Help kick starting a jazz collection

[TOMMO]

My pleasure!

[mr. beaumont]

Besides Miles, the other great talent scout bandleader in jazz history was Art Blakey for his Jazz Messengers.

It'd be interesting to do a "six degrees of separation" and see how far we could span from both sources. My gut tells me starting with a Messengers record is another great idea, maybe just as good as "Blue."

[Dennis D]

It'd be interesting to do a "six degrees of separation" and see how far we could span from both sources. My gut tells me starting with a Messengers record is another great idea, maybe just as good as "Blue."

Maybe we should rephrase the answer -
Rule Number One:
Buy 'Kind of Blue'

Rule Number Two
Listen to it

Don't worry too much about the 'collection' part 'til after you've spent some time w/ the music on K of B.....and trust me, whatever you hear and listen to after that will make more sense !

Of course, MHO.

[DaveF]

Great advice in this thread. I would just like to suggest the Koln Concert (Keith Jarrett) as well.

[Stuart Elliott]

There's the Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology, a 6 CD compilation. It replaces or updates the The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, which you still may be able to find, many libraries will have it.

Here is a listing of 100 Essential Jazz CDs from the New Yorker and a list of 50 from NPR, and Jamey Abersold's list of 100.

[Petimar]

Wow, I really disagree with the NPR list, but really DO agree with the Aebersold list.

[henryrobinett]

Wow. Does the Abersold list reference CJP??? That's my band.

[Conman]

There's the Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology, a 6 CD compilation. It replaces or updates the The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, which you still may be able to find, many libraries will have it.

Here is a listing of 100 Essential Jazz CDs from the New Yorker and a list of 50 from NPR, and Jamey Abersold's list of 100.

My father has The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz,
on record

[TOMMO]

If it's about jazz guitar this here is a perfect starter set:




Several classic jazz guitar albums you need to have in a jazz collection. Another box set that you can have for a song.

[Dennis D]

Great advice in this thread. I would just like to suggest the Koln Concert (Keith Jarrett) as well.

Absolutely !

Then -- after heeding the Kind of Blue advice, go to Bitches Brew, and do the same thing. The you hear Miles years later w/ the new guys - Keith J, Chick C, Joe Z, John McG, etc etc etc...


And then somehow, get to Paul Winter, and the Winter Consort, and keep an eye and ear out for Ralph Towner.


And enjoy the music in peace and good health !

[jazz.fred]

In addition to YouTube I would get real friendly w/ Pandora.com.

You mention cassette tapes. You're kidding, right?

[KirkP]

I reckon the best advice given so far is take your favorite album and then follow the records of the sideman as suggested by mr. Beaumont.

An excellent resource for chasing sidemen on classic recordings is the album credit feature at AllMusic. For example:
http://www.allmusic.com/album/miles-...905767/credits

[scook]

Lots of good advice in here so far.

Although mp3s aren't the best sound quality, Amazon has a number of digital albums every month on sale for $5. I believe this month I saw a few Miles albums, Dexter Gordon, and some Herbie Hancock among others. These are a cheap way to start building a collection.

I've also had luck shopping around for used CDs at used bookstores and at the few record stores that are still around.

Another overlooked venue is your local library. Many of them have a fair collection of CDs available to checkout.

steve

[Broyale]

Maybe we should rephrase the answer -
Rule Number One:
Buy 'Kind of Blue'

Rule Number Two
Listen to it

Don't worry too much about the 'collection' part 'til after you've spent some time w/ the music on K of B.....and trust me, whatever you hear and listen to after that will make more sense !

Of course, MHO.

This is so true. Kind of Blue was the first jazz album I ever listened to front to back. Great album, but the only track I continually revisit and the one that had the most influence on my current jazz taste is Love for Sale. That melody is remarkable in its soul and feeling. I can't help but feel some sort of way whenever I hear it. I love it so much that I sing it out loud whenever its on-at work, on the bus, at a wake, I don't give a fucc where I'm at. Love for Sale made me realize the jazz I like (and will buy) are the ones with strong, singable melodies. Tunes like Little Butterfly, New Delbi, Stolen Moments, Take Five, and Blue Bossa get constant rotation and have motivated me to go even harder on my practice.

[mr. beaumont]

?

Love for Sale isn't on Kind of Blue.

[Broyale]

?

Love for Sale isn't on Kind of Blue.

Its on the 50th Anniversary Edition.

[mr. beaumont]

Well sheeeit. Guess I gotta buy KOB for the fifth time

[cosmic gumbo]

Well sheeeit. Guess I gotta buy KOB for the fifth time

That's what the record company expects. But wait, the DELUXE 50th anniversary edition ha$ added even a FOURTH di$c of material $ince the original 50th anniv. release....who knew! It's only got 8 cuts of Flamenco Sketches...enough to confuse and scare away some young kid who was advised to check out KOB...

[ah.clem]

Mr. B. Lots of good suggestions here; you already like Bill Evans, so I assume you have his stuff. The Vanguard sessions are a must. His solo stuff is quite inspiring, also.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Charles Mingus - some of his stuff was poorly recorded but the personnel he dug up was amazing. "Mingus Ah Um" is a great starter if you don't have a lot of Mingus in your collection.

Eric Dolphy - he died young and did more work as a sideman, but his bass clarinet work is unparalleled. He did a lot of work with Mingus, but also with Coltrane (Coltrane Quintet with Eric Dolphy - a bunch of sides). He played a lot of sides with Chico Hamilton and did a great recording with Ron Carter - just a duo. If you can find it, there's a Dolphy quartet album with Ron Carter, Roy Haynes and George Duvivier. His quintet and quartet personnel changed around a lot, so you can hear some excellent playing with any of those albums.

Albert Ayler - pretty much anything you can find. Amazing solos. Kinda out there, but not Sun Ra out there. More like a Braxton influence, IMO.

Parker, Ornette, Sonny Rollins, Rashaan Roland Kirk...

Anthony Braxton - don't expect much bepop from Braxton, but he does some very interesting (if cerebral) stuff. There was a double album that was terrific, might have just been called "Anthony Braxton" (all my vinyl is downstairs at the moment), but you'll either love him or hate him. I got into him while studying Cage and Glass scores - I found him to be much more authentic, but that's just my opinion. He names his compositions with formulas, but don't let that put you off. It seems pretentious, but I had a chance to do a Comp Master Class with him and it all does make sense, it's not just crap (but I'm still not sure I understand it).

Stan Getz - considered a bit square these days, he could really play - he has a big, full tenor sound that many tried to emulate. The stuff he did with Gilberto is classic.

Dave Brubeck Quartet - pretty much anything, but the "Greatest Hits" will cover a lot of territory.

I could go on but man, you got a lot of good suggestions already.

Good luck on the hunt, and I love the story about your student. I'll pass it on to my son who teaches in a charter school in Portland, OR.

[Conman]

Thanks every one