Jumping into Jazz: Introductory records for beginners

I used this site once upon a time to discover a lot of classic jazz albums:

Jazz 100 - Top 100 Jazz Albums

Top 100 lists and snapshot reviews of the best jazz ever released digitally - based on a comprehensive statistical survey and designed for the casual listener.
jazz100.sffjazz.com

I know it says "Best jazz ever released digitally", but the vast majority are classic albums readily available on vinyl today.
 
to me my introduction to even at least liking jazz was herbie hancock's more experimental work. headhunters was already recommended and its fantastic (and was my introduction as someone who loved things like future funk and vaporwave), but then mwandishni and maiden voyage were what really got me more into it. also in a silent way by miles davis is probably better then bitches brew tbh
 
also this video by fellow hardcore anarchist and music nerd thom avella would be very useful

 
While looking for the perfect albums for beginners, don't forget the song Body and Soul by Coleman Hawkins. For me, it typifies everything that jazz is. It was recorded 80 years ago this year and it still absolutely blows my mind. The lead that lulls you into a sense of old fashioned serenity that Hawkins then shatters by the most mesmerising soloing around the chords. By the last 30 seconds, it's as if he were possessed. It has no right being one of my favourite songs ever. It's from an era of jazz that I typically find rather boring but still, here it is 80 years on and if I play it once I have to play it multiple time just to wallow in its splendour.

It's on a gazillion compilations but here it is for anyone just entering the world of jazz, 3 minutes of musical heaven but be warned, it may lead to 6 or 9 or 12...:

 
I also found my way into jazz through hip hop. Since @SherlockOhms digs Madlib, Kamaal Williams, The Comet is Coming & Ezra, I'll recommend some of my favourite jazz/hip hop releases from the past few years:
  • Abstract Orchestra - Dilla + Madvillain V1 & V2 (jazz/funk covers of hip hop beats)
  • Alfa Mist - Antiphon + Structuralism (Structuralism probably my favourite, but both are excellent)
  • Ambrose Akinmusire - Origami Harvest (he has released several on Blue Note, this is the most recent)
  • Avantdale Bowling Club - Avantdale Bowling Club (NZ rap over jazz music)
  • BADBADNOTGOOD (III and IV are both excellent, but their earlier output was mostly jazz covers of hip hop beats)
  • Black Flower - Future Flora (funky vibes here - first heard of them after @Skalap shared a link)
  • Go Go Penguin - A Humdrum Star
  • Makaya McCraven - Universal Beings
  • Mansur Brown - Shiroi
  • Robert Glasper - Black Radio + Black Radio 2 + ArtScience
  • Sons of Kemet - Your Queen is a Reptile
  • Tenderlonius & The 22Archestra - The Shakedown
  • Theon Cross - Fyah
  • Uyama Hiroto - Freeform Jazz (frequent Nujabes collaborator - but more jazz than hip hop)
  • Yussef Kamaal - Black Focus (Henry Wu aka Kamaal Williams + Yussef Dayes)
  • Yussef Dayes - Love is the Message (Live at Abbey Road Studios with Alfa Mist & Mansur Brown - video below)


The Comet is Coming & Ezra Collective recently released new albums - both are definitely worth checking out.

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Just some initial albums that really helped me get into Jazz:

Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
John Coltrane – Blue Train
Cannonball Adderley – Somethin’ Else
Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out
Dexter Gordon – Go
Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd – Jazz Samba

Also, the Ken Burns Jazz documentary series on PBS is worth a watch, this will take you from Jazz’s origins up to around 1965. The Ashley Kahn book ‘Kind of Blue: The Making of a Masterpiece’ is worth a read too.
 
This may be a slightly different angle but I have been reading Whitney Balliett's Collected Works over the last few weeks. I find it engrossing, at times hilarious, exhilarating, exciting, baffling (at times by his own admission looking back on some of his writing) and completely engaging and educational. The writing has that fantastically present, in the moment, feeling that reminds me of writing like Pepys and Boswell in the way it puts you in the moment versus purely historical stuff. I often read with headphones on, soundtracking my reading experience with relevant music, sometimes the exact piece that is being described, and then going off on exploratory tangents when I put the book down.

It's one of those reads that I'm not looking forward to finishing, I want to keep going. Anyone got any other recommendations in this vein? I've picked up a copy of Hear me talkin to ya based on a mention in Balliett's book but would love to know about other books that capture a bit of spirit and energy of jazz.
 
pijo said:
This may be a slightly different angle but I have been reading Whitney Balliett's Collected Works over the last few weeks. I find it engrossing, at times hilarious, exhilarating, exciting, baffling (at times by his own admission looking back on some of his writing) and completely engaging and educational. The writing has that fantastically present, in the moment, feeling that reminds me of writing like Pepys and Boswell in the way it puts you in the moment versus purely historical stuff. I often read with headphones on, soundtracking my reading experience with relevant music, sometimes the exact piece that is being described, and then going off on exploratory tangents when I put the book down.

It's one of those reads that I'm not looking forward to finishing, I want to keep going. Anyone got any other recommendations in this vein? I've picked up a copy of Hear me talkin to ya based on a mention in Balliett's book but would love to know about other books that capture a bit of spirit and energy of jazz.
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Hear Me Talkin' to Ya is wonderful in terms of stories told, even though it is difficult to match Balliett in terms of prose quality and metaphorical genius.

Nat Hentoff's The Jazz Life, A. B. Spellman's Four Lives in the Bebop Business, and Martin Williams's The Jazz Tradition are must reads for jazz fans, too.

Once one becomes familiar with jazz history and major players, he or she should pick up Notes and Tones by Art Taylor. Taylor interviewed fellow musicians for this book, and the conversations reveal surprising and rewarding insights into jazz scenes that reveal themselves as you gain new perspectives.
 
doncornelius said:
Hear Me Talkin' to Ya is wonderful in terms of stories told, even though it is difficult to match Balliett in terms of prose quality and metaphorical genius.

Nat Hentoff's The Jazz Life, A. B. Spellman's Four Lives in the Bebop Business, and Martin Williams's The Jazz Tradition are must reads for jazz fans, too.

Once one becomes familiar with jazz history and major players, he or she should pick up Notes and Tones by Art Taylor. Taylor interviewed fellow musicians for this book, and the conversations reveal surprising and rewarding insights into jazz scenes that reveal themselves as you gain new perspectives.
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These sounds like great recommendations thank you. I'm not 100% sure how thorough or curated Balliett's Collected works is, I can obviously Google it and find out but I'm wondering if there are significant chunks of his writing not included that I may benefit from finding in other of his books. I love the way he wrote, you can feel the love he has for the music and the players and there are genuine laugh out loud moments, quite frequently actually.

Thanks again for your recommendations, I will certainly be taking them in the near future
 
Gotta give some love to these albums:

1. Dave Holland Quintet, Prime Directive
2. Dave Holland, Conference Of The Birds
3. Pat Metheny Group, Pat Metheny Group
4. Bill Frisell, Gone Just Like A Train
5. Bill Frisell, Rambler
6. John Scofield, Rough House
7. Marc Johnson, Bass Desires
8. Wayne Shorter, Speak No Evil
9. Herbie Hancock, Inventions & Dimensions
10. Joe Henderson, Black Narcissus
11. Steps Ahead, Steps Ahead
12. Russell Gunn, A Love Requiem
13. Bobby Hutcherson, Dialogue

...you know what, let me dig through my stash... these are just "off the top of my head" picks of some of my favorites once I got further into jazz.
 
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