# Recommend me some Jazz **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2016, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171 "2016-04-14T07:17:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/1 "2016-04-14T07:17:06Z")
Like the music from the Mathew McConnaughey Lincoln commercial. Something that sounds like it should be following a private detective around the seedy underbelly of whatever. Piano and trumpet or sax… ---
**Author:** ![TheInimitableMaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TheInimitableMaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheInimitableMaven)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/2 "2016-04-14T07:38:06Z")
Gotta get the de facto nomination out of the way… _Kind Of Blue_ by Miles Davis and featuring John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and Cannonball Adderley. Can’t get a more outstanding intro to piano/trumpet/sax jazz than that. Other recommendations: _Moon Beams_ by the Bill Evans Trio _African Waltz_ by Cannonball Adderley (If anything, for the fact it has my utmost favorite version of “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”.) _Mingus Ah Um_ by Charles Mingus _The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady_ by Charles Mingus _Blue Train_ by John Coltrane _My Favorite Things_ by John Coltrane ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/3 "2016-04-14T09:00:48Z")
Seconded: **Miles Davis** - _Kind of Blue_ **John Coltrane** - _My Favorite Things_ I’ll add: **Miles Davis** - _'Round About Midnight_ **Miles Davis** - _My Funny Valentine_ **The Dave Brubeck Quartet** - _Time Out_ **Sonny Rollins** - _Saxophone Colossus_ **Sonny Rollins** - _Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2_ **Thelonious Monk** - _Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1_ **Cannonball Adderley** - _Somethin’ Else_ **Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers** - _Moanin’_ Also: **Stan Getz** - _Complete Roost Recordings_ **Charles Mingus** - _Blues and Roots_ **Dexter Gordon** - _Go_ **Horace Silver** - _Song for my Father_ On the (slightly) more modern side: **Miles Davis** - _ESP_ **Herbie Hancock** - _Maiden Voyage_ **Herbie Hancock** - _Empyrean Isles_ **Stan Getz** - _Sweet Rain_ ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/4 "2016-04-14T10:29:45Z")
I just listened to a couple of MM’s Lincoln commercial. Here’s one: [- YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NcGhLcVqxf0) That isn’t jazz. It is more like a piano score composed for a movie - lots of major chords and some cool tension built with unresolved chords along the way. My gosh, putting on something like My Favorite Things by Coltrane, when he starts playing “outside” could not be more different. Kind of Blue should always be listened to 😉 and doesn’t contain playing that would be as challenging to listen to a Coltrane later in his career, but it doesn’t sound much like the commercial. I am not sure what I would point to that is similar to the commercial’s music. I am not a mellow piano soundtrack kinda guy. Part of me wants to recommend the classic New Age song Orinoco Flow by Enya: [Enya - Orinoco Flow - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ8KK8u9dN8) it has flowery vocals and a bit more groove to it vs. that commercial music. How is that vs. what you are looking for? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/5 "2016-04-14T11:01:53Z")
From that video clip, I think you might be looking at someone more like Keith Jarrett or Brad Mehldau. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/6 "2016-04-14T11:30:10Z")
Wow, I should have listened to the commercial first. That was totally NOT what I had in mind when you wrote “sounds like it should be following a private detective around the seedy underbelly of whatever”… It’s more synthesizer-oriented but how about [ambient music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_music)? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/7 "2016-04-14T11:30:50Z")
Jarrett maybe. Melhdau does some pretty sophisticated stuff. Oh! I have one: [http://www.amazon.com/In-Amsterdam-Live-at-Bimhus/dp/B000E1XODA](http://www.amazon.com/In-Amsterdam-Live-at-Bimhus/dp/B000E1XODA) **Fred Hersch** - In Amsterdam. Brilliant composer and pianist. Accessibly - no whacky outside playing - but harmonically complex and wonderful. Can’t recommend this CD highly enough. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/8 "2016-04-14T12:21:50Z")
Listen to a generic jazz station on Pandora. When a song pops up that you like, make note of the artist and start a Pandora station for that artist, do the same thing when new artists pop up on that station you like. In very short order, you’ll have drilled down to exactly what kind of jazz you like. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/9 "2016-04-14T14:38:09Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > Wow, I should have listened to the commercial first. That was totally NOT what I had in mind when you wrote “sounds like it should be following a private detective around the seedy underbelly of whatever”… > > It’s more synthesizer-oriented but how about [ambient music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_music)? Yeah, listening to the music in the various commercials, I’m not really hearing too much jazz there (at least none in any of the ones I watched.) But something like the [Twin Peaks soundtrack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYIvbZ5MffU) might be up the OP’s alley (and it does have a jazz number or two in there.) ---
**Author:** ![TheInimitableMaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TheInimitableMaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheInimitableMaven)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/10 "2016-04-14T16:33:31Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > Seconded: > > **Miles Davis** - _Kind of Blue_ > **John Coltrane** - _My Favorite Things_ > > I’ll add: > > **Miles Davis** - _'Round About Midnight_ > **Miles Davis** - _My Funny Valentine_ > **The Dave Brubeck Quartet** - _Time Out_ > **Sonny Rollins** - _Saxophone Colossus_ > **Sonny Rollins** - _Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2_ > **Thelonious Monk** - _Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1_ > **Cannonball Adderley** - _Somethin’ Else_ > **Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers** - _Moanin’_ > > Also: > > **Stan Getz** - _Complete Roost Recordings_ > **Charles Mingus** - _Blues and Roots_ > **Dexter Gordon** - _Go_ > **Horace Silver** - _Song for my Father_ > > On the (slightly) more modern side: > > **Miles Davis** - _ESP_ > **Herbie Hancock** - _Maiden Voyage_ > **Herbie Hancock** - _Empyrean Isles_ > **Stan Getz** - _Sweet Rain_ Really, all of these are GREAT…Sonny Rollins is another one whose “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” is a must listen, **[even if only on YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fsFRRN7EsM)**. Like the music in the aforementioned ad(s) or not, I cannot help throwing a few more onto the pile… _Newport 1958_ by the Dave Brubeck Quartet _Giant Steps_ by John Coltrane _Porgy And Bess_ by Miles Davis _Live At The Opera House_ by Stan Getz and J.J. Johnson _Getz Meets Mulligan_ by Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan (“I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” has to be heard to be believed…incredible production (and that goes for the entire album too) and atmosphere about it IMO.) _Jazz In Silhouette_ by Sun Ra (“Enlightenment” is another track that has an amazing atmosphere about it that can only be pulled off in jazz.) _Monk’s Dream_ by Thelonious Monk _Night Dreamer_ by Wayne Shorter ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/11 "2016-04-14T22:19:18Z")
youtube as much Eric Dolphy as possible. Great multi-instrumentalist, died way too young. If you’re in an experimental mode, try some Pharoah Sanders or Albert Ayler (sax players) The pianist Thelonius Monk is somewhat idiosyncratic, perhaps, but highly engaging, maybe my fave. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/12 "2016-04-15T01:29:54Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I just listened to a couple of MM’s Lincoln commercial. > > Here’s one: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NcGhLcVqxf0](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NcGhLcVqxf0) > > That isn’t jazz. It is more like a piano score composed for a movie - lots of major chords and some cool tension built with unresolved chords along the way. Sorry, probably should have guessed there was more than none. Here is the one I was talking about. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fakTNw56mw8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fakTNw56mw8) This is slow and a little dark. Anyone know who this is? Or was it composed only for the commercial? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/13 "2016-04-15T01:36:30Z")
No clue, but go with Miles’ Kind of Blue. The commercial score is aspiring to be in that direction… ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/14 "2016-04-15T02:47:33Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Sorry, probably should have guessed there was more than none. > > Here is the one I was talking about. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fakTNw56mw8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fakTNw56mw8) > > This is slow and a little dark. Anyone know who this is? Or was it composed only for the commercial? [Miles Davis - Ascenseur pour l’échafaud - Lift to the Gallows (Full Album)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc4tT-55ZzI) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/15 "2016-04-15T04:28:09Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Sorry, probably should have guessed there was more than none. > > Here is the one I was talking about. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fakTNw56mw8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fakTNw56mw8) > > This is slow and a little dark. Anyone know who this is? Or was it composed only for the commercial? Ah…then [try this “dark jazz” playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECyfX1OR_nk&list=PLneA0BedPWJEvDseXizycnviRmoHMci91). ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/16 "2016-04-15T08:18:30Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > No clue, but go with Miles’ Kind of Blue. The commercial score is aspiring to be in that direction… Seconded, _Kind of Blue_ is probably the closest to what you’re looking for. You can also try some of the other **Miles Davis** albums I mentioned, especially _'Round About Midnight_, **Adderley** ’s _Somethin’ Else_ or **Monk** ’s _Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1_ but bear in mnd that not all the pieces on these are slow. ---
**Author:** ![soonerblue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soonerblue/32/3302_2.png) [@soonerblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soonerblue)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/17 "2016-04-15T11:35:44Z")
​Three of my favorites: Dexter Gordon - Body and Soul [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-xGPHseCQrI/hqdefault.jpg "DEXTER GORDON - Body and Soul") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xGPHseCQrI) Dexter Gordon - I’m a Fool to Want You [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NN6li_-aGnA/hqdefault.jpg "Dexter Gordon - I'm a fool to want you") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN6li_-aGnA) Ben Webster - When I Fall in Love [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZfzWK2XVt00/maxresdefault.jpg "Ben Webster - When I Fall in Love") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfzWK2XVt00) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/18 "2016-04-15T12:00:20Z")
**Ben Webster**!! He is the best, smoothest tenor man ever. The best-of album **King of the Tenors** is amazing. OP - you would do VERY well to check out his stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/19 "2016-04-15T12:02:33Z")
Miles Davis is fine, but how about thinking a little more contemporary? One would be [Bob James.](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bob+james) You’ve heard him on Taxi, and he is quite prolific, recording with many contemporary artists, but it’s all jazz. Sample: [Take me to the Mardi Gras](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaoCsmFDLcY) Or how about [Diana Krall.](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=diana+krall) Not only consistent jazz, but [she’s easy on the peepers,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huircINOI5w) too. Speaking of easy on the eyes, how about [Candy Dulfer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YrJvZB2dzg)? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171/20 "2016-04-15T13:08:17Z")
Dianna Krall is familiar. Off to Ebay. Thanks! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-jazz/752171.md?page=2)