Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Jazz Recordings

I have the SACD of Jazz at the Pawnshop and I agree that it is excellent in 5.1. Thanks for the tip on Digital Duke. Another Ellington can't miss is Blues in Orbit.

Second that, and if you own a sacd player, then the sacd version is a must, even if you already have the vinyl or cd.

While I have Back on the Case, it is Reference Point that I was thinking of that is remarkable with excellent songs and recording quality.

I like Jazz. The problem though, is that Jazz is such a wide genre that it's hard to recommend specific things without knowing what you like. I mean, there's 'classic jazz', 'smooth jazz', 'contemporary jazz', etc.

Dave Brubeck's Time Out is pretty much a classical jazz standard. As is Miles Davis's Kind of Blue. Of course there's Sinatra and Bennett. Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Louis Armstrong ought to be considered too, though Armstrong is a little bluesy.

If you're after more modern stuff, well, there's a lot of that too. Let me scroll through my iPod for recommendations...

Norah Jones is really great. I use her album Come Away With Me as pretty much my 'gold standard' for what a voice should sound like on a stereo system. I have it on both SACD and CD, and I've used it dozens of times when demoing systems. It always seems to separate the 'men from the boys'.

Diana Krall (many great ablums, but Live in Paris is probably my favorite) is another must-have, IMHO. Harry Connick Jr is usually good too. I really enjoy his album NOLA.

Other, less known recommendations would be Jane Monheit (Surrender), Madeline Peyroux (Careless Love), and Sarah Gazarek (Live at the Jazz Bakery). All I consider 'stars' in my Jazz collection.

Dave Koz and David Sanborn are also good, but a little more 'c-jazzy' that some might like. I enjoy them. Chris Botti is another favorite - his album Italia is really lovely. Two other groups that I like are Spyro Gyra and the Rippingtons, though they are both definitely further out into the 'contemporary' jazz genre.

But if you want just generally amazing recordings, check out Chesky Records. They have a lot of Jazz in their catalog, though none of it will be from very well-known people. Some of it is hit-or-miss with me. The recordings though, my oh my, they are stunning. Rio After Dark by Anna Caram, and Cantos De Agua Dulce by Marta Gomez are my two favorite Chesky albums that I own. Cantos De Agua Dulce in particular has spine-tingling dynamics and might be the finest recording - on a technical level - that I have in my collection. All in Portugese, so I have no idea what she's singing about. But her voice, the percussion, the instruments, all recorded and mastered with great care and precision, it's auditory bliss.

Total agreement on your Diana Krall, Nora Jones, Jane Monheit, etc. I'll have to check out the others.....they make my Axioms sound sooooooooooo good.

If you like Diana, Norah, and Jane, I'll almost guarantee that you'll like Madeline Peyroux.

Take a listen to Careless Love

Peter, was it you who recommended Marta Gómez so long ago? I've enjoyed her SACD, Cantos de Agua Dulce, a lot.

I would recommend NOT ordering directly from Chesky if anyone is thinking of doing that. Get their stuff through a place like Amazon.com, as Chesky's site took a million years to send me my order.

You sure you weren't trying to order something on Chesty.com?

Ha ha, I imagine their order processing would be just as problematic if their workforce is comprised of a bunch of boobs.