I'd Like Some Blues or Jazz Please...

[cgannon64]

Lately I've noticed I have an ever-increasing interest in blues and jazz. I've noticed I listen to the Hendrix blues-type songs the most often and alot of jazz when its on the radio. But, I know of no real blues or jazz artists outside of the usual figures of the 20s.

So I'm wondering if some of you here could give me some names to sample via Kazaa.

 

[Yoda Power]

is´nt it against the forum rules to talk about "Kazzaed" music? im not sure though.

 

[cgannon64]

Originally posted by Yoda Power
is´nt it against the forum rules to talk about "Kazzaed" music? im not sure though.

I don't think so. Anyway, I'd be using it out of simplicity - I'm not going to guy out and buy a CD for an artist I've never heard of without sampling them first...

 

[thestonesfan]

Ah! I see someone is developing a real taste in music! I prefer the guitar-oriented blues as opposed to free-form jazz, so that's where my knowledge lies.

Personally, I really dig Albert King. He's about my favorite bluesman. He is a monster on the guitar with a really mellow voice. Elmore James is great, but more traditional and straight-forward. Almost blues-pop. BB King is one of the best blues singers you can find, IMO.

And don't neglect the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan, probably the greatest straight up blues-guitarist that ever lived.

 

[Richard III]

Fine, Cgannon, PM me your address and I will BUY you a frickin' blues sampler. Since you're a good kid, maybe my generosity will help to convince you to avoid DOWNLOADING COMMUNISM!!!

John Lee Hooker remains my far-in-the-lead blues favorite, although novice listeners should note that he's more "Delta Blues" than "Chicago Blues" - basically, the farther south you get, the more moody, and the less like Rock or R & B it gets. If you like guitar-heavy blues, try Hooker's latest stuff first, and then move backwards in time. His "Gloria" with Van Morrison is a great example of how his more modern work can tease you backward.

Muddy Waters is a strong #2, BB King #3. BB is the most R & B of those three.

Jazz is really an acquired taste in the sense that I'd really have to know what you like to properly recommend; it's a diverse genre. A good start to get into it is pretty much anything recorded by any Marsalis, since the family plays diverse music within the genre but with does it with a little improv and damn consistent skill.

For basic evening mood jazz, early '60s Dave Brubeck or mid-career Wynton Marsalis are both as starters. The endlessly complex Thelonius Monk and not-so-complex Coltrane are often on if I'm working, and Chet Baker or down-market 1950s stuff gets played for more maudlin moods. Billy Holliday is consumable by the gallon; aim for her more bluesy stuff (e.g. the earlier it was recorded, the betta')

As for the 1920s, well, that's another post entirely.

Send me that PM, I'm serious.

R.III

 

[stormerne]

I love the blues revivalists of the 1960s and it's entirely out of this movement that rock and later metal developed. I guess this is what got me playing guitar myself.

Check out any of the old John Mayall's Bluesbreakers albums (1965 onwards). I particularly like "The Turning Point" (1969) which has no percussionist, but does have a sax and acoustic guitar.

For a great modern interpretation of some old stuff, catch "Muddy Water Blues" by Paul Rogers (1993).

 

[onejayhawk]

If you like Hendrix, you might like the british versions like Stormerne says. Really early Deep Purple, Led Zepplin, Yardbirds, even the Stones show a strong Blues influence. My favorites include Cream's Disraeli Gears, Purple's Motorhead, and of course Clapton's Derek and the Dominoes. If you want something more recent, Robert Cray is definitely worth the trouble to locate, and the late great Stevey Ray Vaughn had no peers in the 90's.

J

 

[cromagnon]

Miles Davis' Kinda Blue is pretty easy to listen to. Richard III's suggestions for Marsalis & Brubeck are also good.

If you're at all into classical music, a nice bridge to jazz would be Claude Bolling's Suite for Flute and Piano.

@Stormerne: Is your next avatar going to be a picture of the retina?

 

[Immortal]

cro: How the hell would he get a picture of his retina? iris? yeah, cornea? definitely fovea centralis? doubtful, but the retina?

 

[Jeratain]

John Lee Hooker, Daveclark 5, the Yardbirds, Van Morrison, some of the old Rolling Stones, and the others mentioned are great.

I'd also reccommend Janis Joplin to that list. She took the blues of such artists like Big Mama Thornton and gave it a fresh sound.

 

[Eklektikos]

Whether this is the kind of thing you're looking for is doubtful I guess, but giving John Zorn & Marc Ribot a listen will (probably) do you little harm. In Zorn's case I'd advise looking for some of the more traditionally musical things he's done with bands like Masada, Bar Kohkba or even Naked City if you want to hear something a bit more maniacal.

 

[Vrylakas]

I can NOT believe I have similar musical tastes to R III. Time to see the doctor.

CGannon64, jazz and blues are the way to go. I lean more towards the jazz side, but I do not shy away from the blues either. Everyone's made great recommendations so far, so I'll just throw a few more your way:

Blues:

1. Roy Rogers: No, not the singing cowboy mounted on Trigger; Roy Rogers is a modern slide guitarist who plays a very MEAN blues guitar. I highly recommend his latest album, Slideways, which is all instrumental - all hot blues.

2. John Paul Jones: The former "quiet one" of Led Zeppelin turned out to be a major driving force in LZ's creative output, as is apparent in his solo albums. His albums Zooma and The Thunderthief have some hot blues on it, especially "Snake Eyes", "Nosumi Blues" and "Daphne".

3. The The: Around 1995 or so The The put out an excellent tribute album to Hank Williams Sr. called Hanky Panky, in which they re-interpret a dozen (or so) of Hank Williams' traditional tunes. Very well done.

Otherwise, I go with Howlin' Wolf, Little Axe, Ledbelly, Sonny Rollins, and of course Robert Johnson.

Jazz:

I'm more on home turf here. Jazz is so versatile and much more international; it's an American music style but one that has been adopted and adapted worldwide, so that there are French, Polish and Hungarian jazz styles. A few artists:

1. New Orleans, 1920s Jazz:

Fats Waller, Jellyroll Martin, early Louis Armstrong, Sydney Bechet

2. Swing Jazz:

Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Gene Krupa, Cannonball Adderley, Tommy Dorsey

3. 1950s "Golden Era of Jazz":

Dave Brubeck, later Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Lionel Hampton, early Ray Charles

4. BeBop Jazz:

Miles Davis, John Coltrane: the gods of jazz

5. Modern Jazz:

Morphine, Chic Corea, David Thiel, Stan Getz, Vince Guaraldi, Henry Mancini

6. Vocals Jazz:

Dr. John, Cassandra Wilson, Tom Waits, Lambert Hendricks & Ross (LHR)

If you need more, ask - I've got a decent collection!

Hell - if R III can do a Blues sampler for you, I'll do a jazz. PM me too!

 

[Sultan Bhargash]

Save time, save money, save effort. Log in to WWOZ.org, and listen to the New Orleans radio station home to jazz, blues, "heritage". They've got the whole range, from very old jazz classics played during the day to the greats played in the evening. You need broadband to get the live streaming audio but they may have loadable shows...

 

[cgannon64]

Originally posted by Antonius Block
Save time, save money, save effort. Log in to WWOZ.org, and listen to the New Orleans radio station home to jazz, blues, "heritage". They've got the whole range, from very old jazz classics played during the day to the greats played in the evening. You need broadband to get the live streaming audio but they may have loadable shows...

I'll check it out. And of course I have broadband.

 

[Ashoka]

Two of my favorites:

1) Brazillian Jazz/ Bossa Nova: Anything by classic artist Antonio Carlos Jobim. Stan Getz (montioned above) was one of the best artists playing this music.

2) Diana Krall - She's a grammy-winning vocalist and jazz pianist from Canada. She does some _very_ smooth interpretations of great jazz classics. Because she's modern, and popular (her music has been often used in luxury car commercials, etc.) I've gotten some snub's from my 'purist' friends because I like her - - but I do live in Chicago - - a city that takes its Blues and Jazz VERY seriously.

Ashoka

 

[Sultan Bhargash]

Good call Ashoka- Gannon if you wanted to have a minimalist but hip jazz library, two good disks are Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto's Girl From Ipanema cd, also Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers A Night in Tunisia. And I was thinking, WWOZ is good for the blues being mixed in, but you live right by NYC so you must get that great jazz station there (whose name eludes me at the moment)...

 

[Vrylakas]

"Sultan" Antonius Block wrote

And I was thinking, WWOZ is good for the blues being mixed in, but you live right by NYC so you must get that great jazz station there (whose name eludes me at the moment)...

*gasp*

(Slaps self twice)

I can't believe I didn't mention the great WBGO, probably one of the world's great jazz radio stations. You can stream from their website as well. They also do some blues mix with a 2.00 p.m. (EST, GMT -5) show, though it tends to be newer and less well-known artists.

Their website is also good for researching artists.

 

[Sultan Bhargash]

Right- BGO. YOu have to forgive me, I moved out of NJ 12 years ago then spent the next ten years in New Orleans.

 

[G-Man]

Let's see... My favorites (in no particular order):
- Duke Ellington
- Thelonius Monk
- Miles Davis
- John Coltrane
- Dave Brubeck
- Herbie Hancook (spl)
- Charlie Parker (probably THE favorite of mine. Try anthropology, confirmation, scrapple from the apple)
- Dizzy Gillespie
- Chick Corea
- Pat Matheney

If you're interesting in vocal jazz as well try Ella Fitzgerald (although I'm sure you've heard her already)

 

[Richard III]

Originally posted by Vrylakas
I can NOT believe I have similar musical tastes to R III. Time to see the doctor.

This surprises you because...?

Anyway, I'm sure you will live. And your stock will rise.

Originally posted by Vrylakas
1. New Orleans, 1920s Jazz:

Fats Waller, Jellyroll Martin, early Louis Armstrong, Sydney Bechet

2. Swing Jazz:

Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Gene Krupa, Cannonball Adderley, Tommy Dorsey

I wanted to add a big for these pre-50s suggestions, which match my tastes fairly closely . I actually mostly listen to 20s and 30s stuff now, but I rarely point people to it because it's a little wierd; I don't think I would have really appreciated it if I hadn't "gone backwards" in time with my taste.

I gotta say, though: Howlin' Wolf? I dunno...?

R.III