(Part 2) Top products from r/Jazz

Good answer! The Jazz Record Mart is a great resource - home also to Delmark records, with a rich catalog of Jazz & Blues.

Chicago is also important in the development of Free Jazz in the '60's and '70s', with the AACM including a wealth of influential figures like the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, Muhal Richard Abrams and many more. They remain active, staging events like their Chicago Jazz Fest after-parties - often the highlight of proceedings. For the whole story check George Lewis' book - A Power Stronger Than Itself.

In the '90's and '00's another wave of free music activity began, focused on the efforts of reed players Fred Anderson, Ken Vandermark and critic John Corbett, and Bruno Johnson's Okka Disk label. Another group of Free Jazz and free improv players emerged, often collaborating with an influx of visiting luminaries - see Peter Brotzmann's Chicago Tentet, for example. You can follow the continued activity of this community at Umbrella Music. Also, watch for shows at Elastic Arts in Logan Square, and Constellation (including this year's Chicago Jazz after-fest 8/29-30).

Chicago Jazz Festival 2014 has a pretty good line-up, too - showing some renewed vitality after its move to Millenium Park. Also watch for next year's Hyde Park Jazz Festival and the year-long AACM celebrations of their 50th anniversary.

Have you ever listened to the Jazz Violin Summit featuring Jean-Luc Ponty and Stephan Grappelli? If you are interested in hearing a founding father of gypsy jazz (Grappelli of the Hot Club) collaborate in a fusion setting, I highly recommend those works. Specifically this record.

Another fusion artist of similar era is Al Di Meola and his record Land of the Midnight Sun. His guitar work was unconventional at the time, using solid body guitar (les paul) with overdrive playing rock phrases inspired by distinctly South-American styles of guitar. A real treat. This record also features Jaco Pastorious on bass guitar.

It would be impossible for me to navigate through a fusion conversation without mentioning Chuck Mangione, but I'll cut straight to the point and say "Feels So Good is the record you've probably heard, but Fun and Games is the one that fusion cats acknowledge". This is probably due to the stellar bassline of "Give it All You Got" (theme of the 1980 Winter Olympics)

Moving into 80's/90's fusion, I have to recommend The Brecker Brothers' "Heavy Metal Be-Bop". It contains some notable tracks like "Some Skunk Funk" and "East River".

Maynard Furgeson's M.F. Horn 3 is a masterclass in ascendancy in brass ensemble composition and unrivaled experimental expression.

Some stuff from the recent era I have been digging is Trioscapes' "Separate Realities". This is a sick trio featuring the bassist of Between the Buried and Me. " Trioscapes started in the summer of 2011 when Dan Briggs contacted Walter Fancourt and Matt Lynch about working up a rendition of the Mahavishnu Orchestra classic Celestial Terrestrial Commuters and messing around with a few original ideas with the intent of playing a one-off s how. After rehearsing the material and playing the show through the group decided the music was so demanding and fun to perform that there should be more of a future for it. A few more songs were written near the end of the summer and a full length album recorded the first week of October with Jamie King in Winston-Salem, NC. " My band got to open for them in Arkansas a few years back, was such a great time.

Nearly anything by Louis Cole. More specifically, the album "Life" by his duo, Knower, is absolute gold and has inspired me to reach new levels in my own work. Absolutely answering with confidence the modern question of "what is jazz right now?"

Shameless band plug: If you're into heavier fusion, check out Becoming Elephants' "Volume 1". Instrumental fusion with extended range guitars and saxophone features.

I hope you enjoy any of these records you get a chance to listen to!

I love Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas and Louis Armstrong & Friends' "What A Wonderful Christmas" album, which has his wonderful, happy-making "Christmas In New Orleans" on it. ETA: Also, if you like New Orleans style jazz, I recommend Irvin Mayfield's new Christmas album, which is pretty great.

I've built up a nice little jazz collection over the past few years and I really love slow, introspective piano stuff. Andrew Hill's Hommage is a great solo album, as is Mingus Plays Piano. Dave Brubeck's Jazz Impressions of Japan has a nice balance of fast/slow jazz and Thelonius by Himself is contemplative and cool. For a something a little different try Walt Dickerson's Impressions of a Patch of Blue or Sun Ra's The Night of the Purple Moon. Fun, funky stuff.

Something faster paced? Bitches Brew by Miles Davis or The Cry by Prince Lasha are two of my best purchases.

seconding the miles bio. very entertaining.

ted gioia's history of jazz is very comprehensive, and probably "the standard history", but a bit boring (imho). i guess what i really want to read is a history of european jazz in the last 40 years, say, and that is perhaps half a chapter of that book (understandably...).

a better history, for me, was why jazz happened by marc myers. while gioia explains who learnt from whom, and how all the music inter-relates, myers focuses on the politics, sociology, technology, economics, etc., of the time(s), and how all that shaped the music (each chapter is a separate theme - for example, the availability of LPs was probably one chapter, another was the rise in popularity of rock music, if i remember correctly). i found that much more interesting - it really explained some of the broad changes while gioia felt a lot more like genealogy.

would love to hear other suggestions. those are the only "jazz only" books i've read. [though i think this has been asked before...]

I asked my university piano teacher a similar question. "What are the best transcriptions of common tunes?" His answer: "The ones you make yourself."

I think this is true. The only charts/transcriptions that you can really trust are the ones that you've created with your own ear. Real books and their many versions and electronic iterations (the irealbook ap is an amazing resource for learning tunes and transcribing simple chord charts) are invaluable sources for being introduced to tunes, but they are merely sketches. Choose an artist/version of a tune that you dig and learn that specific version using the real book chart as a starting point.

Recognizing those subtle differences and artistic choices is the beauty of learning jazz tunes.

That being said, I feel that the most accurate realbooks are the "New Real Book" series . They are based on specific recordings so they stay true to an actual version that a particular artist recorded or performed regularly.

Of course, not every tune is included so you have to rely on your faithful ears to figure out those Shorter tunes you're looking for.

Another resource is The Real Book Videos Subreddit . It has definitive versions of the Real Book tunes.

Blues In Orbit is another Ellington band album that's great and completely different. The Far East suite is also very cool..

"Monk on Monk" by T.S. Monk is pretty great too, one of the best big band albums to come out in the last 10 years.

You'll find that it's hard to find stuff like TANK! that's not too shrill or repetitive. These recommendations will have a different color but you'll really enjoy them if you give them a chance.

Oh, and a more specific extrapolation on someone's recommendation below:
Mingus Ah Um, a smaller ensemble than the Seatbelts but no less kick-ass.

And for raw kick-ass you gotta check out Free For All by Art Blakey and co.

Oh shoot and don't forget this Oliver Nelson classic, "Blues and the Abstract Truth". <3 Hoe Down's bridge. Pretty cool ensemble writing!

Ok, I'll stop now. It's notable that all the guys I mentioned have 5-50 more albums which sound completely different, and each song on each album is very different! Imagine, music before pop...

OP -- fellow Wynton skeptic here. IMO, most of his records are super safe, by-the-numbers stereotypes of the music they claim to love. The situation is similar with all of the family members and friends he's scored record deals for...just not the freshest stuff at all.

On a related note: it's been years since I read this, but Is Jazz Dead?: Or Has It Moved to a New Address has some great commentary on what happened to the jazz scene after Wynton gained the position to call the shots on who got funding to make jazz. Highly recommended for its Wynton discussion, the jazz education chapter (entitled, iirc, "Teachers Teaching Teachers") and other stuff.

Well you've already got my favourite one :P but for the sake of variety, try some of these (not all of them are ALL jazz, but I would say they're all 'jazzy'):

Baby it's Cold Outside

Boogie Woogie Christmas

Christmas with the Rat Pack

Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas

A Jazz Christmas

Jazz for Joy: A Verve Christmas Album

Jazz to the World: A Christmas Collection

Merry Mixmas (one of my other favorites - most of them are originally jazzy, but were remixed)

EDIT: Formatting.

I did a little research and it looks like the [Studio Chronicle 40-48] (http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Parker-Studio-Chronicle-1940-1948/dp/B0000AJ5SR/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410238640&sr=8-1&keywords=charlie+parker+studio+chronicle) set is the best to get for Charlie Parker. That includes all of his classic recordings for pretty cheap.

Mingus Ah Um has always been one of my favorites. Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane is a good album too. If you are looking for some amazing vocals check out some Nina Simone.

a power stronger than itself is a history of the association for the advancement of creative musicians. it's well-written, politically aware without baraka's stridentness, and quite possibly the first you'll have heard about most of these fantastic musicians.

interesting. I recently put together an huge list of Jazz books oriented towards non-musicians. After putting together the list I organized it into courses like a university might. I called it my "Masters Degree in Jazz Studies for Non-Musicians." The first two courses I think would be perfect for you.

<br /> <br /> **Course 1: Jazz Appreciation**<br /> This course is meant to give you a solid grounding in how to listen to jazz music without delving too deeply in music theory or requiring the student to be a musician. It is also meant to expose you to the core body of work of jazz. <br /> <br /> [Enjoying Jazz - Henry Martin](http://www.amazon.com/Enjoying-Schirmer-Books-Henry-Martin/dp/0028731301/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8)<br /> <br /> [How To Listen To Jazz - Jerry Coker](http://www.amazon.com/How-Listen-Jazz-Jerry-Coker/dp/1562240005/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1420760894&amp;amp;sr=1-9)<br /> <br /> [Jazz Standards - Ted Gioia](http://www.amazon.com/The-Jazz-Standards-Guide-Repertoire/dp/0199937397/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;refRID=0DX94W5SY4BM04GD6W5J)<br /> <br /> <br />

Course 2: Jazz History 101
This is a basic course in jazz history. it is not meant to be an in depth coverage of every style. It is meant to give the student a broad overview of the general progression of jazz from it's inception into the modern era. Other courses in the program go much further in depth into specific styles and the major players of those styles.

Ken Burns Jazz

Jazz 101 - John F Szwed

History of Jazz - Ted Gioia

Visions of Jazz - Gary Giddins

`

so far the program I developed has 10 courses. If anyone is interested I could share the content of the other courses. and I am considering developing a syllabus for each course and possibly even more courses, but the time and effort needed to complete the 10 courses would already be more than the effort I put in to obtaining an actual master's degree from a university so I'm not sure how much more effort I would want to put into this right now.

It's hard to say what he might or might not have. Ideas:

http://www.amazon.com/imagined-savior-far-easier-paint/dp/B00HGFIMK2

This is a jazz album that just came out this year and is pretty critically acclaimed. It's recent, so he might not have it.

http://www.amazon.com/Miles-Davis/dp/1451643187/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1419120324&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Miles+Davis+autobiography

This is one of the best jazz musician autobiographies I've read. There's a chance that the guy might have read it already, though.

Since you mentioned that you're interested in theory, these two should be highly rewarding:

Early Jazz - Gunther Schuller

Something to Live For: The Music of Billy Strayhorn - Walter van de Leur

if you're already into duke, thelonious monk plays duke ellington might work for you. that being said...

i can't think of any bad monk albums, but he's at his best when he gets to stretch out on longer solos, building rhythm patterns, echoing and deconstructing melodies, etc. he often re-worked the same compositions at different points in his career, so for a lot of tunes there's not a canonical this-is-the-official-version "best" recording. you might try this imho stellar recently-discovered live recording at carnegie hall with john coltrane.

Ella at Christmas is amazing. My go-to. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ella-Wishes-You-Swinging-Christmas/dp/B00006WL1Q

My instructor (jazz guitarist and bassist) had me buy a copy of Ed Freidland's "Building Walking Bass Lines". Good place to start learning the basics along with the below suggestion to transcribe bass lines. (hint: get a copy of Audacity, use the bass boost, low pass filter, and slow the whole thing down to really hear the bass). (edited to add link)

Chuck Mangione - Feels So Good
http://www.amazon.com/Feels-So-Good-Chuck-Mangione/dp/B000002GB6

Reading Jazz, ed. Robert Gottlieb, is a great foray into the history of jazz, through story telling. It's sort of a mish mash of autobiographies, biographies, criticisms, etc., but you can just pick it up in the middle and read a 8 or 9 page story, and then start somewhere else.

Here's a link to its amazon page:
http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Jazz-Gathering-Autobiography-Reportage/dp/0679781110

I found Building Walking Bass Lines helpful when I first started. Another must-have is The Evolving Bassist by Rufus Reid.

This is the original recording remastered. Does that mean it's not by Teo Macero?

If you like these sorts of jazz stories, you should pick up a copy of Jazz Anecdotes.

Similarily, I like this Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane quite a bit.

In case anyone is wondering, first hit on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/58-Miles-Featuring-Stella-Starlight/dp/B0000027R5

That's the album, and it's 7 bucks on amazon mp3.

To be fair, the most popular Fortnite subreddit, /r/FortniteBR, has almost 900,000 subscribers.

But yeah, people are quick to call things dead. The PC was supposed to be dead, along with radio, network TV, baseball, newspapers, printed books, bookstores, libraries, phone conversations, snail mail, email, the family meal...I’d say these things are still widely appreciated by many people. I think it’s a form of technological snobbery. “Technochauvinism” I heard it called once.

You might find this book interesting though. I don’t agree with all the assertions, but the gist is that the most development of jazz lately has been in Europe. Granted the book is at least 10 years old:

https://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Dead-Has-Moved-Address/dp/0415975832

This one is pretty much the standard Real Book, based on my experience.

Personally, I'm partial to this version, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone else actually use it.

Jazz to the World http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-World-Various-Artists/dp/B000005GZQ is a cool compilation album. Also, check out: http://www.covermesongs.com for various Christmas stuff, but many different styles, you'll have to search for the jazz.

Robert Gottlieb and various authors. Link

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000002B01/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

i always end up back on Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall.

If he's into documentaries:

https://www.amazon.ca/Ken-Burns-Jazz-Keith-David/dp/B000BITUEI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518235744&sr=8-1&keywords=ken+burns+jazz

I love a lot of the recordings that Ron Carter is on. He's usually such a great player, but the whole "Meets Bach" album is... well, it's filled with what I'd call "really questionable intonation choices".

Example It's even worse that its a studio album. Its like, he went in, recorded it and was like "Yeah, this is cool." and then they put it out. WTF? The amazon reviews sum it up.