Jazz Recommendations

"Jazz At the Pawnshop" (XRCD2) and Benny Green's "Testifyin" are two very good live recordings that you'll ever hear.

Kadlec, there are some great suggestions here. I agree with everything that "the Professor" has posted. However some posts are out of place. This is just the tip of the iceburg, there are thousands more from great artists. For the most part every jazz recording prior to 1970 is fantastic, and there are many post 1970 recording that are great(but not as abundent). I know...there are a handful of crummy recordings, but the percentage of beautiful to crummy ones is unbelievable as compared to todays pop&jazz recordings. I could add many other, but I think you have enough recommendations here, so I'm not going to add...Oh I guess I will, but just one Ahmad Jamal's "Poinciana", I don't believe that anyone mentioned Ahmad Jamal. He may not be as seminal as Armstrong, Diz, Brubeck, Monk, or Miles, but he's still very important, and also has an easy style to follow. Another Booker Erving, any of the records titled with the word "book" in it. Eric Dolphy would be another, Johnny Griffin "Blowin Sessions". Desmod, Hank Mobley, Joe Henderson, Grant Green, you see it just goes on forever. Good luck!!
Kiwi
Also, I'm sure there are many great jazz radio stations throughout the country...KCSM out of San Mateo Community College is one of them. You can catch it through the internet.

I just picked up a new CD that I want to mention. It's McCoy Tyner plays John Coltrane, featuring McCoy with Al Foster and George Mraz (is there a better rhythm section?), recorded live at the Village Vanguard in 1997. The recording was direct to two-track analog and is excellent.

I bought the CD after seeing this very same trio at Yoshi's in Oakland a few nights ago. The sonics are quite worthwhile, especially for a mainstream label (Impulse). In particular, Al Foster's cymbals are properly large. It's great to effectively have a recording of something you witnessed (not quite, I know, but close enough). Strangely, I attended a set or two of an earlier McCoy trio at Sweet Basil in 1989 or 1990, which was recorded and released on CD. The guy keeps following me around. :-)

Go to xrcd.com. It's the site for JVC CDs. Buy ANYTHING by Bill Evans. Recently, I have "discovered" the passion, emotion, ability and overall interpretation of Bill Evan's. I am pure and simply blown away!

Off the top of my quirky little head:

Charles Mingus: "Changes 1" and "Changes 2" - both wonderful
Oliver Nelson: "Blues and the Abstract Truth"
Art Pepper: "Landscape" "Art Pepper Today"
James Newton "The African Flower"
Abbey Lincoln "Wholly Earth"
Joe Venuti and George Barnes "Gems"