Jazz Recommendations

Though certainly not in the same genre knowledge wise as Sdcampbell, Trelja or the rest, would I be out of line to suggest something by the Modern Jazz Quartet? "Pyramid", "In a Crowd" and "The Complete Last Concert" are all very good. The latter two are live and the last, in addition to my father's love for Dixieland, are what originally got me interested in Jazz. Oscar Peterson's "Night Train" and almost anything by Bill Evans are also good suggestions. Sdcampbell, like Trelja, I too, would be interested in your take on the current crop of Jazz artists.

Professor Campbell, could you comment on the "liner notes" from the Columbia/Legacy "Kind of Blue" where it mentioned past issues having been "off key" due to incorrect tape speed at recording? (Corrected on this issue to true speed and key.) Does it not make this a "must have" release? How many musicians were driven to insanity trying to play to this mistake? Thanks, Charlie

Here are a few of my faves: 1) Oscar Peterson Trio - West Side Story 2) Bill Evans - At Montreux 3) Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage 4) Gil Evans - Out of the Cool 5) Kenny Burrell - Guitar Forms 6) Cannonball Adderly w/ Miles Davis - Somethin' Else 7) Stan Getz/ Charlie Byrd - Jazz Samba 8) Horace Silver - Silver's Blue 9) Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra 10) Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners Oh, BTW, no Jazz-lover's collection is complete without Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas!! Good Luck, listen to as much live Jazz as you can, and Happy Holidays to all!!

Wow, what a great thread. I often wish that more Americans were interested in this truly great form of music, which much of the world loves. Let me make a couple of quick comments in response to other posts 1. Despite being flattered, I am not really a "professor". I have taught at the graduate level for a number of years, but it's my part-time avocation. The interest in jazz started when I was in high school in the late 1950's, listening to by Dave Brubeck recordings that belonged to friends of my parents. The "hit album" that Brubeck is best noted for, "Time Out", is not his best recording, in my opinion. No question that it established the use of different tempos, but it's pretty formulaic in spots. I personally think that Brubeck's best work was in the first half of the 1950's -- check out his Fantasy recording " Jazz At Oberlin", or "Jazz Goes to College" if you want to hear him when his sound was fresh. I also like one of the last albums by his quartet, the "Concert at Carnegie Hall". 2. The liner notes on the recent "Kind of Blue" release (the 4-LP, 45 rpm version) is correct that the original tape recording was slightly off-speed. This caused the pitch of the instruments to be off also. As it happens, I have the new 45-rpm version to compare with several earlier releases, and it does sound better. However, I think that a lot of the improvement in sound quality is mostly due to the new mastering. If you a lover of "Kind of Blue", and have a turntable, it's worth adding the 4-LP version to your collection. 3. The MJQ is certainly a worthy addition to any collection. All four members were fine musicians, particularly John Lewis (piano) and Milt Jackson (vibes). The music of the MJQ is often referred to as "chamber jazz", since it features small groups playing "softer" instruments (often without horns). Chamber jazz and the "cool" jazz of the early 1950's share a number of characteristics, so if you like chamber jazz you should also get acquainted with the West Coast "cool school" first brought to prominence by such artists as Gerry Mulligan, Bud Shank, Chet Baker, and others who were a key part of the "Central Avenue" jazz scene in L.A. Most people tend to think of New York as the hotbed of jazz, but there was a lot of great playing going on in LA from the late 1940's through the 1950's. I know I have not commented on the newer artists of this decade, and I will try to do so -- my wife is hollering that dinner is ready. In closing this note, let me suggest to Kedlac and others that they guy the current edition of "Downbeat" magazine, which has the winners of the "Reader's Poll". It will give you some insights into the best stars on each instrument, plus some of the best jazz recordings of the past year. Good listening to all!

OK, dinner's over and I'll finish the last posting I made. The question was the "young lions", and who do I recommend? Tough one -- truthfully, there aren't very many young players on the scene who fire me up. Many of them have great technical proficiency, but there music lacks "soul". Stanley Crouch once defined jazz as "the sound of surprise", and very little that's being done by young artists has that quality. A quick scan of the Downbeat Reader's Poll in the December edition reveals very few players who haven't been at their craft for some time (many for decades). The "newer" group (on the scene for 10-15 years) that's worthy of mention would include artists such as Wynton Marsalis (tr), Branford Marsalis (sax), Terence Blanchard (tr), Greg Osby (sax), Donald Harrison (sax), Joshua Redman (sax), Kenny Garrett (sax), Brad Mehldau and Gonzalo Rubalcaba (p), Christian McBride (bass), and Mark Whitfield (gtr). I realize that's a pretty short list of "young lions", but the truth is that jazz, in my opinion, isn't very creative right now. It's either bland, or repetitive, or derivative, or all three. A lot of reasons have been offered, but the reason that seems most logical to me is that most young musicians are learning jazz in the conservatories, and not by playing in clubs and being challenged by other musicians (as did jazz musicians for the first to years of the art form). So, in short, I don't have much to offer on jazz from the mid-1990's until now. If anyone has some suggestions for me, I'd really welcome it. Before I close, however, I want to go back to our discussion on Miles Davis and his great groups of the 1950's. Columbia has recently released a boxed set of Miles and John Coltrane's work, "The Complete Columbia Recordings". If your favorite Santa isn't astute enough to buy this set for you, give yourself a gift -- it's great!!