Jazz

[dem00n]

Im starting to get into jazz lately.

 

Any recommendations?

[S t e v e]

my old teacher was a jazz specialist, that and classical and he tried to rub it off on me...even though i just wanted to shred , i don't like jazz (it bores me) just the same as a jazz player will say they don't like metal/shred...

 

not for me :P

[Artie Owl]

"Below Sea Level" on iTunes by Shan Arsenault

[Riverside]

I like the first "Return to Forever" album.

 

I like Django Reinhardt, too.

[dem00n]

my old teacher was a jazz specialist' date=' that and classical and he tried to rub it off on me...even though i just wanted to shred [biggrin'], i don't like jazz (it bores me) just the same as a jazz player will say they don't like metal/shred...

 

not for me

I accept all music styles, cept country and rap/pop.

I know tons of jazz players who love metal.

[deepblue]

I like dinner Jazz. For Jazz guitar check out Lenny Breau, some say the best there has ever been.

[S t e v e]

I accept all music styles' date=' cept country and rap/pop.

I know tons of jazz players who love metal. [/quote']

 

i accept it all too, i just don't want to devote my time playing it

 

but good luck to ya mate if that's what you want.

[Artie Owl]

actually, specifically Shan's most popular song on "Below Sea Level" (on iTunes) has a song on it called "Melted Ice Cream" for sure check that song out and let me know what you think.

[FirstMeasure]

Just like any other kind of music, I like it if the players are good at it. I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to Guitar Jazz;

 

Herb Ellis (Whos Death this year went practically unnoticed by the Press )

Joe Pass

Kenny Burell

Charlie Christian

Wes Montgomery

T-Bone Walker (I always felt he was a little more Jazz than Blues, although he's definitely Blues).

 

I fake Jazz like no one else, but I always felt Jazz was a Discipline like Kung Fu. If you dabble in it, you might feel like you can Kick *** 'till a Black Belt shows up and takes you to school.

[zigzag]

For guitar players just getting into jazz, I recommend the jazz/blues of Kenny Burrell and Wes Montgomery. Unless you like busy improvisation, I'd stay away from Bebop. Check out all jazz from New Orleans, old and new.

 

Edit: Wow FM! You and I are on the same wave length.

[FirstMeasure]

Woah, that's kinda cool and Freaky!

[Rocky4]

Kind Of Blue - Miles Davis

A Love Supreme - John Coltrane

Anything by Rheinhardt

 

I like jazz totally acoustic, no electric instruments of any kind.

[dem00n]

Didnt someone just post something?

Larry?

[Robin Nahum]

Im starting to get into jazz lately.

 

Any recommendations?

 

Er.. right. That's kind of broad. Jazz has evolved a lot over the century or so of it's existence. Some of the main styles are:

 

Trad/Dixieland

Swing

Bebop

Free

Fusion

 

When Miles was asked for his definition' date=' he said "Four words. Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker." I think the point of this is that Louis introduced the idea of improvisation and Bird, the modern approach to harmony where you could play any note you wanted over a key as long as it resolved, as opposed to sticking to the notes that were in key. This is what you hear in bebop and later styles.

 

You could start with Ken Burns' series [i']Jazz[/i]. This was a 12 part television series that took the viewer from the early days to pretty much today.

 

http://www.pbs.org/jazz/

 

It's not comprehensive, nor could it hope to be, but it will certainly give you the framework. It may be available through your public library or DVD hire place.

 

That said, you should listen to the jazz you enjoy rather than making it a scholarly exercise. I came at it via fusion, listening to the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report in the late 60s and early 70s - a natural progression from Hendrix and Cream. I didn't get non-fusion jazz. Then I had a long break where I listened to other music.

 

In the late 1990s I started jazz lessons - something to play on electric guitar in my older years. Oddly, I still had no interest in listening to non-fusion jazz but was very interested in how to play it. And then after a year or so, an epiphany! I watched Jazz on a Summer's Day

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_on_a_Summer's_Day

 

and realised that this was amazing music by amazing players - and it still sounds great. These guys knew their chops and how to compose. Have a listen to Kinda Blue (1959) like Rocky4 suggested. Still selling well after 51 years.

 

But before you start spending on CDs, consdier listening to some jazz programs on the radio or the Internet and get a feel for what's out there and what you like.

 

If you tell us what kind of music you like playing or listening to now, it may be possible to suggest a good entry point into jazz.

 

FM listed the "older school" jazz guitarists. I would add Tal Farlow, Barney Kessel and Johnny Smith to that list.

 

If you think you might like contemporary electric guitar jazz (effects and all), you have people like:

 

Mike Stern

Bill Frisell

John Scofield

John Abercrombie

Kurt Rosenwinkel

Pat Martino

Bireli Lagrene

 

But don't feel yo u need to confine yourself to guitar.

 

 

RN

[mcmurray]

Wes Montgomery.

 

His music is extremely good, although his "picking" technique is extremely unconventional to say the least.

[zigzag]

Wes Montgomery.

 

His music is extremely good' date=' although his "picking" technique is extremely unconventional to say the least. [/quote']

 

 

Played all notes with his thumb. He plays triplets in West Coast Blues as smooth as silk.

 

Pat Martino is a genius. Had some kinda problem that caused him to have to totally re-learn the guitar. He did in spades.

 

Although many claim Louis Armstrong to be the Picasso of jazz, I think it was more Miles Davis. Everybody he played with over the years was, or became, great. IMO, the greatest players ever associated with Miles were Bill Evans and Wayne Shorter, and my favorite Miles work was his later stuff.

 

Django Reinhardt, I believe, had only two fingers on his fretting hand. His best years were playing with Stephane Grappelli, a jazz violinist. Great stuff!

 

I also made my transition from rock to jazz thru fusion, and Weather Report, with Wayne Shorter, was amazing. Many feel that Jaco Pastorius was the best bass player ever.

[L5Larry]

Didnt someone just post something?

Larry?

 

Yeah, what happened to it. It took me about an hour to write. It was real good too. It was going to tell you everything you needed to know about jazz for your entire lifetime and all eternity.

 

I was being encouraged to run out the door to take my wife out to dinner, maybe I hit the "cancel" button instead of the "post" button.

 

Anyway, glad to see that your developing an interest in jazz. If there's anything I can help with let me know. Maybe I'll get re-motivated to rewrite my lost post.

[dem00n]

Yeah' date=' what happened to it. It took me about an hour to write. It was real good too. It was going to tell you everything you needed to know about jazz for your entire lifetime and all eternity.

 

I was being encouraged to run out the door to take my wife out to dinner, maybe I hit the "cancel" button instead of the "post" button.

 

Anyway, glad to see that your developing an interest in jazz. If there's anything I can help with let me know. Maybe I'll get re-motivated to rewrite my lost post. [/quote']

Well if it took an hour then you dont have to re-write, thanks though.

And thanks everyone!

[zigzag]

L5, please re-post. I'd really like to read what you have to say.

[Shnate McDuanus]

I do love Jazz, but I lack Larry's and Robin's experience, so I'll just tell you what I like.

 

Benny Goodman--a great swing clarinetist and bandleader who had a hand in jazz from the big band days and through to small combos. Played with a lot of great players, including Charlie Christian, a great guitarist who, unfortunately, died young and without many professional-quality recordings to be heard, but who is definitely worth a listen to if you get the chance. He also employed Gene Krupa, a fantastic drummer, and Teddy Wilson, a fantastic, tasteful and sophisticated pianist whose work should not be missed. If you couldn't tell, I'm very much a Teddy Wilson fan.

 

Of course, Goodman really came to prominence through the assistance of Fletcher Henderson, an accomplished bandleader and arranger of the era. His arrangements and the performances by his orchestra are quite good if you can find them, but I must admit that they're rather dated. On the other hand, Goodman and his various ensembles had many recordings which tend to stay fresh and timeless, and so I really recommend his work as the ideal introduction to big band jazz. His work with the Goodman Trio and Goodman Quartet are also worth checking out as an introduction to the small combo era.

 

Count Basie was also an incredible performer and band leader. He worked with Lester Young, a great tenor saxophonist, and Freddie Green, a remarkably tasteful and terribly underrated guitarist who truly defined the early place and purpose of the guitar in the rhythm section of a jazz ensemble--which, of course, Charlie Christian blew away when he wanted to sound more like the sax and trumpet players .

 

The Dorsey brothers, Jimmy and Tommy, are a clarinetist/alto saxophonist and trombonist/trumpeter, respectively. They were also both accomplished composers and band leaders.

 

Charlie Parker, the saxophonist, is more than worth a listen. Dizzy Gillespie was one hell of a trumpeter--the sheer amount of harmonic and rhythmic nuance and complexity that he was in command of are astounding, in tandem with his renowned improvisational abilities. Roy Eldridge, one of Gillespie's most prominent influences, is also a very astounding player. Now...Sonny Rollins? Just listen to some Sonny Rollins. You'll thank me later.

 

Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus--heck, I could name-drop all I want, until the cows come home, etc.. I haven't even gotten into fusion and I've barely scratched the surface of bebop. I suppose that the most I could really say is that, if you're already interested, (you mention that you're "getting into it," which is great and which I believe in very much,) then you're already half way there. Have fun with jazz--don't get intimidated by it like so many others do. Don't forget that, even though it can get very complex and very sophisticated, it's still music.

[GIANTRobOT420]

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[L5Larry]

L5' date=' please re-post. I'd really like to read what you have to say.[/quote']

 

I was kidding about having written something so prophetic. It was probably mostly ramble.

 

Many great points, tips, and recommendations have been shared in this thread. Keep up the good work, I'm glad to see that jazz seems to be gathering more interest, and gaining momentum, around here. Sometimes I feel like the lone wolf, standing outside looking in.

 

My personal intersts, leanings, and recomendations seem to echo the posts of FirstMeasure (#9), ZigZag (#10), and Robin Nahum (#14). I am a Big Band guy, and nothing is more enjoyable to me than listening to, or playing, what has become known as the jazz "standards", either in the big band, or combo, setting. I started off as a kid listening to my parents big band records. After getting fairly profficient at guitar playing, I gained an interest in "fusion". 40 years and a few forks in the road later led me back to big band jazz and the "standards".

 

I will add that my favorite jazz guitarists, the ones who have had the greatest influence on my personal style and tastes, and certainly worth a listen are...

 

Freddie Green - Played with the Count Basie Orchestra and combos: The tastiest and most emulated rhythm guitarist in the history of jazz. Rarely played single note solo lines, but could do more with three note chords than anyone before or since.

 

Bucky Pizzarelli - Played with the Tonight Show band, Goodman, Sinatra, Grappelli...: Not only a great guitarist, but a great gentleman, and a great friend. 85 years old, and still spends more time on the road than at his home in New Jersey. As a session guitarists he even played on many early rock & roll records in the 50's and 60's.

 

John Pizzarelli (Bucky's son) - The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Even at 50, he's still thought of as the new kid on the block, but he is the living legacy of all the greats that came before him like Christian, Montgomery, Pass, Farlow, Hall, Smith, Ellis, et al. He fashioned his first trio after the "King" Cole Trio, and brought that great style of music to a new generation. He has since added a drummer, and continues to take jazz guitar to new heights.

 

Hey, did anybody mention Herb Ellis? His work with the Oscar Peterson Trio is legendary.

 

I could go on and on about the different styles of what is now grouped under the heading "jazz music", or how many different styles of "jazz guitar" playing there are. Opinions on music, and musicians, are so subjective (including, and especially mine), that if you find something you like, then "dig it, man."

[DeVeeWee]

Are you looking for reference jazz guitar albums or music sheets or 'learn how to play jazz guitar' books?

[saturn]

There are a lot of great suggestions. I'm not a jazz authority by any means. I like some jazz, and other kinds of jazz, not-so-much. I really like the melodic jazz that has some kind of "hooks" that I can follow. I don't care much for that meandering free-form stuff that seems to never "resolve" to anything.

 

Obviously, the chords and compositions are much more complex than in blues/rock/pop music. IMO, the only way to really learn to play jazz is by taking formal lessons or by being surrounded by other real jazz players and learning through osmosis. I've been working on learning some jazz for a few years now, by buying books and DVDs but it is slow going without a real person to guide you.

 

Although they aren't a pure jazz band, I think Steely Dan put jazz styling into a really great accessible pop/rock format.

[djroge1]

The guitarist who first turned my ear towards jazz was Al DiMeola. Being a metal fan/player you may appreciate both his early solo work and his work with the group Return to Forever. You will definately want his early solo work like "Land of the Midnight Sun, Casino, or Elegant Gypsy Suite." Those are the most guitar driven albums of his.

 

Check these other recent players out

 

Larry Carlton - check out "Fire Wire" album

Jeff Golub

Robin Ford

John Mclaughlin

 

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Larry Carlton & Robin Ford

 

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