Questions for Jazz Aficionados

[Eldarion]

Hi Everyone,

I would like to ask for some recommendations for jazz CDs:

1) I recently heard Don Rendell and Ian Carr's rendition of this tune called "Blue Mosque" and I really love it - kinda modal, discordant and very cool. Does anyone have any recommendations of something similar? Any recommendations for modern jazz albums in general? (post "A Kind of Blue")

2) Which of the Dizzy Gillespie albums can you recommend for lots of hard and fast crazy chromatic solo runs? So far I've only got "Dizzy's Big 4" and the "Diz and Getz" but the both albums only have a couple of fast bebop numbers each.

3) Which post-bop jazz musician would you recommend for lots of nice interesting solo runs? I love John Coltrane's sound but I don't know what else to buy after "Giant Steps". "A Love Supreme" seems awfully intimidating.

Thanks in advance!

[Wombat]

1) I recently heard Don Rendell and Ian Carr's rendition of this tune called "Blue Mosque" and I really love it - kinda modal, discordant and very cool. Does anyone have any recommendations of something similar? Any recommendations for modern jazz albums in general? (post "A Kind of Blue")

I heard that tune for the first time a couple of days ago. It's on an album called Shades of Blue which is very even. The style of the Carr/Rendell band is closest to that of Horace Silver. You would not be disappointed by any vintage Silver quintet album but perhaps the best are Blowing the Blues Away, Six Pieces of Silver and Song For My Father. The Silver group played hard bop. Other very fine hard bop bands are those of Curtis Counce, Cannonball Adderley, Max Roach and Art Blakey. A great introduction to Blakey is the two CD set A History of Art Blakey. If you can't find that one, A night in Tunisia, Moanin' and Caravan are very good.

2) Which of the Dizzy Gillespie albums can you recommend for lots of hard and fast crazy chromatic solo runs? So far I've only got "Dizzy's Big 4" and the "Diz and Getz" but the both albums only have a couple of fast bebop numbers each.

The best CD to get is the two-CD set The Complete RCA/Victor Recordings. This features the young Gillespie at the height of his inventive powers. You should also get some vintage Charlie Parker if you don't already have any; modern jazz begins here. Also, if you like up-tempo Gillespie you'll love Fats Navarro.

3) Which post-bop jazz musician would you recommend for lots of nice interesting solo runs? I love John Coltrane's sound but I don't know what else to buy after "Giant Steps". "A Love Supreme" seems awfully intimidating.

I'd recommend A Love Supreme. If you want something a little milder, try any of the Coltrane Atlantic albums. Coltrane's sound is especially fine, as is My Favourite Things. Try the Miles Davis Quintet Miles Smiles. Try Charles Mingus. He's very consistent, but very approachable are Ah Um, Blues and Roots, Oh Yeah and Mingus, Mingus, Mingus. Other great albums are Andrew Hill Point of Departure, Booker Ervin The Freedom Book and Eric Dolphy Out to Lunch and Thelonious Monk Brilliant Corners.

Get in touch if you want some more suggestions or more complete descriptions.

[dubhlinn]

3) Which post-bop jazz musician would you recommend for lots of nice interesting solo runs? I love John Coltrane's sound but I don't know what else to buy after "Giant Steps". "A Love Supreme" seems awfully intimidating.

Thanks in advance!

Paul Desmond.

The greatest Tone ever to come out of a Sax and some very classy runs around Brubecks unique piano playing.

He was never the kind of player to dazzle with his dexterity and technical ability but when it comes down to style, he had it in abundance.

The true King of Cool...

Slan,
D.

[dapple]

MoodSwing by Joshua Redman

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 96-6054230

[tuaz]

For Coltrane-ish stuff that's not as heavy as A Love Supreme or his other more far-out albums:

1. I like Sonny Fortune's In the Spirit of John COltrane. Weirdly enough, it's on the Shanachie label (as in the record label for Irish trad bands).

2. Gary Bartz's "Libra/Another Earth"

3. also try Kenny Garrett's "Black Hope" and "Triology". I've read good reviews for his "Pursuance: the music of John COltrane", but I didn't really like it.

[Eldarion]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone! I'm still trying to figure out which other Coltrane albums appeal to me. Does anyone know any albums to recommend for someone who likes Wayne Shorter's "Speak No Evil"?

[oleorezinator]

i would add to wombat's mingus list the black saint and the sinner lady. whadda ya think wom ?

[Dale]

Hi Everyone,

I would like to ask for some recommendations for jazz CDs:

1) I recently heard Don Rendell and Ian Carr's rendition of this tune called "Blue Mosque" and I really love it - kinda modal, discordant and very cool. Does anyone have any recommendations of something similar? Any recommendations for modern jazz albums in general? (post "A Kind of Blue")

2) Which of the Dizzy Gillespie albums can you recommend for lots of hard and fast crazy chromatic solo runs? So far I've only got "Dizzy's Big 4" and the "Diz and Getz" but the both albums only have a couple of fast bebop numbers each.

3) Which post-bop jazz musician would you recommend for lots of nice interesting solo runs? I love John Coltrane's sound but I don't know what else to buy after "Giant Steps". "A Love Supreme" seems awfully intimidating.

Thanks in advance!

My favorite Coltrane albums are "A Love Supreme," "My Favorite Things," and "Crescent." The latter is an often-overlooked masterpiece. If you liked "Giant Steps," "My Favorite Things" is an excellent choice for you.

Dale

[Wombat]

i would add to wombat's mingus list the black saint and the sinner lady. whadda ya think wom ?

Agreed. That's a wonderful record and one of my favourites. I'm not sure that the lush textures are what Eld is after, but we can have fun discussing the question more generally.

Talking to Eld off board, I think he has a sound in mind that he wants to hear more of rather than a list of what many of us would regard as the best of that era.

That modal thing is really just one probing style amongst many at eh time and is no more (or less) advanced than say Dolphy's microtonal explorations or Mingus's spontaneous group improvisation/composition.

Concerning Coltrane, I still think Coltranes's Sound is a great example of his modal playing. Another beauty is Ole with the title track occupying a whole side on a brilliant workout on the Ahava Rabba mode, or, more accurately, a slight extension of the Ahava Rabba mode. (I still enjoy playing this tune myself with my jazzier friends.) It's also worth noting that Wayne Shorter was a crucial member of (perhaps) Miles Davis's greatest quartet—Miles Smiles is a classic but all their records are good. McCoy Tyner's post Coltrane bands sometimes delivered modal bliss in spades—I particularly like Sahara.

Just one last comment. I don't think A Love Supreme is a 'hard' record. It seems to be pushing into difficult spiritual directions rather than difficult musical ones. One part is largely an extended workout on a dorian mode. The effect is not so much demanding as hypnotic. Well it is demanding in the way that all great music requires concentration but not at all in the way that free playing like Ascension is hard work.

[Eldarion]

My favorite Coltrane albums are "A Love Supreme," "My Favorite Things," and "Crescent." The latter is an often-overlooked masterpiece. If you liked "Giant Steps," "My Favorite Things" is an excellent choice for you.

Ooh I liked the samples of "Crescent" and "My Favourite things" I find on amazon. I'll try to look around for them. Thanks!

[rh]

Concerning Coltrane, I still think Coltranes's Sound is a great example of his modal playing.

the second Live at the Village Vanguard album (the double LP) is my personal favorite of all Coltrane... there's something epic about the recording to my ears, and Coltrane's tone is majestic. as much as i love the sheets of sound thing and the Monk and Miles recordings, the late modal period Trane was always what i'd go back to.

on earlier Trane, i'm surprised nobody mentioned Blue Train, one of the great hard-bop "line up and blow" records... besides Trane, Lee Morgan in particular was stellar on that outing -- i spent many hours sweating over that gem of a solo on the title cut and of course never quite got it.

also, did anyone mention Clifford Brown, after Diz the next great bop trumpet player... or Sonny Rollins... or any of the Blakey/Jazz Messengers recordings, classic hard-bop stuff if that's what you're after...

It's also worth noting that Wayne Shorter was a crucial member of (perhaps) Miles Davis's greatest quartet—Miles Smiles is a classic but all their records are good.

yes yes yes... what a great great record. that fantastic lean rhythm section sound, un-freakin-believable Tony Williams (just a kid, he had the 'nads to tell Miles to go and practice), Shorter cool brainy and mean all at the same time, and Miles jabbing and feinting and slipping punches like Muhammad Ali... to me almost the most perfect post-bop album of all time... hmm, gotta go dig that one out...

[Wombat]

on earlier Trane, i'm surprised nobody mentioned Blue Train, one of the great hard-bop "line up and blow" records... besides Trane, Lee Morgan in particular was stellar on that outing -- i spent many hours sweating over that gem of a solo on the title cut and of course never quite got it.

also, did anyone mention Clifford Brown, after Diz the next great bop trumpet player... or Sonny Rollins... or any of the Blakey/Jazz Messengers recordings, classic hard-bop stuff if that's what you're after...

I thought Blue Train was a bit earlier than what Eld was asking for. Fine record though. I missed it several times round and only caught up with it a few years back. I like both the Village Vanguard albums but I think I prefer the first. It's nice to see these albums getting mentioned. I'm sure many newcomers to jazz will enjoy just about everything that has been mentioned on this thread.

I mentioned Blakey and Horace Silver early on but Eld made it clear that he was interested only in modal playing so I didn't pursue that path any further. Brown and Rollins are both huge favourites of mine; I recently acquired a box set of Brown which is a joy.

[rh]

I mentioned Blakey and Horace Silver early on

ah, so you did, i see that now, too much good music to absorb in one post

I recently acquired a box set of Brown which is a joy.

for only four or so years of recordings, he set a standard which players still try to reach... what a tragic loss...

[SteveK]

I'd like to mention music that you probably won't hear about from anyone else. It's music from musicians of the Lennie Tristano "school" of playing.
It would include early Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Sal Mosca and Tristano himself. It's not modal, not bebop, not postbop. There's really no label that fits. Here's a link to a good album. The music is pretty accessible on it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/jazz/reviews ... arsh.shtml

Have a look at www.salmosca.com. Sal's now in his 70s as Konitz. There are some tunes you could listen to on Sal's site. If you don't like Featherbed, then you won't like this music. Give a Rag a Ride is also pretty nice.

Steve

[Eldarion]

Hi,
I managed to borrow Coltrane's "My Favourite Things" for a listen and I really love it. The modal modifications to the old standards and all the crazy solos are really nice, and "But Not For Me" is just about my current favourite jazz track. I certainly wouldn't have minded if Coltrane had longer solos though. Does anyone have recommendations for other albums I might enjoy if I like "My Favourite Things"?

Btw regarding the Ian Carr/Don Rendell track, Tuaz managed to recommended something that was close soundwise - Wayne Shorter's "Adam's Apple".

Thanks!