I would like to find some good jazz CD's. Can anyone help? What are some good jazz artists or CD's that I can look for? What do you like to listen to? Good jazz is Chuck Mangione,Steely Dan,and Nat King Cole. Here are some classics that you can listen to as a beginner.
Miles Davis Kind of Blue album. It's a great album for a beginner, and it's great even if you've heard a whole lot of jazz. Get it.
Thelonious Monk is another great and important master of jazz. I suggest that you start out with the Monk's Dream album.Monk swings the hardest of any jazz musician, in my little opinion.
Roland Kirk's album , The Inflated Tear really turned me onto jazz. I still enjoy it and respect it.
Grant Green's Matador album is a great album, centered around the guitar playing, although McCoy Tyner is at his best (piano player from Coltrane's band). It's another great album that's easy to like.
Wayne Shorter's album Speak No Evil is a great album that you really have to hear. I can't even talk about it. The whole band is amazing.
Herbie Hancock's album, Maiden Voyage is another great and easy to like album. Freddie Hubbard is at his best through the whole album (on trumpet, fluglehorn). It's a concept album, and it really does flow like the sea, as Herbie intended it to.
Horace Silver plays piano with soul. The songs are great and so is the band. Everything works on this album called Song For My father. It's another easy to like album too.
Please trust these suggestions. These are classic albums. They are accessible to any listener. These albums are the best place to start with.
These are some of my favorite albums, currently.
Andrew Hill-Point of Departure
Booker Ervin-Freedom Book
Eric Dolphy-Out There
Charles Mingus-Cornell 1964
Prince Lasha and Sonny Simmons-Firebirds
Bobby Hutcherson-Dialogue.
Tony Williams-Lifetime.
You can check out accurate reviews of these albums at http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql... Though I'm more into blues, I suggest trying Charlie Hunter. He plays a unique eight string guitar/bass. It depends entirely on what genre of jazz you're interested in. It varies from big band, to be-bop, to cool jazz, to avant garde jazz (experimental jazz), 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, east coast, west coast, europe....latin jazz........there's a lot of different artists to listen to.
To make it simple, I'd suggest you go to a good, well-stocked public library and check out the CD's. I take out 23 at a time, upload them to iTunes and take 'em back in a day or so.
Pick out some Miles Davis Quintet in the 50's with Coltrane, definitely pick up some later Coltrane Quartet, w/Elvin Jones, pick up some Bill Evans Trio w/Scott LaFaro, get some Jimmy Smith, listen to Cannonball Adderely and then dont forget to get late Miles before he died, and Coltrane, too for that matter. After you've done all that, you'll either love jazz and want to hear more of it, or you'll hate it. Stay away from any "easy listening" stuff, KennyG (forget him) and other popular commercial jazz artists. Stick with the hard core stuff. Fourplay, David Foster, Boney James, David Sanborn are excellent starting points. Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter for saxophone Ronny Jordan's ''The Antidote'' album.
Down To The Bone's ''From Manhattan To Staten'' album.
Paul Hardcastle ( anyone of his albums).
Donald Byrd's ''Places And Spaces'' album & ''Stepping Into Tomorrow''. Why don't you go to amazone.com.
There are thousands of cd's. The best part is that for most of them you can hear some tracks before you buy.
That's what I do.
To help you with your choice of music why don't you subscribe to Downbeat Jazz Magazine, you'll never regret this.
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