Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo What is a great , well recorded jazz cd

Thanks Chris will check it out. Not really sure what style. Maybe more instrumental but really open to a lot of forms of music. Just never really been into jazz and wanted to get a good start, so multiple styles are fine as long as they are good and sound great.

The newest Norah Jones is the only one of hers I have, but I like it. It's more R&B that it is jazz though.

"Come Away With Me" is the only Norah Jones cd I have, but it's very well recorded and has plenty of good music on it. I'm not quite sure if you'd call it 'jazz' in the truest sense, but enjoyable non-the-less.

Yes, I agree, one of the better recorded CDs. I have both the standard and SACD. Honestly, not a huge diff.

I also like Charlie Hunter's latest 'Gentlemen, I neglected to inform you.' It actually mono but when I had a listen w/ my Grados and a tubed CD player, I had to buy it.

I think most jazz recordings are put out by labels that care about the quality of sound.

Add Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea, Hiromi Uehara, Miles Davis...

Alan has recommended Jacques Loussier Trio's The Best of Play Bach, and I was just listening to it earlier today. While I usually don't have the patience to listen to the whole thing (can't seem to fully embrace jazz), I would agree that it's a great recording. Oh, I should note I have the SACD, so I can't vouch for the normal CD. Another SACD which I do enjoy listening to in its entirety on occasion is Marta Gómez's Cantos de Agua Dulce. I believe PeterChenoweth recommended that one, and it is certainly a recording I use to show off my system.

I like the classic jazz from the '50s and '60s. Try Miles Davis' Kind of Blue or any of his albums on the Prestige label. They are all excellently recorded. As a general rule, any release that had Rudy Van Gelder as the recording engineer will sound nice. Dave Brubeck Time Out is another easy to listen entry point into jazz. Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Collosus is a great album. John Coltrane is one of my favorites and his signature album A Love Supreme is a masterpiece but it is a little harder to appreciate for someone new to jazz. Some of my other favorite artists are Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Charlie Parker. For more recent artists, try Joshua Redman and the Rippingtons.

A lot of great recommendations. I will be doing some shopping over the next few days. Thanks.

Anything recorded by Rudy Van Gelder is about as well recorded as jazz gets. He had a very purist approach to audio.

I definitely favor the Blue Note late 50's and 1960's jazz era the best.

But great jazz is timeless. A lot of stuff still out there to discover.

Check out Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" or some of his 70's fusion output with Headhunters.

And anything by Wayne Shorter is always fabulous.

But I bet it comes as no surprise to those that tolerate my forum rants on here that I believe that classic jazz recordings are best enjoyed on 180 gram audiophile vinyl...

I suggest Hadrien Feraud with John McLaughlin. It has more of a modern fusion style than some of the other suggestions. If you are new to jazz it may appeal to you and Hadrien Feraud is on badass bass player. This CD will give the Axioms a good workout high to low.