I've never listened to much Jazz or Blues, but most of the songs I have heard I've loved... I'm looking for a change in the music I listen to, and am hoping for some suggestions on these genres...

Who's gonna help me out?

Miles Davis, of course is the usual suggestion of all. Here are some others along with some from Geoff, if he posts in the thread.

Herbie Hancock
Albert Ayler
John Coltrane (which I need to listen more of)
Matthew Shipp
William Parker
Mat Maneri
Gil Evans
Ornette Coleman
Charles Mingus
Jaco Pastorius
Weather Report
Thelonious Monk
Dave Brubeck
Lester Henderson
Sidney Bechet
Louis Armstrong
Sun Ra
Count Basie
Duke Ellington
Ella Fitzgerald
Tony Williams (magical drummer)
Peter Brotzmann

and the list goes on and on...

What have you heard that you like? Also, do you have a problem listening to music that was recorded with much older technology? What kind of music are you interested in currently? I can give you a better answer then.

Some of the essential Jazz recordings that should be part of every collection. If you are interested in wilder styles of music, I can give recommendations later like the Peter Brotzmann and some of the others mentioned above.




Since I don't know your tastes....I am limiting it to only a few of the Avant-Garde/Free Jazz/Free Improv recordings. Except for Louis Armstrong's Hot Five & Hot Sevens all Those in bold are either Avant-Garde/Free Jazz or a combination of the two.



Louis Armstrong - Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven.....(The Rosetta Stone of Jazz. This is considered one of the most essential recordings. But keep in mind it was recorded in the early 1920's). There are now two different box sets of this material....one by JSP and another by Sony. In terms of the music itself the difference is on the 4th disc. Each box set has added in some extra non-Hot Five/Seven recordings by Satchmo, which is different on each set. While the Sony version came out later, many including myself prefer the remastering on the earlier JSP set.




Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (generally considered one of the top 2 in Jazz history by most listeners. You can also get this in the Miles Davis & John Coltrane Complete Studio Recordings box from Sony. Everything in it is gold and you will end up wanting it anyway.)
Miles Davis - Miles Smiles
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (Complete Sessions)
Miles Davis - Jack Johnson (Complete Sessions)
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (Deluxe Edition, which now includes the only live recording of A Love Supreme suite. Up until now, it's only been found on bootlegs. They also included alternate takes, with Archie Shepp, and Art Davis....that have always been rumored to have existed, but never heard before.)
John Coltrane - Interstellar Space
John Coltrane - Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings (another of the essential live recordings)
John Coltrane - Coltrane's Sound
John Coltrane - Giant Steps
John Coltrane - Ascension
Bill Evans - Waltz for Debby
Bill Evans - Sunday at the Village Vanguard
Sonny "Newk" Rollins - a Night at the Village Vanguard (yet antoher live recording)
Sonny "Newk" Rollins - Saxophone Colossus
Sonny "Newk" Rollins - Newk's Time
Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um
Charles Mingus - A Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
Charlie "Bird" Parker - The Quintet: Live at Massey Hall (is considered one top live recordings in Jazz history.)
Charlie "Bird" Parker - Complete Savoy & Dial Recordings (The Holy Grail of Bird)
Bud Powell - The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1 & 2
Thelonious Monk - Genius of Modern Music, Vol 1 & 2
Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk - Monk's Music
Thelonious Monk - Monk's Dream
Thelonius Monk Quartet w/ John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall (another of the GREAT DISCOVERIES of the last 50 years, which was found last year)
Duke Ellington - Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band (this is considered his most essential recordings by his most well known band.)

Duke Ellington - Ellington at Newport 1956 (Complete) (another one, that usually makes the top live recordings lists. You can skip anything from Wynton Marsalis, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and go straight to the source!! That is unless you're into xerox copies and bad ones at that. )

Duke Ellington - The Duke at Fargo 1940: Special 60th Anniversary Edition (yes....it's live....and smokin')
Duke Ellington - And His Mother Called Him Bill
Duke Ellington - The Far East Suite
Art Tatum - Classic Early Solos (1934-1937)
Art Tatum - 1932-1934
Art Tatum - I Got Rhythm: Vol. 3 (1935-1944)
Abdullah Ibrahim - Water From an Ancient Well
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles
Dizzy Gillespie - Complete RCA Victor Recordings
Dizzy Gillespie - Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 (this is one of the GREAT DISCOVERIES of the last 50 years, and was also just discovered last year. For fans of Dizzy and Bird, it's a toss-up between the above Massey Hall and this. This is now the earliest known live recording of Dizzy and Bird playing together. As well as the earliest known live Bop recording.)

Count Basie - Original American Decca Recordings
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - The Inflated Tear
Oliver Nelson - The Blues and the Abstract Truth
Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch
Andrew Hill - Point of Departure
Albert Ayler - Spritual Unity
Ornette Coleman - Free Jazz
Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come
Art Blakey - The Big Beat
Art Blakey - with Thelonious Monk
Horace Silver - Song For My Father
Horace Silver - Blowin' The Blues Away
Wayne Shorter - JuJu
Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil
Jackie McLean - One Step Beyond
Jackie McLean - Let Freedom Ring



Each of these musicians all have many other excellent recordings.

Well if you haven't heard about the King of the Delta Blues, Charley Patton I would suggest this thread. Patton is one of Bob Dylan's favorite musicians. Dylan even includes a song for Patton on his last record, Love & Theft. Dylan even uses the title of one of Patton's songs as part of the title of his song, High Water (For Charley Patton).

Dylan even went so far and said, that if only had one choice to listen to music for his enjoyment, it would be Charley Patton.


Patton, Son House and Lonnie Johnson were all influences on Robert Johnson. Johnson is the man, but I don't think he is the most influential. A lot of it has to do with the myth that was wrongly attached to him, as well as the whole Eric Clapton thing. Does he ever record anything, which isn’t Robert Johnson related anymore?

Robert Johnson became the King of the Delta Blues after Patton.

Just a few of the essential recordings.

Lead Belly - Library of Congress, Vol. 1-6
Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings
Charley Patton - Founder of the Delta Blues
Charley Patton - King of the Delta Blues
Son House - Delta Blues
Son House - Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions
Sonny Boy Williamson II - The Essential Sonny Boy Williamson
Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was the Night
Howlin' Wolf - His Best
Blind Lemon Jefferson - King of the Country Blues
Blind Blake - Ragtime Guitar's Foremost Fingerpicker
Lonnie Johnson - Steppin' on the Blues
Blind Willie McTell - The Classic Years 1927-1940
Skip James - The Complete Early Recordings of..., 1931 - (Yazoo)
OR
Skip James - The Complete 1931 Recordings - (Body & Soul)

Charley Patton - Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues - Revenant (7CD-set) **


** One of the greatest box sets of in any genre of music, and a must have. This includes everyting he recorded, so, you can skip Founder of the Delta Blues if you're interested in this. It also includes some tracks that don't included Patton on them.


You can get this JSP boxset at a much cheaper price if you don't want the extra material and extensive liner notes and book in the Revenant boxset.


http://tinyurl.com/34obld

very nice blues list Satchmo

and Satchmo, nice jazz recs as well, same as you Equinox

chet baker
Vince Guaraldi
David Benoit

in addition to most of the above

Everyone has their own tastes but Vince Guaraldi and David Benoit as suggestions for someone that wants to listen to real jazz? Guaraldi is most famous for his work on the Charlie Brown cartoons and Benoit is new age elevator mujak.

Thanks guys. I'll get started on this when I get home... xo

eh whatever, if you start sub classifing everything, there will be a genre for ever artist.....the person wanted jazz, I dont remember them asking for a curtain kind......lets not be picky, the suggestion was not intended for you anway