Can't let a jazz thread in a lefty space go by without posting the greatest album cover in jazz: Thelonious Monk, Underground
When Monk went on a European tour in the late 60s, the entire time he didn't say a single word to anyone in the band. Months after they got back, he called the band members to apologize. He said he just couldn't talk to them because they were too ugly.
Miles Davis: “Jazz is only a white man’s word he gave to music that he couldn’t play”
But yeah, Miles Davis is a classic
Except Bill Evans. You alright, white man
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Not nearly enough Django Reinhardt love in this thread... Anyway, here's "Minor Swing":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTlo809EIlo
Edit: and "Nuages":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ-mxcP70O8
He's so cool. Imagine having three fingers on one hand and still becoming the greatest jazz guitarist of all time
Seriously. Plus with the balls the guy must have had to go back to Nazi-occupied France to play Romani jazz in Paris... it's a wonder that he could even walk around.
Meanwhile, I only ever heard of him because of Tony Iommi...
Check out Bireli Lagrene if you're into jazz manouche.
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Not the biggest jazz person, but here's a few in different styles
Some swing music with an incredible dance sequence
It was THE popular music for around 50-60 years, so while most people think of it in it's most esoteric and artistically developed forms, most of it is actually very fun
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The one and only, magnificent, Sun Ra Arkestra. Led by the Maestro Marshall Allen, the oldest working musician in the world. He just celebrated his 100th birthday. I'm very proud to say that I'm friends with Marshall.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jyMP339MNww&pp=ygUUU3VuIFJhIEFya2VzdHJhIDIwMjQ%3D
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue is one of the great jazz albums of all time
jazz is such a wide and interesting genre, i think it gets dismissed way too readily by a lot of people
this is a fun one - Moanin', done by Charles Mingus
another personal favourite that gets stuck in my head all the time, but a bit older - A Night in Tunisia, done by Miles Davis & Charlie Parker
Mingus slaps
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I'd recommend checking out the black saint and the sinner lady by mingus
Jazz is studying the rules of music theory for an entire lifetime just to know the correct way to break them
Trying to define jazz is going to be a bad time, like trying to define art or the meaning of life. Jazz originated and developed over time as an African American take on popular music; bands playing popular tunes all night at dance clubs developed their own style, swinging the rhythm to keep people dancing and improvising to keep the music fresh.
I think the development of bebop had a huge effect on jazz, taking it from being primarily dance music to then focusing on virtuosic players. Bands got smaller and soloists became much more of a focus. Since bebop popped up in the 40s, most jazz has been heavily influenced by it.
Since the early 60s probably, there's been a lot more branching and specialization in different jazz traditions, along with the growth of free jazz and other avant garde styles that explore breaking various "rules" of trad jazz.
It's hard to recommend more than a few certified classics without knowing what you're looking for. I'd say early John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, and Charlie Parker are a great place to start. If you want to go earlier, Louis Armstrong's early stuff is great if you can get over the recording quality. If you want to go later, good luck, there's a ton.
Bebop was also popularized because bands got smaller due to conscription or just people joining the war effort, either at home or on the front. The music changed to fit the material circumstances of playing it.
Yo jazz is music at its most theoretical, most experimental. Only the best of the best can do it well and it's not always easy to listen to. It's not always designed to chill with, sometimes it's more akin to the feeling of learning something new than the feeling you get listening to music. Lots of times i listen and don't enjoy, never come back. But sometimes i listen, initially don't like, but come to appreciate the idea and come around. I think because jazz is so experimental it's ok if you don't dig it. Even if you don't, it drives the rest of music and you'll eventually hear its impact on all the songs you love if you take the time to learn to appreciate it.
Check out the Miles davis - kind of blue album. Immensely listenable and chill. If you like it, check out the extended versions or there where Davis talks about how he arranged it and put it together.
Three songs from the 70's which I adore:
Ahmad Jamal Trio - I Love Music --------- (spot the sample in a classic 90s hiphop track)
Herbie Hancock - Watermelon Man --------- (I've got a ticket to see Herbie later this year, can't believe it)
Idris Muhammad - Could Heaven Ever Be Like This --------- (Just such a huge huge huge track, sitting in a jazz-funk-disco nexus in '77, seriously actually listen to this)
Coltrane is fun, my mom hated him for the same reasons as metal, said it reminded her of ants dancing on your brain: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=Ux2qH8CMVr4
Comet is coming is an interesting fusion newer stuff https://yewtu.be/watch?v=G55GspnNkBo
Kamasi Washington, The Epic. Such a great jazz album.
I don't know. I don't know what rock or rap is, but I know what it is when I hear it. Same with jazz. What I do know is that it was demonized as literal devil music, or just degenerte music, similar to rock and rap, and that it was heavily segregated. But despite that, most of the top musicians had some of the most intimate and advanced understanding of music and classical theory, and the genre is now associated with snooty high society and exclusive music schools
You've got plenty of recommendations in the comments. There is actual jazz theory to break down some of the key aspects of jazz style, but with the caveat that everyone who really understands jazz breaks the "rules" of jazz. Like others said, it's experimental.
One of the big things you'll notice is they emphasize every other beat starting on beat 2. Rock music tends to do this as well, but they start the emphasis on beat one.
In 4/4 time...Rock = emphasis on 1 and 3. Jazz = emphasis on 2 and 4 (the off-beats). This gives jazz a different feeling, like it's played less "straight." Guess that means jazz is gay.
There's also a bunch of theory in terms of the chord progressions in jazz vs "straight" or classical music, but FUCK writing that shit up here. Everything I've said can change based on the style too. Funk music again emphasizes beats 1 and 3, but is kind of in-between rock and jazz stylistically.
One of the big things you'll notice is they emphasize every other beat starting on beat 2. Rock music tends to do this as well, but they start the emphasis on beat one.
In 4/4 time...Rock = emphasis on 1 and 3. Jazz = emphasis on 2 and 4 (the off-beats). This gives jazz a different feeling, like it's played less "straight."
Sorry but that's just not true. Rock certainly also has the emphasis on 2 and 4, because both it and jazz has its roots in the same early African American music. Emphasis on 1 and 3 is nowadays really only found in some European folk music
Gonna second the recs for Django. His work is deceptively simple, but it basically makes it great for people unfamiliar with jazz as a whole. Just starting off on some of the more wild and experimental stuff may not be the best approach.
A lot of great recs in here, but I want to recommend some more modern jazz. First up is Chief Adjuah, an absolutely phenomenal "jazz" (he hates the word because it's been colonised by white academics, so he uses stretch music) musician who has invented multiple instruments and takes influences from all around the world, most prominently trap beats and other electronic beats. The Emancipation Procrastination is a great place to start; his latest album Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning is electric as well. Cannot recommend him enough.
The London jazz scene is superb as well, they're taking a lot of Afrobeat influences and folding them back into jazz. Sons of Kemet are extremely powerful, fast and hard hitting. Their album Your Queen Is a Reptile (yes, about Queen Lizzy) is a wonderful joyride or Afrobeat inspired jazz. Some other recs are Nubya Garcia, Moses Boyd, Ezra Collective, Alfa Mist.
Worldwide, I love this Pakistani jazz group called Jaubi. Their 2021 Nafs at Peace combines Pakistani instrumentation with Western jazz concepts and it really really works. Hiromi is a Japanese jazz pianist who is perhaps the best pianist in the world, seen her live a few times and she's a true force of nature. Insane playing, you can see her Tiny Desk here. There's this Iranian jazz album I love called It's Still Autumn that has such a serene vibe, I recommend it. Tinariwen skirts between jazz and rock, but they're a Taureg guitar group out of Mali that absolutely slaps, everything they put out is great. They also did a Tiny Desk concert.
I have a ton of other recommendations, both contemporary and 20th century stuff (and I didn't even get into the expansive world of Japanese jazz!) so if any of the above really excites you I can provide more.
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Just a few of my favorites:
Change of the Century - Ornette Coleman
I like this one a lot: https://youtu.be/6Y9ow_0y9tI
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One of my personal favorites
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Post well known tunes into the megathread. Post fresh vibes individually.
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