Jazz Recommendations


I am just starting to get into Jazz. I recently bought Thelonious Monk Quartet "Live at Monterey" and was blown away. Could you recommend other mainstream Jazz recordings that I should have in a basic collection to help me get started.
kadlec
I recently picked up a jazz compilation on acousticsounds.com entitled "Jazz After Midnight" - recorded by Rudy Van Gelder. Those familiar with the 60's Blue Note era recognize Van Gelder as one of the chief architects responsible for shaping the Blue Note sound. However, making the transition from vinyl to CD was never quite as satisfying ... until now. I was never very fond of the RVG recording style of drums/piano/bass, center stage ... with lead instruments - trumpet and/or sax separately tracked on either left or right channel.

This newer "Jazz After Midnight" is a Hybrid Stereo SACD which sounds as good as any I've ever heard. For sound quality and that sense of "there-ness" this production really delivers. The music itself is engaging enough, but may not be everyone's cup of tea ... mostly standards by a few better known folks. This is taken directly from the write-up: "Ten great tracks by the likes of Larry Coryell, Cedar Walton, Joey DeFranceso and David 'Fathead' Newman." At $9.98 a throw, it's a "why not" purchase. Turns out, this has definite potential as a jazz reference piece.
Lets keep em coming guys. Been more than a year, and I'm looking for good recently-released jazz. Will love some suggestions.
Adamaley,

Sorry but been trying to catch up with many of the recommendations on this fine thread and suspect most contributors have been doing the same. On the vinyl front, I recently got hold of Anne Bisson's, "Blue Mind" (Fidelio Music Inc, 2008). This was recommended for the track, 'Do What You Please'. The rest is a bit more folkey than jazz or r&b.
Adamaley,

Oops, nearly forgot. On the CD front, recenlty got hold of much more Kurt Elling (and have had the joy to catch his live performances on his visits to England). Of these, an absolutley sublime track is called 'The Waking' from his "Nightmoves" (Concorde Music Inc, 2007). Well worth a listen (repeatedly maybe).
Took a (musical) trip to Europe recently - here is what I found:

Lars Danielsson - Tarantella
Lars Danielsson - Melange Bleu
Trio Elf - 746
Marcin Wasilewski Trio - January
Helge Lien Trio - Hello Troll
Barcode Trio - License to Live
Nik Bartsch's Ronin - Holon
Neal Cowley Trio - Loud..Louder...Stop!
Arne Jansen Trio - My Tree
Wolfgang Haffner - Shapes
Eivind Aarset - Sonic Codex