The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I have no idea if such a resource exists, but if there is I would love to know about it.

    Perhaps a guided listening through history of must-listen-to songs/pieces to have a survey of the best of jazz, players and styles through time.

    Ken Burns history of Jazz comes to mind, but I think this will be too much history and not enough full pieces to listen to.

    Maybe even a guided list of must listen to pieces that can be looked up on YouTube.

    Obviously I am floundering here, because I don't know what exists. Got any ideas to get me educated as to a survey of jazz? I like things that progress linearly if possible.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Photonic
    I have no idea if such a resource exists, but if there is I would love to know about it.

    Perhaps a guided listening through history of must-listen-to songs/pieces to have a survey of the best of jazz, players and styles through time.

    Ken Burns history of Jazz comes to mind, but I think this will be too much history and not enough full pieces to listen to.

    Maybe even a guided list of must listen to pieces that can be looked up on YouTube.

    Obviously I am floundering here, because I don't know what exists. Got any ideas to get me educated as to a survey of jazz? I like things that progress linearly if possible.
    Yes.
    Listen to my Facebook streams.
    I perform and talk about Jazz Standards and their historical significance. This Sunday, I am looking at Jazz from 1924 - 1937.

    DM me for details


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #4

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    I think you'll do well with the Ken Burns documentary. You'll get context on the recordings, you'll get plenty of samples just make notes of songs you like then go from there. There was a great History of Jazz podcast but the guy gave up. You can also check out The Jazz Treasury podcast, sadly, he also seems to have given up.

  6. #5

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    Not all that jazz:


    Burns says post-1960s jazz is too controversial even in the jazz world to be history. Maybe he should have ended, then, with John Coltrane; Baseball, after all, stopped at 1970. For in less than two hours, faces from Charles Mingus’s to Sonny Rollins’s flash across the screen between inevitable reprises of Duke and Satchmo. Miles Davis’s push into fusion shrinks to his alleged desperation for teen fans. Ornette Coleman is dismissed. Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea don’t appear. The 1970s and 1980s are a quick-blur artistic wilderness until the arrival of Wynton Marsalis, artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and the film’s senior creative consultant and prime talking head. And there, after a brief survey of new stars (Cassandra Wilson, Joshua Redman) and a recapitulation of key figures and themes, it ends.



    I would read a good book like Ted Gioia's History of Jazz and find the songs mentioned within on YouTube.

  7. #6

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    I wouldn't go linear, actually.

    I'd try the tried and true "Kind of Blue" method. With streaming services now, it's considerably less expensive, too.

    So you start with the famous "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis. Then you buy (listen to) albums LED by each of the sidemen on Kind of Blue.

    Then you get albums led by the other personnel on THOSE records.

    In about 3 steps, you'll have heard records that span the whole history of jazz, and be exposed to all different types of it, played by many of the best players of all time.

  8. #7
    All of these answers are terrific so far!! I am pursuing all of them.

    Keep 'em coming if there are more ideas. What a wealth of knowledge from you all.

  9. #8

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    Another way is to look at the "What are you listening to?" threads on this site. You can get exposed to all kinds of music that you may have never heard.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Litterick
    Not all that jazz:
    Burns says post-1960s jazz is too controversial even in the jazz world to be history. Maybe he should have ended, then, with John Coltrane; Baseball, after all, stopped at 1970. For in less than two hours, faces from Charles Mingus’s to Sonny Rollins’s flash across the screen between inevitable reprises of Duke and Satchmo. Miles Davis’s push into fusion shrinks to his alleged desperation for teen fans. Ornette Coleman is dismissed. Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea don’t appear. The 1970s and 1980s are a quick-blur artistic wilderness until the arrival of Wynton Marsalis, artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and the film’s senior creative consultant and prime talking head. And there, after a brief survey of new stars (Cassandra Wilson, Joshua Redman) and a recapitulation of key figures and themes, it ends.


    I would read a good book like Ted Gioia's History of Jazz and find the songs mentioned within on YouTube.
    85 hour Spotify playlist from Ted Gioia’s book

  11. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by AllanAllen
    So if I pair this Spotify list with the book, then I have an authoritative history along with the ability to hear each tune discussed?

  12. #11

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    It’d just put the playlist on shuffle for a week and make note of any tunes that stick out. Then circle back and learn them.

    Once you figure out what kind of jazz you like, then go for the deep dive.

    That’s just what I’d do, but I’m not very concerned about the history of jazz. I just want to play good.

  13. #12

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    I would highly recommend listening to WBGO if I were you.

    Great, great radio station.

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by AllanAllen
    He has another book called How to Listen to Jazz that is very good. It gives a pretty linear history and there are a lot of artists mentioned and analyzed.

  15. #14

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    1. Edx courses, i.e. Course | UT.8.02x | edX
    It has everything to start from
    2. James Lincoln Collier's books. I personally have read three of them: one about jazz history, and two biographies of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.
    3. Ken Burns' series "jazz". The cool thing about that is there are a lot of interviews, and some information you get directly from people, who were there.
    The other suggestions are great too. So let everyone of us know, what have you read, listened or watched, and what you have enjoyed most.
    Good luck
    Last edited by h_rzr; 01-22-2022 at 03:01 AM.

  16. #15

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    A combination Mr. Beaumont's and Jojobarinks's suggestions + hanging out with other musicians and jazz listeners were my main education. Had a good bit of Phil Schaap in there too.

    Ken Burns' Jazz is a great thing, but it's a particular (and to a degree normative) view of jazz history, not an all-inclusive one. Best to treat it as a starting point for exploration, and if your interests skew post-1960 and/or include guitar be prepared to supplement it.

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by h_rzr
    1. Edx courses, i.e. Course | UT.8.02x | edX
    It has everything to start from
    2. James Lincoln Collier's books. I personally have read three of them: one about jazz history, and two biographies of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.
    3. Ken Burns' series "jazz". The cool thing about that is there are a lot of interviews, and some information you get directly from people, who were there.
    The other suggestions are great too. So let everyone of us know, what have you read, listened or watched, and what you have enjoyed most.
    Good luck