# Recommend some jazz music. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 16, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255 "2008-08-16T20:55:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/1 "2008-08-16T20:55:39Z")
After a long period of reading, I’ll listen to music and zone out for a while. Then my brain becomes unclogged and I can go back to reading. I recently found jazz to be a surprisingly efficient way to relax. I like the stuff that’s more on the smooth side. I know nothing about jazz right now, so you can recommend the greatest artists and chances will be that I have never listen to them. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/2 "2008-08-16T21:35:55Z")
[QUOTE=Lakai] After a long period of reading, I’ll listen to music and zone out for a while. Then my brain becomes unclogged and I can go back to reading. I recently found jazz to be a surprisingly efficient way to relax. I like the stuff that’s more on the smooth side. I know nothing about jazz right now, so you can recommend the greatest artists and chances will be that I have never listen to them. Any suggestions? [/QUOTE] First, let’s narrow down what kind of jazz it is you like. If you want “smooth” jazz, I’m going to just go with [cool jazz.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_jazz) Cool jazz is a great starting point if you aren’t sure what you like, but want something fairly accessible while also being mellow. Dave Brubeck’s _Time Out_ is one of the highest selling jazz albums ever. Miles Davis’s _Birth of the Cool_ is also highly recommended, but his other album, _Kind of Blue_, is often regarded as one of the best jazz albums of all time. It features the likes of John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, and Bill Evans, all of whom are highly recommended, atleast their work in this period (mid '50s, about). You might also want to try Lester Young, who was the major influence for the whole cool jazz style. Also, one of my personal favorites is Django Reinhardt. While it seems a bit antiquated now, his gypsy jazz is some of the smoothest you’re gonna find. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/3 "2008-08-16T22:25:42Z")
My starting point was **ELLA: The Very Best of Ella Fitzgerald**. She’s had more “Best Of” albums than KISS has had farewell tours, but they’re all great and this one is the finest. There’s a Seattle-area NPR station, KPLU, that runs a streaming jazz internet radio show, obtainable through [this link](http://www.jazz24.org/). It’s also reachable through the iTunes radio channels (Click on Jazz and then on JAZZ24 from KPLU). It’s one of the best samplers of what’s out there and available. I’m not sure it passes the Jazz Law of Kosher, but **Lyle Lovett and his Large Band** , Lovett’s first plunge into the jazz idiom, is one of my all-time favorite albums. I keep losing it and buying it again. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/4 "2008-08-16T23:14:14Z")
If you like sax, Stan Getz is Da Man. Check out [this](http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0zfuxq9hldte) for an overview. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/5 "2008-08-16T23:18:05Z")
Names- Cole Porter Henry Mancini Dizzy Gillespie Louis Armstrong Count Basie ---
**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:** [August 16, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/6 "2008-08-16T23:18:29Z")
Bob James. David Sanborn. [Bob James and David Sanborn together.](http://www.amazon.com/Double-Vision-Bob-James/dp/B000002L98) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/7 "2008-08-16T23:21:01Z")
Clifford Brown, Chet Baker, Brubeck Quartet, Charlie Byrd, Modern Jazz Quartet, Manhattan Transfer. This stuff is all pretty easy to listen to. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/8 "2008-08-16T23:22:05Z")
Depends what I’m reading, but if it’s something that needs a bit of concentration then I find these two albums work well as reading background - I can’t explain why but the rhythmn and sounds complement things for me: [Dizzy Gillespie and Machito - Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods](http://www.amazon.com/Afro-Cuban-Moods-Dizzy-Gillespie-Machito/dp/B000000YOU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1218928688&sr=8-2) [Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain](http://www.amazon.com/Sketches-Spain-Miles-Davis/dp/B000002AH7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1218928811&sr=1-1) ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/9 "2008-08-17T21:46:07Z")
Not quite smooth jazz, but go with the Pat Metheny Group. I recommend starting with the “Still Life (Talking)” and “First Circle” CDs. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/10 "2008-08-18T03:15:33Z")
Easiest listening: Go Brazilian, baby! Antonio Carlos Jobim: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfcj9vAb0vY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfcj9vAb0vY) Astrid Gilberto: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfHHoYhwreo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfHHoYhwreo) (And of course this one: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz2P\_dXgfNk&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz2P_dXgfNk&feature=related)) Because the apple does not fall far from the tree, Bebel Gilberto: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfLCHQHndRo) Djavan: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYX8nn\_V3fc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYX8nn_V3fc) And them boys from Argentina: Gato Barbieri: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lygdjTJKlGc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lygdjTJKlGc) Astor Piazzolla: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCmP4bEJfOg&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCmP4bEJfOg&feature=related) Oh, and just because I love this so much: Charles Mingus: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU\_RxWXijz0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU_RxWXijz0) And anything, ANYTHING by Bill Evans: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aCO1Gd0jRto/hqdefault.jpg "Bill Evans Trio - My Romance (tune3)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCO1Gd0jRto) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p_dHE5hQIA) How’s that for a start? 🙂 And Vince Guaraldi . . . and Paul Desmond . . . and Oscar Peterson . . . and Eric Dolphy . . . ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/11 "2008-08-18T03:44:17Z")
**Tuba** , are you married…cuz I think I’m in love! 😉 **ZebraShaSha** , if you like smooth jazz, please do yourself a favor and check out Paul Hardcasle. He records some music under his own name and some under the name of The Jazzmasters. He employs a wonderful singer by the name of Helen Rogers on most of his non-instrumental work. Her voice fits his music as perfectly as Astrid Gilberto’s fit with the music of Stan Getz or Sérgio Mendes. You can check out Paul Hardcastle/Jazzmasters and some other excellent musicians of this genre [here](http://www.trippinrecords.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/12 "2008-08-20T18:14:55Z")
Dave Bruebeck - Time Out Miles Davis - Kind of Blue These two albums everyone should own. ---
**Author:** ![quakerjazzcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4bbf92/32.png) [@quakerjazzcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quakerjazzcat)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/13 "2008-08-21T09:48:05Z")
Hey all, I’ve been reading SD for a couple of years now but never bothered to write in on the forums till now but I just have to throw in my two cents here. I want to Definitely second Ella Fitzgerald as she can be both fun and sassy as well as smooth and soulful. My personal unwinding music tends to be female jazz vocalists like her, Sarah Vaughn, Nora Jones, and my new favorite, Thornetta Davis. Check out Ms. Davis’ Live album recorded at the Music Menu. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/14 "2008-08-21T14:48:20Z")
Mose Allison all the way… It’s nice and easy, smart and very accessable for the new jazz listener. Mostly Mose on the piano, but Man! is that boy talented. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/15 "2008-08-21T17:20:02Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] I’m not sure it passes the Jazz Law of Kosher, but **Lyle Lovett and his Large Band** , Lovett’s first plunge into the jazz idiom, is one of my all-time favorite albums. I keep losing it and buying it again. [/QUOTE] I saw his Large Band show just this last Saturday night in Fort Worth. That was my first large sample of Lyle Lovett. My (and the audience’s) favorite stuff was the western swing/big band flavored stuff. The show was over two hours long and there was pretty much something in it for everyone. The swing and the gospel stuff was best, though. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/16 "2008-08-21T21:44:00Z")
Jimmy Smith and Art Blakey. And Kenny Burrell. And Wes Montgomery. Triple bonus if you can get the stuff with Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery together and Jimmy Smith with Kenny Burrell together. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/17 "2008-08-21T22:34:20Z")
So many fine recommendations upthread! May I add Herbie Hancock ‘Maiden Voyage’? Joe Pass is another favourite of mine, and despite the massive popularity of ‘Virtuoso’, I’d recommend ‘Meditation’. And to add to the Ella recommendations earlier, there are three delightful albums of Ella and Joe - ‘Easy Livin’’, ‘Sophisticated Lady’ and ‘Speak Love’. ---
**Author:** ![goodie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@goodie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goodie)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/18 "2008-08-22T01:21:55Z")
Etta James ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-jazz-music/460255/19 "2008-08-22T01:24:44Z")
I think the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is the greatest thing since cold beer. They tend more towards euphoric thatn out and out relaxing, but that’s what relaxes me.