Must have Jazz Cd's

[havik180]

Hey fairly new to the bass and since then I've been trying to expand my musical tastes .I've been listening to a local jazz station and find that I like the change in pace from my usual rock & altenative stations (gimme a break I'm only 25).

So for those of you who are more into jazz , can you recommend some good CD's, artists, bands to check out !? I don't really like the newer style "smooth jazz" (it reminds me of elevator music or being at the dentist) but I'm open to most other types of jazz.

Thanks,

Rich

[MikeyFingers]

Just a few of my favorites, they're mostly bass-oriented.

Jaco Pastorius--His self-titled CD is a must, "Word of Mouth" is a must, the live album "Invitation" and the "Birthday Concert" are both must-haves, as well as anything he did with Weather Report (good albums include Mr. Gone, Heavy Weather, 8:30, Night Passage). Anything you can find from Jaco is likely to be great.

Stanley Clarke--"School Days" is probably my favorite.

Marcus Miller--"M2", "Silver Rain", and "The Sun Don't Lie". Awesome music, awesome bass playing, just awesome. A lot of his stuff can be close to "smooth jazz", but he does it with such a funked out bass-heavy sound that I don't even care. It's great music.

Al DiMeola--"Land of the Midnight Sun". Some amazing guitar work, real crazy "progressive" jazz I guess you could call it. Jaco is featured on 1 track.

Michel Petrucciani--"Live in Tokyo" trio CD with Anthony Jackson, simply awesome.

Pat Metheny--"Bright Size Life", Jaco plays bass on every track, Pat provides some of the most beautiful guitar playing I've ever heard, the tone is like angelic, it turns me to mush every time.

Herbie Hancock--"Thrust". Just a cool funky album, I love it.

And anything by the master classics (Miles Davis especially,
Thelonius Monk, Duke Ellington, Coltrane, Charlie Parker)

[Sippy]

MikeyFingers basically just summed it up. But I would focus mostly on the classics.. Mings Ah um (sp) is a good album. Kinda blue (Miles Davis) Monk and Coltrane. some Cannonball Adderley. Ron Carter throws down some solid upright grooves. Anything by Charlie Parker.

[darkblack99]

Money Jungle, Duke Ellington w/ Charles Mingus.

Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington, with Oscar Pettiford.

Song X, Ornette Coleman/Pat Metheny, with Charlie Haden.

The Awakening, Ahmad Jamal Trio w/ Jamil Nasser.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by MikeyFingers

Just a few of my favorites, they're mostly bass-oriented.

Jaco Pastorius--His self-titled CD is a must, "Word of Mouth" is a must, the live album "Invitation" and the "Birthday Concert" are both must-haves, as well as anything he did with Weather Report (good albums include Mr. Gone, Heavy Weather, 8:30, Night Passage). Anything you can find from Jaco is likely to be great.

Stanley Clarke--"School Days" is probably my favorite.

Marcus Miller--"M2", "Silver Rain", and "The Sun Don't Lie". Awesome music, awesome bass playing, just awesome. A lot of his stuff can be close to "smooth jazz", but he does it with such a funked out bass-heavy sound that I don't even care. It's great music.

Al DiMeola--"Land of the Midnight Sun". Some amazing guitar work, real crazy "progressive" jazz I guess you could call it. Jaco is featured on 1 track.

Michel Petrucciani--"Live in Tokyo" trio CD with Anthony Jackson, simply awesome.

Pat Metheny--"Bright Size Life", Jaco plays bass on every track, Pat provides some of the most beautiful guitar playing I've ever heard, the tone is like angelic, it turns me to mush every time.

Herbie Hancock--"Thrust". Just a cool funky album, I love it.

Just a warning - all of the above is classed as "Fusion" or "Jazz-Rock" and many people wouldn't class it as "Jazz" at all...?

Here's a list from the Rough Guide to Jazz which might help :

1 Cannonball Adderley / Them Dirty Blues
2 Henry 'Red' Allen / World On A String
3 Louis Armstrong / 25 Greatest Hot Fives and Hot Sevens
4 Louis Armstrong / Plays W.C. Handy
5 Art Ensemble Of Chicago / Nice Guys
6 Albert Ayler / Spiritual Unity
7 Count Basie / The Original American Decca Recordings
8 Count Basie / The Complete Atomic Basie
9 Sidney Bechet / Really The Blues
10 Bix Beiderbecke / At The Jazz Band Ball
11 Art Blakey / The Jazz Messengers
12 Carla Bley / Escalator Over The Hill
13 Anthony Braxton / For Alto
14 Clifford Brown / Clifford Brown/Max Roach
15 Dave Brubeck / Time Out
16 Benny Carter / Further Definitions
17 Betty Carter / Feed The Fire
18 Charlie Christian / 1939–41: Genius Of Electric Guitar
19 Ornette Coleman / Change Of The Century
20 John Coltrane / Giant Steps
21 John Coltrane / A Love Supreme
22 Eddie Condon / The Chronological Eddie Condon 1944–46
23 Chick Corea / Return To Forever
24 Bob Crosby / South Rampart Street Parade
25 Miles Davis / Porgy And Bess
26 Miles Davis / Kind Of Blue
27 Miles Davis / Bitches Brew
28 Wild Bill Davison / Pretty Wild/With Strings Attached
29 Vic Dickenson / Vic Dickenson Septet
30 Eric Dolphy / Out To Lunch
31 Duke Ellington / The Best Of Early Ellington
32 Duke Ellington / The Blanton-Webster Band
33 Duke Ellington / Ellington At Newport 1956 (Complete)
34 Bill Evans / Waltz For Debby
35 Ella Fitzgerald / For The Love Of Ella
36 Bill Frisell / This Land
37 Jan Garbarek / Twelve Moons
38 Errol Garner / Concert By The Sea
39 Stan Getz / At The Opera House
40 Dizzy Gillespie / The Complete RCA Victor Recordings
41 Jimmy Giuffre / Jimmy Giuffre 3
42 Benny Goodman / The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert
43 Dexter Gordon / Go!
44 Scott Hamilton / Scott Hamilton And Warren Vaché With Scott’s Band In New York City
45 Lionel Hampton / All Star Sessions Volume 2: Hot Mallets
46 Herbie Hancock / Head Hunters
47 Coleman Hawkins / The Ultimate Coleman Hawkins Selected By Sonny Rollins
48 Joe Henderson / Lush Life
49 Woody Herman / This Is Jazz
50 Earl Hines / Live At The New School/I’ve Got The
World On A String
51 Billie Holiday / Lady Day’s 25 Greatest 1933–44
52 Abdullah Ibrahim / African River
53 Harry James / Yes, Indeed!
54 Keith Jarrett / The Köln Concert
55 Bunk Johnson / The King Of The Blues
56 Stan Kenton / New Concepts Of Artistry In Rhythm
57 Roland Kirk / Rip, Rig And Panic/Now Please Don’t
You Cry, Beautiful Edith
58 Lee Konitz / Alone Together
59 Joe Lovano / From The Soul
60 Mahavishnu Orchestra / The Inner Mounting Flame
61 Branford Marsalis/ Requiem
62 Wynton Marsalis / Citi Movement
63 Pat Metheny / 80/81
64 Charles Mingus / Blues And Roots
65 Modern Jazz Quartet / Django
66 Thelonious Monk / Brilliant Corners
67 Wes Montgomery / The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery
68 Lee Morgan / Cornbread
69 Jelly Roll Morton / The Original Mr Jelly Lord 1923–1941
70 Gerry Mulligan / Best Of The Gerry Mulligan Quartet With Chet Baker
71 David Murray / Ming
72 King Oliver / King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band: The Complete Set!
73 Charlie Parker / The Dial Masters – Original Choice Takes
74 Charlie Parker / Jazz At Massey Hall
75 Art Pepper / Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section
76 Oscar Peterson / Oscar Peterson Trio + One
77 Bud Powell / The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 1
78 Joshua Redman / Wish
79 Django Reinhardt/Stephane Grappelli / The Quintessential Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli
80 Max Roach / We Insist! – Freedom Now Suite
81 Sonny Rollins / Way Out West
82 Alex von Schlippenbach / Elf Bagatellen
83 John Scofield / Time On My Hands
84 Artie Shaw / Begin The Beguine
85 Wayne Shorter / Speak No Evil
86 Horace Silver / Blowin’ The Blues Away
87 Jimmy Smith / The Sermon!
88 Muggsy Spanier / The Great 16!
89 Sun Ra / Fate In A Pleasant Mood/When Sun Comes Out
90 John Surman / The Amazing Adventures Of Simon Simon
91 Art Tatum / Art Tatum’s Finest Hour
92 Cecil Taylor / Silent Tongues
93 Jack Teagarden / Think Well Of Me
94 Stan Tracey / Jazz Suite: Under Milk Wood.
95 Sarah Vaughan / Swingin’ Easy
96 Fats Waller / Ain’t Misbehavin’: 25 Greatest Hits
97 Weather Report / Heavy Weather
98 Cassandra Wilson / Blue Light ’Til Dawn
99 Lester Young / The Jazz Giants
100 John Zorn / Godard/Spillane

[baba]

I'd strongly recommend against the Marcus Miller Silver Rain suggestion. Especially since you don't like the smooth stuff. I thought this album was horrible and it's one of the few that I literally threw in the trash.

With the exception of some newer artists, Bruce's list has just about everything I would suggest. Start with the standards.

[courderoy guy]

Well, there's going to be a million different opinions as to what are the must-haves, but here's probably a list of the most popular and biggest albums i can think of:

1. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue: great chill-out music, something you can hear a million times and never get sick of.

2. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme: Inner-soul-searching jazz. There's a ton of good coltrane, and this isn't even my favorite of his, but this is a good start.

3. Herbie Hancock - Headhunters: Funky, funky, funky.

4. Thelonius Monk - Straight, No Chaser: Great piano playing. Interesting bop.

5. Charles Mingus - Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus: Just a great classic album.

6. Dave Brubeck - Time Out: I think this might be the best-selling jazz album of all time. Neat time signatures and a fun album.

7. Yusef Lateef - Eastern Sounds: Interesting, catchy tunes. Mix of eastern-sounding music into the jazz world.

8. Stanley Clark - School Days: Yeah, it's jazz-rock, but as a bass player your jaw will drop when you hear just how good this guy is.

9. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew: Another jazz-rock-type thing. Still one of the most interesting albums out there.

10. Kenny G - Songs in the key of "G": Just kidding. Don't buy this, please.

Of course, a comprehensive list is almost impossible, but this might get you started on some things.

[daveant]

Bypass the 'smooth' stuff, and go to the real stuff: Michael Moore, Tony Marino, Steve Gilmore, Dave Holland, John Patitucci, Gary Peacock......

[havik180]

Holy SH*T ! I think you guys gave me enough jazz to keep me listening for the rest of my life ! Thanks

[-Sam-]

While it was mentioned in Bruces list i'm going to say Keith Jarrets the Koln Concert is an absolute must. Despite it being solo piano the whole time it just blows me away and has completely inspired my playing. i love it. my favourite record ever!!!
also another recomendation of A Kind of Blue and Coltrane, my favourite being My favourite things.

[IotaNet]

Originally Posted by courderoy guy

Dave Brubeck - Time Out: I think this might be the best-selling jazz album of all time.

Actually, that distinction belongs to Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" (Click this link for details)

[heath_the_great]

Charles Mingus - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
George Benson - Breezin
The Bad Plus - These Are The Vista's
John Scofield - Up All Night (more funky)
Charlie Hunter - Charlie Hunter
John Scofield - Steady Groovin
Al DiMeola, John Mclaughlin, Paco DeLucia - Friday Night In SanFransisco
Vince Jones - Heres To The Miracles
MMW - End Of The World Party (just in case)

more my favourites than anything else

[Woodchuck]

Roy Ayers!

[Jazzin']

Any album which has:
John Coltrane on tenor sax
McCoy Tyner on piano
Jimmy Garrison on bass
Elvin Jones on drums

Also Kenny Garrett is an amazing alto sax player. (my favorite sax player)

[Planet Boulder]

Bruce Lindfield provided a GREAT list. Definitely go with what he listed.

I will add one the one that effectively served as my introduction to jazz (hey, I was all of 8 years old when I first got into jazz - this was the album that got me hooked when it came out, thanks to my older brother):

Tom Scott & The LA Express - "Tom Cat"

Max Bennett tears up the bass on it.

[peteroberts]

yeah, great list, but it's a little hard to digest 100 choices. I'll give you some of my favs:
Wes Montgomery - Full House. Smokin gtr great band.
Miles - there was the '1st quintet' with Coltrane, Philly Joe, Miles, and Red Garland. Then there was the '2nd quintet' with Herbie, Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter, and Tony Williams. Get one of each (at least)
Monk - I really dig the 'Live at the It Club' disc, as well as the 'Best of the Blue Note Years'-great sampler of early Monk
Art Blakey/Jazz Messengers-The Big Beat. Wayne Shorter was writing most of the tunes.
Oscar Petersen - We Get Requests. Ray Brown on bass, 'nuff said.

[zazz]

+1 for jaco if its jazz bass youre after.

[PaulMacCnj]

Echoing my choices from the previous top-100 list.

I'll include:
Arnett Cobb & the Red Garland Trio - Blue & Sentimental
Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges - Back to Back
Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges - Side to Side
Buck Clayton - All Stars Jam Sessions
Lester Young and the Oscar Peterson Trio

There are so many more...

Paul Mac


[quote=Bruce Lindfield]Just a warning - all of the above is classed as "Fusion" or "Jazz-Rock" and many people wouldn't class it as "Jazz" at all...?

Here's a list from the Rough Guide to Jazz which might help :

33 Duke Ellington / Ellington At Newport 1956 (Complete)
45 Lionel Hampton / All Star Sessions Volume 2: Hot Mallets
47 Coleman Hawkins / The Ultimate Coleman Hawkins Selected By Sonny Rollins
49 Woody Herman / This Is Jazz
63 Pat Metheny / 80/81
65 Modern Jazz Quartet / Django
76 Oscar Peterson / Oscar Peterson Trio + One
91 Art Tatum / Art Tatum’s Finest Hour
99 Lester Young / The Jazz Giants

[metalguy2]

I would have to recommend
Thelonius Monk and John Coltrane at Carnegie hall live recording. Best bang for the buck as far as substance goes.

Chick Corea Acoustic band was amazing!

John Coltrane - Giant Steps
John Coltrane and Duke Ellington

Also
John Patittuci - Now

[deaf pea]

a couple of CD's that were my faves when they first came out (as LP's)
that haven't been mentioned:
Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus (Eric Dolphy & Ted Curson!- Mingus' best small group IMO)
Monk's Music-T. Monk
Weather Report-Weather Report (Miroslav V.-more "jazz" than "funk-jazz" like the Jaco years..)
Free Jazz-Ornette Coleman (Lafaro AND Haden!!)
Sunday Afternoon at the Village Vanguard-Bill Evans Trio
Keith Jarret Trio (with Steve Swallow) CD that has "the Raven Speaks", "Como en Vietnam", etc.
Throb-Gary Burton