Help initiate my blues ears to some jazz

My recommendation to you is Billie Holiday. Her music is really a great bridge between the blues and jazz, in my opinion.

 

Get yourself some Sonny Rollins. Much of his expansive catalog is blues-based stuff. Tunes like "Tenor Madness" (1956, with Coltrane) and "Sonnymoon For Two" (1957) are good examples.

 

Billie Holiday is a great suggestion.
Also Miles Davis’ ‘Kind of Blue’ album which is GREAT, and very accessible, and also the biggest selling jazz lp of all time. Paul Chambers is the bassist.
Ray Brown is always tasty, as is Ron Carter. Most of their work was for other leaders.
Check out Jaco Pastorious’ first album, not to everyone’s taste, but many people love it (as do I).

 

Andrew Hill - Point Of Departure

 

Great question and there should be a ton of great responses in here soon!

Here's one contribution: Anything by Les McCann and/or Eddie Harris! They are bluesey jazz musicians of the highest caliber -- check out Compared to What, Swiss Movement or any of their solo work... so good!

 

I suggest you check out one of the many internet lists of top jazz tunes, and find some versions on YouTube featuring jazz giants.

Here’s the first one on my cursory search, and it’s not a bad list:
50 Jazz Standards You Need To Know - Learn Jazz Standards

 

A LOVE SUPREME A LOVE SUPREME A LOVE SUPREME infectious basslines on that whole album

 

Mingus Big Band 93

 

Ornette Coleman - The Shape Of...
Fats Waller - Handfull Of Keys
Django Reinhardt - Classic Early Recordings
Coleman Hawkins - The Bebop Years

Off the top

 

Charles Mingus. Ray Brown. Both are staples as bass player band leaders. I never get tired of Thelonious Monk.

Asking for jazz recommendations is like asking for rock recommendations. There’s about 400 sub genres that you may or may not care for. So maybe some blues orientied Jazz would be a good place to start. Soon you’ll be wanting to hear all the fun chord substitutions in your favorite blues songs.

 

Hi -
Personally I'd start with T Bone Walker and Charlie Christian for their jazzy approach - it's still musically in the blues world for the most part but should be a good intro . Then I'd move on to Horace Silver [ "Song for my father" in particular ] or the Modern Jazz quartet as their work is very accessible yet still definitely , jazz . For newer artists again I would stick with the more accessible folks like Tom Scott - Ronnie Laws - Herbie Mann - Jim Hall etc before dipping my toes too far into the " deeper " waters as mentioned by most above .

 

I'll be watching this thread. I'm a blues / classic rock lover, but "Kind of Blue" is what caught my jazz ear.

 

Check out some Charlie Hunter or Robben Ford ( especially the Blue Line).

 

The New Mastersounds and Medeski, (Scofield), Martin & Wood are both pretty accessible jazz groups for a blues listener.