Jazz Recommendations

I could not agree more, Redkiwi. Sometimes I yearn to hear the slow, mournful burn of Ben Webster. Other times I want to hear the power and energy of Clifford Brown. Kadlec is the envious position of discovering the music that we have loved and enjoyed for years. That is why this thread has taken off. Not only are we eager and excited about helping out, we are very envious. It's like a helping a friend put together his/her first "high-end" system. No matter how great a system you may have, you always wish that it were you that was starting to put together a system for the first time. It's fun, exciting, and hopefuly rewarding. Jazz, or any other music is no different. I will never forget the first time I heard, and understood, Miles, Coltrane, Monk, Bud, etc....Kadlec, we know what you are about to experience and we envy you!

Glad someone included Ben Webster in this discussion. I didn't neglect him deliberately - just had to put some limits on my discussion. Ben, of course, was one the great tenor players who were part of the Coleman Hawkins stylistic legacy. Some of the recordings he did for Verve in the 1950's were very good, such as his recording with Gerry Mulligan. There is also a recent re-release of Ben and Art Tatum (Pablo label) as part of JVC's XRCD series. By the 1950's, Ben was playing very few notes, particularly on ballads, and his breathy intonation became a major part of his style. He sure could say a lot with less. That, infact, is one of the characteristics I've noted about a lot of jazz greats -- they seem to distill their style as they grow older, and while they play fewer notes they manage to convey great content and depth of feeling. Clark Terry (trumpet) is one of jazz's "living treasures", and his recent album on Chesky (duets with some 14 great jazz pianists) is a great example of distilled expression. Perhaps one of the traits I find lacking in many of the young jazz musicians is that personal sense of style, of individual voice, that many of the jazz greats had. Louis Armstrong's phrasing, for example, was almost identical to the way he sang; Coltrane's phrasing, particularly during his "sheets of sound" phase, was unmistakable; I can pick out Art Pepper's sound and phrasing in an instant -- and the same with Phil Woods. Until the young players begin to develop a distinct, individual identity, they won't be true jazz artists.

Shelton, your post is so true. There are few greater gifts I have received than recommendations that have allowed me to discover great music.

Kiwi made a good point earlier about how lots of these good suggestions may not be that accessible to those just starting out (but also that if you like Monk, you're not starting at the start line). I agree Erroll Garner's Concert by the Sea suggested by Scott is terrific, and very accessible. To me, Ellington is a must. The Great Paris Concert is a very good display of the Duke's compositional gifts (esp. the couple of extended pieces) and has a lot of his great players still in the orchestra. Since it was recorded in '63, it has decent sound so may be more impressive place to start than with his older stuff. ..... Now, might I add that sure, Kind of Blue is a great desert island choice. But I can only read so many mentions of KoB before I think Birth of the Cool (Miles' first collaboration with Gil Evans, recorded about a decade? earlier than KoB) must get its rightful mention as a seminal work. I only have the original LP; how's the remaster sound?

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