Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Jazz?

Thanks for all the tips on classical. I'll go out and look for some of those mentioned. (Keep the ideas coming)

I also love the sound of a big tall upright bass played with piano. What are some suggestions here? I LOVE the music from "The Peanuts" - Vince Guaraldi Trio...any more suggestions like that?

I gotta go with Dave Brubeck. Time Out and Time Further Out are incredible albums. The recording quality is (obviously) not great, since they were recorded in the 50s (?), but the music is fantastic. Also, see him in concert if you have the opportunity. At 84, he's still really, really good.

Here's a winner for you: Jacques Loussier Trio.

He's a great jazz pianist who reinterprets classical music. It's just him, a bassist, and a drummer. Awesome stuff and well recorded, too.

Thanks for the tip...I'm downloading some mp3's now. I like what I hear so far. I'll have to go looking for a cd.

Three that come to mind immediately:

Bill Evans Trio, "Live at the Village Vanguard"
Bill Evans Trio, "Waltz for Debbie"
John Pizzarelli/The George Shearing Quintet, "The Rare Delight of You"

Get some Patricia Barber albums.
get some Bill Frissell
get some Jesse Cook
get the Stan Getz / Joao Gilberto album with Jobim. it's ridiculously good.
Yeah, Dave Brubeck - time out is real good.
if you want something new, get Si Se.

Another tip: If you want some straight-up jazz that's highly listenable, look for a McCoy Tyner (piano) with Stanley Clarke (bass) CD. I had the privilege of seeing them together live at (the world-famous) Yoshi's Jazz Club in Oakland. Awesome show.

Also, if you're in the mood for a more modern sound, give Charlie Hunter a try. He plays an 8-string bass and it sounds like he has 8 hands, too!

Earl Klugh Trio, as well.

I prefer my jazz with a little beat and sometimes some funk.
How about:
The Dirty Dozen
Stanley Clarke "Bass-ic Collection"
David Sanborn "Songs From the Night Before" (not very funky).
Miles Davis "Love Songs" (also not very funky).

I LOVE the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. I have four or five of of their albums already. Great fun stuff!

I'll start hunting around for some of these other suggestions. Thanks everyone.

Try Big Phat Band, a DVD-A, DTS, DD DVD from Gordin Goodwin (not sure of that spelling). Really good big band style, jazzed up a bit. I love the 5.1 DTS track that puts you in the center of the stage. Two channel purists please don't flame me, I'm too old. Besides, 2-channel stereo is included, but I prefer the 5.1.

You gonna ask about blues next? reggae? Got my lists ready.

The Smooth Jazz series are excellent. Great variety of artists and styles on each CD.

Just picked up Charlie Haden Quartet West "Always Say Goodbye". Pretty cool. If you like the old 40's Hollywood sound, you'll like this.

Chick Corea and the New Trio, Past, Present and Futures. Awesome performance, awesome recording - Upright Bass, Piano, Drums. You can catch them live occasionally as well. This album sounds really nice on a pair on M60's.

I've got to throw in a plug here for the Swingle Singers, a vocal jazz group in the 60s. They may not be to your taste, but they're very, very good. On the album I had they sing classical pieces in jazz style, with bass and light drums. It's called "Anyone for Mozard, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi?" Good stuff...

Again, I can't say that it's the best mastering job, but it's pretty good considering it was recorded in the 60's.

OK, I have my thoughts on jazz as well.

Some of the best classic recordings of jazz are necessarily not recorded all that well, because of when they were recorded and sometimes because of the conditions in which they were recorded. But with that caveat:

Ella & Louis -- a phenomenal collaboration between two of the biggest practitioners of the art. Nobody could scat like Ella Fitzgerald, and the smoothness of her voice contrasted with Louis Armstrong's gravelly sound, and then with his unsurpassed trumpet. It's a fantastic album, and it never fails to bring a gigantic grin to my face. They collaborated a few more times, and those albums are also great, but this one is my favorite.

The Quintet Live at Massey Hall -- this was recorded not only live, but I believe in sort of a bootleg recording, but it's still one of the best jazz albums I've ever heard. The quintet features Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie "Bird" Parker.

I enjoy some of what Wynton Marsalis has done: Standard Time is a good album. The rest of his family are no slouches either.

Oh, and one plug for my brother's CD: Head Games by Dan Loschen. It's available on amazon, or you can PM me if you're interested. It's mostly (all?) Dan's originals and he collaborates with some of the best sidemen around on the Boston scene. It's straight-ahead modern jazz, not fusion, and there are some fascinating explorations of rhythm and interval (if I do say so myself). He doesn't know I'm posting this: it's just a good album!

Again, more later when I have my CD collection in front of me.

Chris
Holliston, MA

Just a few other quick suggestions. Check out Joshua Redman, he has an amazing sound. He gets such a clean, clear tone out of saxaphone. You can actually find some mp3's on Kazaa.

Also, for a little more upbeat jazz, you might want to check out John Scofield. Either Bump or A Go Go being two of his best albums. The drums especially are very well recorded and sound superb.

-Enjoy

Hi Spiff,

There's an early '60s stereo recording by the Oscar Peterson Trio, Ray Brown on bass (I forget the drummer). It's a bit of a cult favorite among some reviewers. Peterson is at the top of his form but the piano sounds like it's in a closet. On the other hand, the stand-up bass is really well recorded and so is the drum kit. Very simple miking. Musically great.

The CD is called "We Get Requests" and I think it's on Verve.

Regards,

I have a few recommendations, I'm going to stick to mostly newer straight ahead recordings. Coltrane, Miles, etc are great but usually less than stellar recordings. However I can't stand "smooth jazz" either so anyway here are my suggestions for some modern recordings of some incredible straight ahead jazz albums (some have been mentioned I think):

Joshua Redman - Any album
Michael Brecker - Tales from the Hudson
Chris Potter - Gratitude
Charlie Haden - Always Say Goodbye, Haunted Heart
Kenny Garrett - Pursuance (or any album really)
Dave Holland Quintet - Prime Directive
Arturo Sandoval - I remember Clifford
Herbie Hancock - The New Standard (interesting album)

That's just a few off the top of my head, hope it helps...

Anything by the Keith Jarrett Trio. Jarrett's solo piano album 'The Melody at Night, With You' is exquisite. Also give a listen to the Bill Charlap Trio.

Medeski, Martin and Wood, the albums Last Chance to Dance Trance(something like that, it is a hits album), and Combustication.

This trio is more of a house/urban Jazz. They are amazing in concert, always jamming.

Dianna Krall. Yes, she is the red headed step child of the jazz industry. The majority of the industry does nto liek here, but now reluctantly accepts her because of the number of albums she sells. I love her voice, she can be soft one song, then harsh yet sexy the next.

Medeski, Martin and Wood. You guys remember ZeN right, poor guy has been working too much to have the time to post. Anyways, he gave me one their CDs, and it is pretty good.

Someone that I just came across becaues a news segment about her is Eva Cassidy. She past away from cancer in 1996, but became well known after the fact. I just picked up her latest release. This woman had a VOICE....I am going to get the other CDs. You can learn more about here http://evacassidy.org/eva/

I also like Diana Krall, I have one her DVD-A discs. Interesting that she is now married to Elvis Costello.

I (or rather, my brother) discovered Eva Cassidy last year and have been hooked ever since. She was one white lady who coul really feel the music. Her version of Sting's "Fields of Gold" is haunting.

I think Eva Casidy is the most under rated female singer ever. Her music takes me to another place. I'm sad that she's gone.

Medeski, Martin and Wood
Some of my wife's favorites and played heavily during the dinner hour at our wedding if i recall.

NEWS

I've had this cd for awhile, but had only listened to it in my car. It's what you'd call "modern jazz" I guess. I was somewhat impressed, but being that I'm a long time Prince fan, it took a bit of getting used to, because this is nothing what you'd expect from Prince.

Last night I threw it into my home system. OH MY GOD! I've had my Axioms and Hsu for quite a long time, and I've listened to a ton of music, but nothing has sounded so much like "being there" as this disc. Wowie, wow, wow, wow.

I just picked up Medeski, Martin, and Wood's Uninvisible.

I've only been able to play it in my car on the way home from Best Buy, but I really liked what I heard. Very rich textures, some funk and trance-like influences, but definitely founded on Jazz. I can't wait to play it on the home system. (Track 6 should really give my SVS a workout. My car's Bose system could barely keep up. )

Among many classics and favorites, many on vinyl, these are several that I think are both great musically and sound great on CD:

* Stan Getz -- Big Band Bossnova: This is awesome, one of the coolest sounding CDs I own.
* The John Coltrane Anthology: There's so much Coltrane out there, not all of it as well recorded and much of it better on vinyl, but this is a very good CD entry. And if you don't own any John Coltrane, well, enough said.
* Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong (that's the title), from Verve Compact Jazz series: Someone else mentioned this and let me second it. Who knows how it was recorded, but whatever it is, something about the register and interplay of their voices makes this a fantastic sounding CD, and the music is wonderful -- which was not always true of Louis Armtrong by this point in his career.
* Ella Fitzgerald, The Cole Porter Songbook, Vol. 2: An obvious choice but I had to mention it. This doesn't sound as good recording-wise as the Ella & Louis CD, but it's so great. We listen to it a lot.

Leaving out many favorites unknown to me on CD, but these are classics.

Birdman

I can't classify myself as a Jazz addict, but I did read in a recent article in Mojo mag that Lea DeLaria does some really intersting covers of well known songs in a jazz take (the Doors - People are Strange, No Doubt's - Just a Girl, Patti Smith's - Dancing Barefoot). I haven't checked them out personally, but you 'jazzheads' may want to.

I'd just like to throw in a plug for "My Favorite Things" by John Coltrane as well as "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis. Truly some excellent albums (and songs!)

I thought songs had words?

Fine. Whatever. Pieces of music. :-P

Gabriela Anders - Wanting. What a voice. Brazilian jazz fusion of sort. Very nice.

pmbuko,

How did Uninvisible sound on the axioms? I do nto have this one yet. i have put off buying ti as I know it is on SACD or DVDA and I wanted to wait until I got a universal player.

I highly suggest the hits album and combustication by MM&W.

BTW, these guys are great live. They are usually at many of the festivals every summer.

Jimmy, thanks for the recommendations. A friend of mine has the greatest hits and I'm going to borrow it.

I finally got a chance to hear Uninvisible on my M22s + SVS PB1-ISD. I was alone so I cranked it. Wow! Each track is so complexly layered and rich that it's taking me a while to peel through the layers, but I can say track 6 has left the biggest impression on me. It has some very deep low 20s bass that really shakes the room. I'm still amazed how well my sub integrates with the M22s.

The last track includes a great recording of a table tennis match and it's amazing "watching" the ball go back and forth across the room as the music plays.