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Explorations for the Jazz Newbie - Via MOG

The Recommendations Thus Far:

Stan Getz & João Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto - “The Girl from Ipanema”

Duke Ellington - Never No Lament, The Blanton/Webster Band - “Take the ‘A’ Train”

Bob James & David Sanborn - Double Vision - “Maputo”

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue - “Freddy Freeloader”

The Modern Jazz Quartet - The Complete Last Concert - “Softly As in a Morning Sunrise”

Dexter Gordon - Go - “Love For Sale”

Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus - "Moritat"

Thelonious Monk Quartet & John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall - "Crepuscule with Nellie"

Thelonious Monk - Monk's Dream - "Monk's Dream"

Wes Montgomery - Movin': The Complete Verve Recordings - "Bumpin' On Sunset"

Al Dimeola - Elegant Gypsy - "Elegant Gypsy Suite"

George Benson - Breezin' - "This Masquerade"

Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life - "Bright Size Life"

Stan Getz & Lionel Hampton - Hamp & Getz - "Jumpin' At the Woodside"

Count Basie - At Newport (Live) - "One O'Clock Jump"

Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - Moanin' - "The Drum Thunder Suite"

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme - "Part 2: Resolution"

Dizzy Gillespie - A Night in Tunisia: Big Band Live 1957 - "Groovin' for Nate"

Clifford Brown - Brownie: The Complete EmArcy Recordings - "Joy Spring"

Clifford Brown - Clifford Brown & Max Roach - "Daahoud"

Charlie Parker - Jazz at Massey Hall - "A Night in Tunisia"

Charlie Parker - The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes - "Tiny's Tempo"

Return to Forever - The Mothership Returns - "Medieval Overture"

Return to Forever - The Anthology (Remixed) (Remastered) - "Hymn of the Galaxy"

Weather Report - Heavy Weather - "Birdland"

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire - "Birds of Fire"

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Blacknuss - "What's Going On/Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)"

Erroll Garner - Concert By The Sea - "I'll Remember April"

Art Tatum - Piano Starts Here - "Tiger Rag"

Herbie Hancock - The Best of Herbie Hancock - "Dolphin Dance"

Charles Mingus - Ah Um - "Better Get It In Your Soul"

Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius - "Continuum"

Ray Brown Trio - Souler Energy - "Cry Me a River"

Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller & Victor Wooten (SMV) - Thunder - "Maestros de Las Frecuencias Bajas"

Billie Holiday - The Complete Billie Holiday - "All of Me"

Mel Tormé - & Friends: Live at Marty's - "Medley: Watch What Happens / Fly Me To the Moon / You & The Night & The Music / Shaking the Blues Away"

Frank Sinatra - Best of the Best - "The Lady is a Tramp"

Sarah Vaughan - With Clifford Brown - "Lullaby of Birdland"

Tony Bennett - The Essential Tony Bennett - "Because of You"

Ella Fitzgerald - Ella & Louis Forever - "It Ain't Necessarily So"

Billy Cobham - Spectrum - "Red Baron"


Note that other tracks, or even other albums are occasionally mentioned within my comments which do not appear on this list.
 
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poppachubby said:
Yes, I really don't want to come off smug or critical. I think you are doing a huge service here. Simply thinking of the newbie is all. Many have short attention spans after being beaten down with conventional rock and pop for all of their listening life. Short 'n ' sweet - catchier the better when possible would probably be a good approach perhaps until they are further into your list.

Roach and Brown?? Short of "More Study in Brown", they are damn near all classics.
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Your reasoning is solid, so here's the short 'n' sweet one:

Clifford Brown - Clifford Brown & Max Roach - "Daahoud"

Also includes "Joy Spring" as previously recommended from the much longer album. Very good sound quality from this 1954 Verve recording and the perfect place to start. Didn't take you as smug or over-critical; just as helping to keep me focused on the purpose for this list. Already edited and added it to the synopsis above. Excellent comments, poppachubby, thanks. :thmbsp:
 
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Great choice!!

musichal said:
Your reasoning is solid, so here's the short 'n' sweet one:

Clifford Brown - Clifford Brown & Max Roach - "Daahoud"

Also includes "Joy Spring" as recommended from the much longer album previously. Very good sound quality from this 1954 Verve recording and the perfect place to start. Didn't take you as smug or over-critical; just as helping to keep me focused on the purpose for this list. Already edited and added it to the synopsis above. Excellent comments, poppachubby, thanks. :thmbsp:
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One of their best sessions in my mind. In the last year I have begun telling newbies to follow Max Roach's career for a huge look at jazz, it's progression and some of it's greatest players. What a charmed career. He also had an almost mystical talent for finding fresh young artists new to the game.
 
poppachubby said:
One of their best sessions in my mind. In the last year I have begun telling newbies to follow Max Roach's career for a huge look at jazz, it's progression and some of it's greatest players. What a charmed career. He also had an almost mystical talent for finding fresh young artists new to the game.
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Please feel free to make other suggestions here, too. The more, the merrier.
 
Lester Young - Ken Burns Jazz Collection: Lester Young - "Honeysuckle Rose"

Just listen to all seven tracks; it's a good place to start. Sound quality very good for the era, from 1937 to mid-forties for this recording.

Lester Young - Genius of the Tenor Sax, Disc 1 - "Another Mambo"

I like this 20-track disc a lot, too. Of course, since he played with Count Basie from '37-39, you will hear him on those recordings, too. Further, you can search for his discs with the Oscar Peterson Trio. Billie Holiday is said to have given him his nickname, "Prez," short for President (he gave her "Lady Day") and is heard on many of her albums. He often wore a broad-brimmed porkpie hat, and was elegized by Mingus with the composition "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" in 1959. Known for his melodic, pure tone on tenor sax, he is a much-revered jazz artist.


Coleman Hawkins - Hawk Eyes! - "Through for the Night"

This remastered '59 recording of six tunes is a great place to start for this tenor sax-man.


Louie Bellson - June 28, 1959 at the Flamingo Hotel - "Homer's Hang Up"

Big band live and well-recorded. Fun, fun, fun 'til daddy takes the '59 T-bird away.


Buddy Rich - Swingin' New Big Band - "Up Tight (Everything's Alright)"

Speaking of big band fun, check out this recording from 1966. Sound quality very good and the selections are fun, indeed, also including "What'd I Say" which was another Soul/R&B hit in addition to the one above (by the original artists - Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles - I mean). A big band version of Copland's "Hoe Down" is included in this 17-track offering by the drummer, which to my ear has a lot to like.


Benny Goodman - 16 Most Requested Songs - "Let's Dance"

These hits make a good sampler and quality is good. I enjoy this one thoroughly; it's all the Goodman I require though many fans will want more.
 
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Dave Brubeck - Time Out - "Take Five"

Dave Brubeck - Brubeck and Desmond: 1975, The Duets - "Koto Song"

Time Out was based on songs with unusual time signatures, and is a true jazz classic, of course. Listening to the whole disc is mandatory upon pain of death in civilized states. :D
1975 The Duets was a collaboration with his long-time alto sax player Paul Desmond based on their having played on a cruise ship - only one of the tracks was recorded aboard - the rest sought the same 'feel.' Successfully so, think I and many others.


Oscar Peterson - The Trio (Live) (Remastered) 1973 - "Blues Etude"

Just put it on, start with the first track, as shown, and listen to all five selections. Very nice.


Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert - The Köln Concert in four parts: "Ia, IIa, IIb, IIc"

A long solo piano concert which he made up as he played; remarkably it's damn good. Originally a two-disc LP from 1975 which I bought soon after its release and hated after a minute or two of the initial spin on the Thorens. However, a day or two later I spun it again and let it play - discovered it was great. Some few folks get annoyed with Jarrett's vocal exuberance behind the wheel, but if I coulda done it, I'da been cheering myself along, too. Total spontaneous composition/improvisation. Wow.
 
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The Glenn Miller Orchestra - In the Digital Mood - "Chatanooga Choo Choo"

Purists may prefer the original band, but for the rest of us this recording is extremely enticing. It's the one to play when you want to show off your system and hear some great jazz. Makes many systems sound like you went and spent a kilobuck somewhere in the chain; one of the first "audiophile" CDs, which was released on the GRP label. Sound really is stellar and so is the performance. Go straight to Track 2, "...Choo Choo," for some toe-tappin' dynamics, with vocals. Most of the tracks are instrumentals such as "In the Mood" and "Pennsylvania 6-5000" is there, too, and the arrangements are as the originals - all are great. Big band big sound...schwiiiing battuh battuh!


Brian Setzer Orchestra - Vavoom! - "Pennsylvania 6-5000"

Okay, I admit I hesitated before including this one, but it is jazz-rock fusion, which qualifies. Where Chuck Berry meets Glenn Miller is called the Brian Setzer Orchestra. Brian Setzer of Stray Cats fame; also check out the band's version of "In the Mood," with vocals. So when you want your big band swing accompanied by a Stratocaster, this is it. Well, there's another just as good, if not better...his Dirty Boogie album where you can hear "Jump, Jive and Wail."
 
Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come - "Lonely Woman"

Some critics refer to this '59 recording as a watershed event in jazz, and some liken Coleman's title for it to babe Ruth pointing his bat. I'll leave such hyperbole to others and simply report that I really like this album; it has a way of growing on you. Some avant-garde freestyle which remains accessible and melodic.


Sidney Bechet - Petite Fleur - "Promenade aux Champs Elysées"

A nice mix of twenty songs from the 40s and 50s by this New Orleans soprano sax and clarinet player. Sound good for the era, and you can just imagine yourself sipping Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's in the French Quarter.


Bill Evans - The Best of Bill Evans (Remastered) - "Woody 'N' You"

Originally recorded between '56 and '62, the remastered sound is very good. A good selection of 14 songs considered by many to be among his best. Mostly laid back and introspective, but not boring.
 
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Spotlight on:

Louie Bellson - June 28, 1959 at the Flamingo Hotel, as previously recommended. Here is what I've been able to find out about the recording, if the source was accurate:

Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas.
Liner notes by Ed Burke.
Label - Jazz Hour.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.


Louie Bellson Big Band:

Louie Bellson (drums)
Frank Albright, Herb Gellder (alto saxophone)
Aaron Sacks, Nick Nickalos (tenor saxophone)
George Perry (baritone saxophone)
Guido Basso, John Frock, Ralph Clark, Wally Buttogello, Fred Thompson (trumpet)
Juan Tizol, Earl Swope, Nick DiMaio (trombone)
Joe DiAngelis (French horn)
Jack Arnold (vibraphone, percussion)
Ed Diamond (piano)
Lawrence Lucy (guitar)
Truck Parham (bass)


Tracks:

Homer's Hang Up
Bewitched
Earl's Pad
Moonlight Fiesta
Set Break
I'm Shooting High
Bombs Away
Blast Off
Break Time
It's Music Time
Zip
Checkerway
Drum Foolery


Louie Bellson (sp - he preferred "Louie," though "Louis" is also seen):

Born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni (July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009). Jazz drummer, composer, arranger and bandleader. First wife was the singer, Pearl Bailey. Performed with Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Duke Ellington, Jazz at the Philharmonic or J.A.T.P., Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington again, and Harry James again, as well as appearing on several Ella Fitzgerald studio albums. Recorded extensively and led his own bands; sidemen have included Blue Mitchell, Don Menza, Larry Novak, John Heard, Clark Terry, Pete and Conte Candoli, and Snooky Young.


Other Suggested Recordings:

Louie Bellson - I'm Shooting High shares the same songs with the Flamingo Live date, and the sound quality is excellent, so it would also serve well as a Bellson intro. May even be preferable to some, if not many listeners. Label - Phoenix USA.
 
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chicks said:
OK, I've never done this, but I think you can share a MOG playlist. Might be worth putting your suggestions into a playlist on MOG, then someone can chime in on how to share it. I do see lots of playlists that I didn't create, so I assume other MOGgers did...
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chicks said:
Looks pretty simple: https://moghelp.zendesk.com/entries/21420907-Can-I-search-for-and-share-playlists-with-others-
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Okay, let's try this out. Someone with MOG please do a search for Jazzpieces I and/or Jazzpieces II and see if you find my jazz playlists. Let us know.

The first begins with "Girl from Ipanema" and the second with "Peace" by Ornette Coleman.
 
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musichal said:
Okay, let's try this out. Someone with MOG please do a search for Jazzpieces I and/or Jazzpieces II and see if you find my jazz playlists. Let us know.

The first begins with "Girl from Ipanema" and the second with "Peace" by Ornette Coleman.
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I tried both and got "No results" message.:scratch2:
 
Alright, I just found a little box marked "Public" in the Playlist skin and checked them for each of those two lists...never saw it before. Wonder how long it takes to apply?
 
chicks said:
Yep, they show up under Playlists on my Sonos controller. Yer a published jazz critic now!
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Cool, thanks for checking, chicks! :thmbsp:


So anyone with MOG who'd like to sample tunes from this recommended list can do so now simply by searching playlists for Jazzpieces I and/or Jazzpieces II. That can save a lot of searching since those lists are pretty darn long at about 13 hours each. You could use it to drag 'n' drop tracks you like into your own playlist (it's super-simple to do). There are still about five recordings on the recommended list that aren't yet represented in my playlists; OTOH, there are quite a few not on the list. Any of you other Moggers got playlists to share?


(I'm sitting on the Group W bench with the other Father Moggers playing with our pencils.)
 
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***

Jazzpieces I running now...

Question:

Kind of Blue --- mono or stereo? If I should happen across one on vinyl...
I listened to the whole album via MOG the other night for the first time, and
well I don't know how to explain it ---- "transported" I guess was the feeling.

Anyway I'd like to get it on vinyl. What say you oh Sages of Jazz?

Also - seeing all this business about "six-eyes" and "two eyes" and "deep grooves"
I think I've figured out the eyes thing but have no idea which is supposed to
be better.

***
 
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