Last night I was listening to The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery. This is great Sunday morning lounging around kind of music that I would highly recommend.

But last night was Tuesday night.

It was Tuesday morning for me.

You're right! I should have been listening to Sheryl Crow's Tuesday Night Music Club.

I love this album by Kurt Elling

http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/albums/Nightmoves-MP3/

If someone who currently listens to Rock or R&B asked for something Jazzy they might like, I would probably recommend some "tweener" stuff like:
-Steely Dan "Aja" "Royal Scam" "Goucho"
-Chicago "at Carnegie Hall"
-Stanley Clarke "If this Bass Could Only Talk" "Hideaway"
-BB King/Diane Schuur "Heart to Heart"
-Concord SACD Jazz Sampler
-Spyro Gyra "Catching the Sun"

(I would not recommend Kenny G, Micheal Bolton or other soft/light/new age stuff. My apologies to any who like this style- but I wouldn't want to be responsible for leading someone down this particular road of Jazz.)

As far as a few of the most essential Jazz recordings from my Jazz collection:
-Manhattan Jazz Quintet (First Album, 1984)
-Stan Getz/Charlie Byrd "Jazz Samba"
-Miles Davis "Some Day My Prince Will Come" "Sketches of Spain"
-Toots Theilman "Brazil Project"
-Stanley Clarke "Journey to Love"
-Joe Pass "My Song"
-George Benson "White Rabbit"
-Chick Corea "My Spanish Castle"

Of course, these are mostly "somewhat modern" Jazz selections and I do appreciate the Latin influence.

As one builds their Jazz collection, I think a "starter kit" for each Jazz era could quickly follow.

I wish I could discover these for the first time again, however, they do continue to delight.

Enjoy!

Last night I listened to the Oscar Peterson Trio's Night Train and Joshua Redman's self-titled debut album. Both were excellent. I love how Oscar Peterson plays with such feeling and soul.

I've been listening to Mike Stern's "Who Let the Cats Out?" a lot lately. Here's the brurb:

"Who Let the Cats Out? was recorded in January 2006 and features a stunning lineup including bassists Richard Bona (who handles vocals on two tracks), Anthony Jackson, Meshell Ndegeocello, Chris Minh Doky and Victor Wooten, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, saxophonists Bob Franceschini and Bob Malach, drummers Dave Weckl and Kim Thompson, harmonica player Gregoire Maret, and keyboardist/producer Jim Beard."

I have been enjoying Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay this week. I especially like the live alternate version of the title track which includes Stanley Turrentine and George Benson.