazz" are the main sub-genres I have discovered that I enjoy (so far), which I believe lived around the 50s-60s. I forgot to mention "funky jazz" at the outset because I wasn't particularly looking for that this time but as the artists evolved into this style towards the 70s(?), its probably worth listing as well.

As for big band I love the planned, rhythmic style of it, and something about the trumpet sections just grabs me. While I also enjoy the sax, I find it works better as the lead in a small band setting; it doesn't feel right leading the whole song with a big band (including trumpets)... I welcome countering examples though. While I don't mind it, big band swing is also ok but in small doses. It is too lively (and generally vocal) for me at the moment; swing isn't what I would call background/chilled out music whereas the other stuff is (generalising).

I do like early swing stuff though (Glenn Miller, etc); pretty much everything from the 20s onwards is just fun. It's just a shame the surviving quality is generally poor!


Posted By: Godra
Date Posted: 19 Dec 2016 at 2:25am

If you appreciate 'hard bop', you should definitely listen to Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers. Try 'Moanin' first, it's a classic.


Posted By: morris_minor
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2016 at 8:48am
Originally posted by Godra Godra wrote:


If you appreciate 'hard bop', you should definitely listen to Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers. Try 'Moanin' first, it's a classic.
Thumbs Up

Also "Blue Train" by John Coltrane . . .

And "One Flight Up" by Dexter Gordon, too. (Not quite so much hard bop, but 'modal' jazz in the "Kind Of Blue" mould; "Tanya" is one of my favourite jazz tracks).


-------------
Bob

Majestic DAC/pre-amp
Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links


Posted By: itsmanhattan
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2017 at 7:29pm
I also can recommend on the jazz front, just to suggest a few:

John Wright - Mr. Soul
Sun Ra Arkestra - Super Sonic Jazz
Kenny Dorham - Una Mass
Miles Davis - Get Up With It
Freddie Hubbard - Red Clay
Larry Young - Lawrence of Newark
Herbie Hancock - Blow-Up



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Manhattan


Posted By: morris_minor
Date Posted: 20 Apr 2017 at 7:51pm
I've just been listening to Maiden Voyage from Herbie Hancock, with some sublime trumpet playing from Freddie Hubbard. What an album! ShockedBig smile

-------------
Bob

Majestic DAC/pre-amp
Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links


Posted By: BAK
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2017 at 6:32pm
Originally posted by morris_minor morris_minor wrote:

I've just been listening to Maiden Voyage from Herbie Hancock, with some sublime trumpet playing from Freddie Hubbard. What an album! ShockedBig smile

I second that one!



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Bruce
AT-14SA, Pickering XV-15, Hana EL, Technics SL-1600MK2, Lautus, Majestic DAC, Technics SH-8055 spectrum analyzer, Eminence Beta8A custom cabs; Proprius & Reflex M or C, Enjoy Life your way!


Posted By: AGiLiT
Date Posted: 21 Apr 2017 at 7:03pm
A Love Supreme - John Coltrane. Should be in everyone's collection IMHO.

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Tony
Houston, TX


Posted By: izafireman
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2017 at 7:01pm
Helen Humes....


Posted By: suede
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2017 at 12:17pm
https://youtu.be/z4PKzz81m5c" rel="nofollow - https://youtu.be/z4PKzz81m5c

A fine Chet Baker rendition of a fine Elvis Costello song.


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Proprius, Reflex M, Solo UL, Bitzie, CuSats & Spatia
---------------------------------
Johan


Posted By: thinkfloyd
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2017 at 12:13am
Oh boy, here we go. I'll start with some obvious giants, which should be in every collection, and see what else comes into my head. 

Miles Davis - Kind of blue (probably the most famous jazz record ever)
 - Bitches Brew (later, quite different)
 - Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
John Coltrane - Blue Train
- A love supreme
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else
Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus
- Tenor Madness
Dexter Gordon - Our Man in Paris
- Go
Wayne Shorter - Adam's Apple
Art Pepper - Live at the Village Vanguard (there are 3, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, all amazing live sets)
Oscar Peterson - Night Train
Charles Mingus - Ah Um
Duke Ellington - Indigos
Art Blakey and the jazz messengers - Moanin' 
Esbjorn Svensson Trio - From Gagarin's point of view


Posted By: morris_minor
Date Posted: 20 Sep 2017 at 5:53pm
Jim Hall - Concierto (with Paul Desmond & Chet Baker)
Getz/Gilberto
Dave Brubeck - Time Out



-------------
Bob

Majestic DAC/pre-amp
Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links


Posted By: Bags
Date Posted: 17 Feb 2019 at 10:07am
Wynton Marsalis Live at Blues Alley.

Relaxing and laid back it isn't.

In your face, definitely.

It's one of those albums that makes you sweat just listening to it.

Timing is everything and its one of those recordings where the speed and dynamics of a good turntable make a huge difference.


Posted By: Pwog
Date Posted: 03 Apr 2019 at 1:45am
There are so many styles of jazz. Some of my favs are:

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue, Birth of the Cool, Bitches Brew

Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners, Straight, No Chaser, a ton more, but too many to list.

John McLaughlin and The Mahavishnu Orchestra - Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire

Weather Report - Tales Spinnin’, Mysterious Traveler, I Sing the Body Electric

For modern jazz, mostly out of Europe check out Edition Records at  https://editionrecords.com/ - https://editionrecords.com/ . You can listen to a lot on the site. I like the bands  Phronesis, Dinosaur and Verneri Pohjola, but I just recently found the label and I’m still exploring.

Enjoy!


-------------
Paul
Acoustic Research ES-1, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Ayre C-5xemp disc player, Dynaco SCA-35 (updated), Dynaco ST-70 (updated and modified), Revel performa M20, Accession M, CuSat 50 interconnects


Posted By: Humboldt
Date Posted: 03 Apr 2019 at 12:51pm
There are a lot of nice music suggested in previous posts. But when you are listening to jazz try also to understand what the musicians are doing. If you like to read, there are a lot of books that explains jazz, and what is going on in the music. For example. Listen specifically to the bass player, What is he (or she) doing? And the drummer. Is there chord changes or are the musicians improvising over the same key all through the tune, like in Miles Davis "So What" from Kind of Blue. The fun thing about jazz is, when you dig into it, and learn about jazz, is that you will hear the music in a new way. You understand when the musicians do something unexpected or provocative and this is a fun challenge to you as a listener. This do not mean there is something wrong with easy melodies and straightforward jazz, I am just saying that jazz is a deep well where there is a lot of things to explore that you may miss if you only stay at the surface. Don´t miss it.  


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Music first


Posted By: patientot
Date Posted: 03 Apr 2019 at 11:06pm
I must confess I've never read a single book about jazz. What are some of your favorites Humbolt?


Posted By: Pwog
Date Posted: 04 Apr 2019 at 3:53am
Great question, patientot!

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Paul
Acoustic Research ES-1, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Ayre C-5xemp disc player, Dynaco SCA-35 (updated), Dynaco ST-70 (updated and modified), Revel performa M20, Accession M, CuSat 50 interconnects


Posted By: Humboldt
Date Posted: 04 Apr 2019 at 9:22am
Hello again!
Here are some examples I like.
A rather nice introduction with listening examples is: "What Jazz Is: An Insider´s Guide to Understanding and Listening to Jazz" by Jonny King. King is a jazz musician himself, so he do not just write about jazz, he also play it himself. https://www.amazon.com/What-Jazz-Insiders-Understanding-Listening/dp/0802775195#customerReviews - https://www.amazon.com/What-Jazz-Insiders-Understanding-Listening/dp/0802775195#customerReviews

Last summer I visited England and Oxford, and bought a book called: How to Listen to Jazz by Ted Gioia. http://tedgioia.com/ - http://tedgioia.com/ Gioia has written several books on jazz, not just this one, but this is the only one I have read. https://www.amazon.com/How-Listen-Jazz-Ted-Gioia/dp/0465093493/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=how+to+listen+to+jazz&qid=1554365555&s=books&sr=1-1 - https://www.amazon.com/How-Listen-Jazz-Ted-Gioia/dp/0465093493/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=how+to+listen+to+jazz&qid=1554365555&s=books&sr=1-1

For those who really want to dive into the deep well, there is a lot of books on the history of Jazz. One of these I have read is "A new history of Jazz, by Alyn Shipton. But beware. This book is more than 800 pages. https://www.amazon.com/New-History-Jazz-Revised-Updated/dp/0826429726/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=alyn+shipton&qid=1554365797&s=books&sr=1-1 - https://www.amazon.com/New-History-Jazz-Revised-Updated/dp/0826429726/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=alyn+shipton&qid=1554365797&s=books&sr=1-1

A book well worth reading is Miles Davis autobiography "Miles" This is a book who tells the story about jazz from the view of one of those who actually had a major influence on the history of jazz. Miles book is full of opinions about other jazz musicians, positive and negative, but he is also merciless about himself. Actually. He was probably not a very nice personality sometimes, but as it seems, he was brutally honest. 

Most of these books are primary or exclusively focusing on American jazz. From the 1960-ies jazz have become "world music", and today many exciting jazz records are not American. To a great degree thanks to the ECM and ACT record companies. I am still searching for a great book focusing on the non American history of Jazz.  

 




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Music first


Posted By: morris_minor
Date Posted: 04 Apr 2019 at 12:20pm
Originally posted by Humboldt Humboldt wrote:

There are a lot of nice music suggested in previous posts. But when you are listening to jazz try also to understand what the musicians are doing. If you like to read, there are a lot of books that explains jazz, and what is going on in the music. For example. Listen specifically to the bass player, What is he (or she) doing? And the drummer. Is there chord changes or are the musicians improvising over the same key all through the tune, like in Miles Davis "So What" from Kind of Blue. The fun thing about jazz is, when you dig into it, and learn about jazz, is that you will hear the music in a new way. You understand when the musicians do something unexpected or provocative and this is a fun challenge to you as a listener. This do not mean there is something wrong with easy melodies and straightforward jazz, I am just saying that jazz is a deep well where there is a lot of things to explore that you may miss if you only stay at the surface. Don´t miss it.  
Well said! I think a lot of people see jazz as rather self-indulgent "noodlings", whereas it repays as close a listen as you would to a symphony or string quartet. The major difference being jazz happens at the time of the performance, of course. And like classical music recordings, it's instructive and enjoyable to get different recordings of the same piece. I must have about 20 versions pf Thelonius Monk's 'Round Midnight - some very, very different, but all giving an insight into the players minds at the time of recording. Fascinating stuff!




-------------
Bob

Majestic DAC/pre-amp
Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links


Posted By: Pwog
Date Posted: 04 Apr 2019 at 12:58pm
Humboldt, thanks for taking the time to post this annotated list of books. I will be checking them out.

I am currently reading "Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original" by Robin D. G. Kelley. 

"today many exciting jazz records are not American", I agree, I have been checking out a lot of music from Edition Records and have found some fantastic music.


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Paul
Acoustic Research ES-1, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Ayre C-5xemp disc player, Dynaco SCA-35 (updated), Dynaco ST-70 (updated and modified), Revel performa M20, Accession M, CuSat 50 interconnects


Posted By: Pwog
Date Posted: 05 Apr 2019 at 4:43am
Here is another great jazz record. It is a remastered Blue Note release of Michel Petrucciani - Power of Three. BT 85133, BT-85133. Live and really nice recording.





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Paul
Acoustic Research ES-1, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Ayre C-5xemp disc player, Dynaco SCA-35 (updated), Dynaco ST-70 (updated and modified), Revel performa M20, Accession M, CuSat 50 interconnects


Posted By: Bags
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2019 at 1:14pm
I've been enjoying the Basie band again recently and would love to find something with the same dynamics but with some serious Latin drive/percussion.

Any recommendations?


Posted By: Pwog
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2019 at 2:48pm
Have you heard:

Blazing Redheads by Blazing Redheads, Reference Recordings - RR-26
Crazed Women by Blazing Redheads, Reference Recordings - RR-41
Tropic Affair by Jim Brock, Reference Recordings - RR-31
Letters From The Equator by Jim Brock, Reference Recordings - RR-56

You can sample them on the Reference Recordings website. They aren't really big Basie Band like, but have the latin drive you may like.


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Paul
Acoustic Research ES-1, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Ayre C-5xemp disc player, Dynaco SCA-35 (updated), Dynaco ST-70 (updated and modified), Revel performa M20, Accession M, CuSat 50 interconnects


Posted By: patientot
Date Posted: 17 Apr 2019 at 2:08am
Originally posted by Bags Bags wrote:

I've been enjoying the Basie band again recently and would love to find something with the same dynamics but with some serious Latin drive/percussion.

Any recommendations?

I wish I knew more about Latin music from the big band era. All my latin related stuff is from a bit later, like Fania related stuff (Willie Colon et. al) and Cal Tjader. One of my friends was playing a bunch of albums by Sabu Martinez the other day - definitely something I want to get more into. I don't have any of his solo albums, only a couple things he's plays on. Might be up your alley. 


Posted By: kgilroy
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2020 at 11:12am
https://www.youtube.com/user/YukoMabuchi - https://www.youtube.com/user/YukoMabuchi

Unrelated to the last post which was a while ago but under the topic heading of Jazz Recommendations.

-------------
Keith

Marantz TT-15S1, Maestro V2, Accession MM, Icon Audio Stereo 40 Mk lll, Wharfedale Jade 3.

Mac Mini, BitPerfect, Dynaudio Xeo2

Marantz SA-15S1, Apple TV, Cambridge CXA60, B&W DM2000, REL Sub


Posted By: Dignan2000
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2020 at 10:28pm
Check out Ron Carter's http://https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Blues_%28Ron_Carter_album%29 - All Blues from 1974 featuring Joe Henderson on four of its six tracks and Billy Cobham. There's a solid recent reissue of this LP by Pure Pleasure.

 


Posted By: fluddite
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2020 at 12:17am
Originally posted by miT miT wrote:

My recent demo of the FH3 speakers introduced me to Anouar Brahem (world jazz?) so his name was noted for my next shopping spree....

Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, etc are ok although I do prefer velvety female vocals....

Mongo Santamaria's - Watermelon Man is also fantastic and is one of my longer-owned albums. Apart from Latin jazz I also like instrumental types, with Jimmy Smith being a favourite.

Hi Tim

If you're looking for brassy big band stuff with a "latin" feel, you could do a lot worse than investigate Machito's output - as well as running his own outfits, he worked a lot with Charlie Parker and (especially) Dizzy Gillespie - fast company! Good starting points would be this classic from 1951:

http://https://www.discogs.com/Machito-Afro-Cuban-Jazz-Suite/master/1046119 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Machito-Afro-Cuban-Jazz-Suite/master/1046119

or this more recent collaboration with Diz:

http://https://www.discogs.com/Dizzy-Gillespie-Y-Machito-Afro-Cuban-Jazz-Moods/master/176946 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Dizzy-Gillespie-Y-Machito-Afro-Cuban-Jazz-Moods/master/176946

Anouar Brahem is wonderful - IMHO you can't go far wrong with any of his ECM albums, though I have a particularly soft spot for this one:

http://https://www.discogs.com/Anouar-Brahem-John-Surman-Dave-Holland-Thimar/master/679217 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Anouar-Brahem-John-Surman-Dave-Holland-Thimar/master/679217

- as I was lucky enough to see this fabulous trio live. Big smile

As for "velvety female vocals" (a taste I share), you'll be wanting Ella Fitzgerald and (especially) Sarah Vaughan for starters - this is an all-time favourite late-night classic:

http://https://www.discogs.com/Sarah-Vaughan-After-Hours/master/144334 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Sarah-Vaughan-After-Hours/master/144334

After which, you might also want to sample Peggy Lee (Black Coffee is a classic LP), Carmen McRae, Helen Merrill (another personal favourite), Julie London, early-period Nina Simone, e.g.

http://https://www.discogs.com/Nina-Simone-Little-Girl-Blue/master/122310 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Nina-Simone-Little-Girl-Blue/master/122310

or the sublime live set:

http://https://www.discogs.com/Nina-Simone-Nina-Simone-At-Town-Hall/master/122231 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Nina-Simone-Nina-Simone-At-Town-Hall/master/122231

If you want to try a soothing/light male voice (as a polar opposite to Sinatra in many ways) with the added bonus of the singer also being a top trumpet player, look to Chet Baker:

http://https://www.discogs.com/Chet-Baker-Chet-Baker-Sings/master/60289 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Chet-Baker-Chet-Baker-Sings/master/60289

More recommendations anon - the jazz world is a big place! Wink


Posted By: fluddite
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2020 at 12:55am
[QUOTE=miT]

If I've got this right "hard bop" and "soul jazz" are the main sub-genres I have discovered that I enjoy (so far), which I believe lived around the 50s-60s. I forgot to mention "funky jazz" at the outset because I wasn't particularly looking for that this time but as the artists evolved into this style towards the 70s(?), its probably worth listing as well.

As for big band I love the planned, rhythmic style of it, and something about the trumpet sections just grabs me. While I also enjoy the sax, I find it works better as the lead in a small band setting; it doesn't feel right leading the whole song with a big band (including trumpets)... I welcome countering examples though. While I don't mind it, big band swing is also ok but in small doses. It is too lively (and generally vocal) for me at the moment; swing isn't what I would call background/chilled out music whereas the other stuff is (generalising).

/QUOTE]

So much great hard bop and soul jazz - the Prestige and Blue Note labels issued masses of it (of surprisingly high overall quality given the overall output) from the mid-50s to the late-60s. Some tracks were even pressed as 45s and became jukebox hits in the States - Lee Morgan's classic 'The Sidewinder' being one example. All of the following led various great outfits during the period - and the first two were really the definitive standard-bearers for hard bop whoever was in their band:

Art Blakey - e.g.  http://https://www.discogs.com/Art-Blakey-And-The-Jazz-Messengers-Art-Blakey-And-The-Jazz-Messengers/master/62462 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Art-Blakey-And-The-Jazz-Messengers-Art-Blakey-And-The-Jazz-Messengers/master/62462
Horace Silver - e.g.  http://https://www.discogs.com/The-Horace-Silver-Quintet-Song-For-My-Father-Cantiga-Para-Meu-Pai/master/155008 - http://https://www.discogs.com/The-Horace-Silver-Quintet-Song-For-My-Father-Cantiga-Para-Meu-Pai/master/155008
Freddie Hubbard - e.g.  http://https://www.discogs.com/Freddie-Hubbard-Open-Sesame/master/177623 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Freddie-Hubbard-Open-Sesame/master/177623
Lee Morgan - e.g.  http://https://www.discogs.com/Lee-Morgan-The-Sidewinder/master/192306 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Lee-Morgan-The-Sidewinder/master/192306
Herbie Hancock - e.g.  http://https://www.discogs.com/Herbie-Hancock-Takin-Off/master/163780 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Herbie-Hancock-Takin-Off/master/163780  (where 'Watermelon Man' originates....)
Cannonball Adderley - e.g.  http://https://www.discogs.com/The-Cannonball-Adderley-Quintet-Mercy-Mercy-Mercy-Live-At-The-Club/master/118128 - http://https://www.discogs.com/The-Cannonball-Adderley-Quintet-Mercy-Mercy-Mercy-Live-At-The-Club/master/118128
Jackie McLean - e.g.  http://https://www.discogs.com/Jackie-McLean-Bluesnik/master/224469 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Jackie-McLean-Bluesnik/master/224469

For brassy big-band sounds, tightly marshalled, try the now unfashionable (but beloved in the 1960s, not least by Simon Dee!) Maynard Ferguson - or, from an earlier era, the big bands of Dizzy Gillespie (often with added "latin" flavours) or Count Basie - this in particular is a stormer:

http://https://www.discogs.com/Count-Basie-The-Atomic-Mr-Basie/master/303975 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Count-Basie-The-Atomic-Mr-Basie/master/303975

As mentioned by others, for subtler orchestrations Gil Evans is the go-to guy, particularly in the late 50s/early 60s - all his collaborations with Miles Davis are sublime, but this one (with Spanish themes throughout) might be particularly to your taste:

http://https://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Sketches-Of-Spain/master/48172 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Sketches-Of-Spain/master/48172

And for a "little big" band with amazing impact, you can't beat the great Charles Mingus, e.g.

http://https://www.discogs.com/Charlie-Mingus-Tijuana-Moods/master/176933 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Charlie-Mingus-Tijuana-Moods/master/176933

Of course, looming above them all is the greatest of all greats* - Edward Kennedy 'Duke' Ellington and His (justly) Famous Orchestra. You could spend a lifetime immersing yourself in his catalogue (I'm currently 40+ years in and counting....Wink) - but if you want a big band who could do everything (and had an unmatched motherlode of original compositions to do it with), this is the one. All periods up to the late 1960s are differently "classic", but 1940-1946 and 1956-1966 (or so) are particularly rich seams. A stunning brass section is offset by great sax soloists (Harry Carney! Johnny Hodges! Ben Webster! Paul Gonsalves!) who'll convince you that big-band saxophones can indeed "feel right" Thumbs Up

f.

* In my less-than-'umble opinion, obviously! Embarrassed



Posted By: fluddite
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2020 at 1:08am
Originally posted by patientot patientot wrote:

Originally posted by Bags Bags wrote:

I've been enjoying the Basie band again recently and would love to find something with the same dynamics but with some serious Latin drive/percussion.

Any recommendations?

I wish I knew more about Latin music from the big band era. All my latin related stuff is from a bit later, like Fania related stuff (Willie Colon et. al) and Cal Tjader. One of my friends was playing a bunch of albums by Sabu Martinez the other day - definitely something I want to get more into. I don't have any of his solo albums, only a couple things he's plays on. Might be up your alley. 

A suggestion I posted above:

If you're looking for brassy big band stuff with a "latin" feel, you could do a lot worse than investigate Machito's output - as well as running his own outfits, he worked a lot with Charlie Parker and (especially) Dizzy Gillespie - fast company! Good starting points would be this classic from 1951:

http://https//www.discogs.com/Machito-Afro-Cuban-Jazz-Suite/master/1046119 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Machito-Afro-Cuban-Jazz-Suite/master/1046119

or this more recent collaboration with Diz:

http://https//www.discogs.com/Dizzy-Gillespie-Y-Machito-Afro-Cuban-Jazz-Moods/master/176946 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Dizzy-Gillespie-Y-Machito-Afro-Cuban-Jazz-Moods/master/176946

A lot of Dizzy's big-band stuff from the 1950s had that Machito/Chano Pozo feel IIRC - e.g.

http://https://www.discogs.com/Dizzy-Gillespie-And-His-Orchestra-Featuring-Chano-Pozo-Gene-Norman-Presents-Dizzy-Gillespie-And-His-/master/534535 - http://https://www.discogs.com/Dizzy-Gillespie-And-His-Orchestra-Featuring-Chano-Pozo-Gene-Norman-Presents-Dizzy-Gillespie-And-His-/master/534535

And there's always Perez Prado:

http://https://www.discogs.com/artist/392760-Perez-Prado-And-His-Orchestra - http://https://www.discogs.com/artist/392760-Perez-Prado-And-His-Orchestra

Once the Bossa Nova craze starts kicking in from the early 60s, it's hard to look beyond this as the starting point, tho' "big band" it ain't Wink:




Posted By: kgilroy
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2021 at 7:51pm
Just something a little different:

https://www.discogs.com/Tord-Gustavsen-Trio-The-Other-Side/master/1415931 - https://www.discogs.com/Tord-Gustavsen-Trio-The-Other-Side/master/1415931

I have another one of Tod Gustavsen’s albums as a hires download but was looking for vinyl and hence this.  The music is very atmospheric but they still manage to swing.  All of his recordings sound good regardless of the media.

BTW I also love the Getz/Gilberto album mentioned in the last post.


-------------
Keith

Marantz TT-15S1, Maestro V2, Accession MM, Icon Audio Stereo 40 Mk lll, Wharfedale Jade 3.

Mac Mini, BitPerfect, Dynaudio Xeo2

Marantz SA-15S1, Apple TV, Cambridge CXA60, B&W DM2000, REL Sub


Posted By: kgilroy
Date Posted: 03 Feb 2021 at 7:48pm
So I have been indulging in a bit of retail therapy lately buying a variety of jazz albums to keep be energized during lock down,  I'm also retired so what else am I going to do Smile

Anyway these are all quite different but I really enjoy them all:

https://elusivedisc.com/patricia-barber-cafe-blue-1step-180g-45rpm-2lp/

Now, Patricia Barber is a bit of an acquired taste but if you like her music this One-Step pressing is excellent although expensive.

https://www.discogs.com/Monty-Alexander-Love-You-Madly-Live-At-Bubbas/release/16279723

A Resonance Records recent release.

https://www.discogs.com/Art-Pepper-Quartet-The-Art-Pepper-Quartet/release/10171512

Can't get enough Art Pepper.


-------------
Keith

Marantz TT-15S1, Maestro V2, Accession MM, Icon Audio Stereo 40 Mk lll, Wharfedale Jade 3.

Mac Mini, BitPerfect, Dynaudio Xeo2

Marantz SA-15S1, Apple TV, Cambridge CXA60, B&W DM2000, REL Sub


Posted By: patientot
Date Posted: 03 Feb 2021 at 8:32pm
Originally posted by kgilroy kgilroy wrote:

https://www.discogs.com/Monty-Alexander-Love-You-Madly-Live-At-Bubbas/release/16279723 - https://www.discogs.com/Monty-Alexander-Love-You-Madly-Live-At-Bubbas/release/16279723

A Resonance Records recent release.



Resonance does interesting stuff for sure. Some of their releases can be a bit expensive though. I had a Sonny Rollins live release in my hand and had to put it back when I looked at the price tag! I might grab that one on CD as it's a bit cheaper. I have some Wes Montgomery and Grant Green releases from Resonance on vinyl from a few years ago. 

If you like the archival live recording stuff that Resonance does, check out Cellar Live/Reel to Real. They do a similar thing and put out quality stuff, not too expensive either. I have a couple of their releases and will pick up more when I can. Like Resonance, they do both vinyl and CD releases. 

https://cellarlive.com/collections/all - https://cellarlive.com/collections/all


-------------
SL-1200 MK7 (modified) + Reflex M + PSU-1 used with AT150-40ML, AT VM95ML, Stanton 680mkII + Ogura, and Shure M35X cartridges.


Posted By: kgilroy
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2021 at 1:15pm
Originally posted by patientot patientot wrote:

Originally posted by kgilroy kgilroy wrote:

https://www.discogs.com/Monty-Alexander-Love-You-Madly-Live-At-Bubbas/release/16279723 - https://www.discogs.com/Monty-Alexander-Love-You-Madly-Live-At-Bubbas/release/16279723

A Resonance Records recent release.



Resonance does interesting stuff for sure. Some of their releases can be a bit expensive though. I had a Sonny Rollins live release in my hand and had to put it back when I looked at the price tag! I might grab that one on CD as it's a bit cheaper. I have some Wes Montgomery and Grant Green releases from Resonance on vinyl from a few years ago. 

If you like the archival live recording stuff that Resonance does, check out Cellar Live/Reel to Real. They do a similar thing and put out quality stuff, not too expensive either. I have a couple of their releases and will pick up more when I can. Like Resonance, they do both vinyl and CD releases. 

https://cellarlive.com/collections/all - https://cellarlive.com/collections/all

Thanks for that link.  Yea, Resonance vinyl can be expensive and availability frustrating since they tend to do limited production RSD releases.  A lot of the archival live stuff can be a bit dicey depending on how well they are recorded. I bought most of the Bill Evans Resonance records and they are very good except for the one in the UK where recording quality is less than great and I didn't buy the recent one at Ronnie Scotts for that reason.


-------------
Keith

Marantz TT-15S1, Maestro V2, Accession MM, Icon Audio Stereo 40 Mk lll, Wharfedale Jade 3.

Mac Mini, BitPerfect, Dynaudio Xeo2

Marantz SA-15S1, Apple TV, Cambridge CXA60, B&W DM2000, REL Sub


Posted By: less
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2021 at 2:47pm
Just discovered Keith Jarret! Amazing pianist, have ordered a couple of albums and watched a couple of youtube videos of him playing in trio; marvellous stuff I could listen to all day.

I’m also very interested in the Tone Poet releases from Blue Note but most seem to be on back order at the moment. The reviews are very positive for this series, mastered by Kevin Gray from original master tapes, and mostly in high quality gate fold sleeves using original photos etc.

Les



-------------
I don't do mediocrity!

Les Sutherland


Posted By: kgilroy
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2021 at 5:59pm
Originally posted by less less wrote:

Just discovered Keith Jarret! Amazing pianist, have ordered a couple of albums and watched a couple of youtube videos of him playing in trio; marvellous stuff I could listen to all day.

I’m also very interested in the Tone Poet releases from Blue Note but most seem to be on back order at the moment. The reviews are very positive for this series, mastered by Kevin Gray from original master tapes, and mostly in high quality gate fold sleeves using original photos etc.

Les


There are 2 albums that Keith Jarrett made with Charlie Haden that are definitely worth a listen.  Jasmine and Last Dance.  Just piano and double bass.  The only thing about Keith Jarrett is that he occasionally likes to hum along in some of his recordings and you have to just accept that as part of his process.


-------------
Keith

Marantz TT-15S1, Maestro V2, Accession MM, Icon Audio Stereo 40 Mk lll, Wharfedale Jade 3.

Mac Mini, BitPerfect, Dynaudio Xeo2

Marantz SA-15S1, Apple TV, Cambridge CXA60, B&W DM2000, REL Sub


Posted By: less
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2021 at 6:24pm
Yes, I did notice he has a rather idiosyncratic  style of playing! 

Les


-------------
I don't do mediocrity!

Les Sutherland


Posted By: patientot
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2021 at 6:39pm
Keith Jarrett is an interesting guy. There is a documentary on him somewhere that's worth checking out. He recorded a lot of albums, and I certainly haven't heard them all.

Two famous ones are The Koln Concert and the Solo Concerts - Bremen/Lausanne. The latter was originally released as a 3xLP boxset. Both of these are on the ECM label, which released a lot of great stuff. 


-------------
SL-1200 MK7 (modified) + Reflex M + PSU-1 used with AT150-40ML, AT VM95ML, Stanton 680mkII + Ogura, and Shure M35X cartridges.


Posted By: kgilroy
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2021 at 1:30pm
Surprisingly Keith Jarrett also recorded Bach's Well Tempered Clavier.

A bit off topic but since you mentioned the Keith Jarrett documentary there are a few others that I can heartily recommend

Bill Evans - Time Remembered
Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool
Thelonious Monk - Straight, No Chaser
The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith


-------------
Keith

Marantz TT-15S1, Maestro V2, Accession MM, Icon Audio Stereo 40 Mk lll, Wharfedale Jade 3.

Mac Mini, BitPerfect, Dynaudio Xeo2

Marantz SA-15S1, Apple TV, Cambridge CXA60, B&W DM2000, REL Sub


Posted By: morris_minor
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2021 at 6:10pm
Originally posted by kgilroy kgilroy wrote:

Just something a little different:

https://www.discogs.com/Tord-Gustavsen-Trio-The-Other-Side/master/1415931 - https://www.discogs.com/Tord-Gustavsen-Trio-The-Other-Side/master/1415931

I have another one of Tod Gustavsen’s albums as a hires download but was looking for vinyl and hence this.  The music is very atmospheric but they still manage to swing.  All of his recordings sound good regardless of the media.

BTW I also love the Getz/Gilberto album mentioned in the last post.
I have three of the Tord Gustavsen Trio's albums (as downloads) and simply love them. Highly recommended! (Plus of course the Getz/Gilberto album!)

-------------
Bob

Majestic DAC/pre-amp
Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links


Posted By: Ashleip
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2021 at 5:23pm
Out last week - Roundtable pressed up Amancio D'Silva's Konkan Dance. Recorded at Lansdowne Studios in '72 and never released as part of the Lansdowne series (although it has been around digitally since the turn of the century).

https://www.thee-roundtable.com/amancio-dsilva---konkan-dance.html - https://www.thee-roundtable.com/amancio-dsilva---konkan-dance.html


Posted By: kgilroy
Date Posted: 23 Feb 2021 at 11:20am
I always used to consider Nat King Cole "my parents type of music" but recently bought a couple of his albums and was really impressed with this one:

https://www.discogs.com/Nat-King-Cole-And-His-Trio-After-Midnight-Complete-Session/release/3320063 - https://www.discogs.com/Nat-King-Cole-And-His-Trio-After-Midnight-Complete-Session/release/3320063

This is a small jazz group performance rather than the lush romantic orchestral stuff he is famous for and the instrumental work is terrific.  He was of course a major jazz pianist before he started singing.  The whole record has a different vibe.


-------------
Keith

Marantz TT-15S1, Maestro V2, Accession MM, Icon Audio Stereo 40 Mk lll, Wharfedale Jade 3.

Mac Mini, BitPerfect, Dynaudio Xeo2

Marantz SA-15S1, Apple TV, Cambridge CXA60, B&W DM2000, REL Sub


Posted By: patientot
Date Posted: 23 Feb 2021 at 5:05pm
Originally posted by kgilroy kgilroy wrote:

I always used to consider Nat King Cole "my parents type of music" but recently bought a couple of his albums and was really impressed with this one:

https://www.discogs.com/Nat-King-Cole-And-His-Trio-After-Midnight-Complete-Session/release/3320063 - https://www.discogs.com/Nat-King-Cole-And-His-Trio-After-Midnight-Complete-Session/release/3320063

This is a small jazz group performance rather than the lush romantic orchestral stuff he is famous for and the instrumental work is terrific.  He was of course a major jazz pianist before he started singing.  The whole record has a different vibe.

I'll have to add this to my wishlist. I'm with you on that - my dad loved stuff like NKC, Sinatra, etc. As I've got deeper into jazz and my tastes have expanded a bit I can appreciate some of this stuff now. I've often wondered about NKC's jazz sessions but I've never heard any of them. 


-------------
SL-1200 MK7 (modified) + Reflex M + PSU-1 used with AT150-40ML, AT VM95ML, Stanton 680mkII + Ogura, and Shure M35X cartridges.


Posted By: TheScorpionsTale
Date Posted: 02 Mar 2021 at 9:13am
Back in January I pre-ordered the latest Rune Grammofon offering by Fire! (Mats Gustafson and friends), which arrived at the weekend. In addition to honking his sax, on this one Mats gets to honk his flute too (yes, really). It's all underpinned by some rhythmic bass and drum continuo. To judge from previous posts, I've a feeling this one might fall on stony ground here, but I invite you to take a listen:

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQj3M96ZmUg - http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQj3M96ZmUg


-------------
Graham

SL1200 II with SME M2-9R and various carts / Revelation M with PSU-1 / Cyrus amp, CD and streamer / Kralk Audio BC30-3 Floorstanders / Bitzie and Lautus USB


Posted By: patientot
Date Posted: 02 Mar 2021 at 3:21pm
Originally posted by TheScorpionsTale TheScorpionsTale wrote:

Back in January I pre-ordered the latest Rune Grammofon offering by Fire! (Mats Gustafson and friends), which arrived at the weekend. In addition to honking his sax, on this one Mats gets to honk his flute too (yes, really). It's all underpinned by some rhythmic bass and drum continuo. To judge from previous posts, I've a feeling this one might fall on stony ground here, but I invite you to take a listen:

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQj3M96ZmUg - http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQj3M96ZmUg

I'm slightly familiar with the label due to some of their releases back in the late 90s and very early 2000s. I haven't heard anything really since then. I remember liking a few releases by Supersilent. 




-------------
SL-1200 MK7 (modified) + Reflex M + PSU-1 used with AT150-40ML, AT VM95ML, Stanton 680mkII + Ogura, and Shure M35X cartridges.


Posted By: BAK
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2021 at 11:30pm
Here is a sample of Skywalk - Silent Witness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFK55HC-rI8 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFK55HC-rI8

not silent, and a large dynamic range...


-------------
Bruce
AT-14SA, Pickering XV-15, Hana EL, Technics SL-1600MK2, Lautus, Majestic DAC, Technics SH-8055 spectrum analyzer, Eminence Beta8A custom cabs; Proprius & Reflex M or C, Enjoy Life your way!



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