Jazz Recommendations

I have been meaning to post here as Jazz is an area of great passion for me, but when I read the posts the "essential" recordings are all listed I think. Anyone not into jazz yet and wanting to get a small collection together ought to take note of the list compiled by Sdcampbell above. These are the cream of the crop and must-haves for any respectable jazz collection. That said, however, many of these may not be the easiest places to start. I feel that for many coming to jazz for the first time, that vocal jazz is easier to approach than purely instrumental (such as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae and Shirley Horn - but if these are difficult, then Ella Fitzgerald or Diana Krall will do as starting points). But I note that Kadlec has clearly passed that stage being able to get into Monk. I reckon there is some essential stuff by Count Basie on piano and organ in small groups - eg. some fine stuff together with Oscar Peterson and small groups such as the "Kansas City #..." sets, or his album "For The First Time". The swing that is in this jazz is easily enjoyable for a jazz newcomer, but is of an enduring high quality. Similar small group stuff by Duke Ellington is also a good starting point, such as "For Blanton". I concur with the comments concerning Joshua Redman standing out amongst the current boring (comparatively) lot. Charlie Haden, Courtenay Pine and James Carter are at least putting out some interesting stuff too. Another good one for the newcomer is "Jessica's Blues" by Jessica Williams - a difficult album to dislike, regardless of your musical tastes.

Out of all the great artist listed, there is one glaring omission. Ben Webster!! The sonics of his recordings are not the best, but no one phrases like he does. Sometimes when I'm listening to him play, I swear that his sax is going to sing!! His early recordings are good, but his later works seem to drip with emotion. I hate to keep using the term "emotion", but that's what it's all about for me. Please, check out Ben Webster, you won't be sorry.

You are right Shelton, I think Ben was one of my first loves in Jazz. I still enjoy listening to Ben, but I guess feel the need for more demanding material more and more, and the need for the lyricism and emotion of Ben less and less. But there is still a special place in my collection for him.

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.