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Into Jazz

By on Tuesday, September 5, 2006

I am so into Jazz these days, and easy listening.

Is this the harbinger of old age?

I don’t care, I are enjoying the sounds, especially Fourplay and Spyro Gyra and a little bit of Phil Collins and other selections from my Jazz sets.

I need new Jazz sounds though… have you got any suggestions?

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Comments

  2. Anonymous

    Have u listened to Frank Sinatra??? “Let me try again” and “My Way” I’ve got you under my skin”..etc May you have already listened to them. Just wanted to help.
    All the best.

  4. Anonymous

    Mahmood, if you like Jazz and if you like the old School Jazz like Fran Sinatra, Otis Redding, Ray Charles and the like. Then Try listening to a new talented young man by the name of Michael Buble. He is talking the Jazz community by storm.
    He has taped into a corner of the market left void by the Old Masters.
    Give it a try, http://www.michaelbuble.com/

    I saw him in Pensacola Florida this past July and I was TOTALLY impressed.

  6. Sadek

    Mo
    Try Joey Calderazzo, plays piano for Branford Marsalis. Has a great album record called Haiku. All of the late Michel Petrucciani, and finally try Dhafer Youssef – great stuff. Try some classic.

  7. Lujayn

    My all time favorite – Dinah Washington. I strongly recommend her, and Sarah Vaughn too.

  8. zed

    for a little haywire lazy jazz try jolie holland (the song ‘old fashioned morphine’ is recommended) and of course the original lady day, billie holiday (although i don’t actually know if she’s strictly ‘jazz’). coltrane?

    this site has some postings:
    http://www.demonsandstrawmen.wordpress.com

    ooh and a supremely fun song to listen to is ‘telephone call from istanbul’ by tom waits from his album big time…

  9. Anonymous

    Though not JAZZ (hell I dont know if it is or isn’t) anyways lately I have been listening to a lot of Kenny G and his music is brilliant, if he can soothe the frayed nerves of a crazy coffee guzzling maniac like me he’s got to be good, try him you wont be disappointed.

    Cheers….

  10. Ibn

    Mahmood said:

    Is this the harbinger of old age?

    Certainly not! I graduated college only a year ago Mahmood, and ever since then I have expanded my music repertoire to include Jazz! And Im 24!
    I like it just because that music has a very uplifting/optimistic feel to it, very relaxing. I listen to my local Jazz station on the way to work sometimes too. 🙂

    -Ibn

  11. Pamela

    Phil Collins jazz????

    I’ve been into Phil Collins work since his days with Genesis going way back to the late 60’s. Then Genesis was progressive rock in the same vein as Pink Floyd, the late works of Genesis is more pop rock. Phil Collins according to my AMG Guide and many other music encyclopedias lists him as pop/rock.

    When I think of jazz these aritists come to my mind:

    Duke Ellington. Billie Holiday, Wynton Marsalis, George Benson, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Diana Krall, Al Jarreau, etc…

    from Wikipedia:

    Debates over definition of “jazz”

    There have long been debates in the jazz community over the boundaries or definition of “jazz”. In the mid-1930s, New Orleans jazz lovers criticized the “radical innovations” of the swing era. In the 1950s and 1960s, traditional jazz enthusiasts harshly criticized Hard Bop. Although alteration or transformation of jazz by new influences has been initially criticized as “radical” or a “debasement”, Andrew Gilbert argues that jazz has the “ability to absorb and transform influences” from diverse musical styles

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz

  15. Anonymous

    Heartily agree with those who recommend Diana Krall ‘The Girl in the Other Room’
    Nina Simone (born 1933) new 3-CD release with title of ‘Legends’ is marvellous.
    Ray Charles has dozens of releases but I really like the ‘Genius Loves Company’ album which comprises duets with the likes of Norah Jones, James Taylor, Gladys Knight, Elton John, Diana Krall and even Willie Nelson.
    Louisa

  17. Chap

    From the two bands you picked, it sounds as though some kinds of jazz are not what you might be interested in (such as bebop, modal, third stream, post-bop, harmolodic, avant-garde, etc).

    If you like Fourplay and Spiro Gyra, those fit in the playlists of smooth jazz radio stations. Some people that fit into this category or close to it (and good suggestions above, of course!) would be:

    Yellowjackets
    Bob James
    Bebel Gilberto, daughter of Astrud Gilberto who sang “Girl from Ipanema” with Stan Getz and pere Gilberto
    Soulive (a little more uptempo)
    Stan Getz, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond (fifties/sixties California cool)
    Windham Hill artists such as George Winston and Liz Story
    Deodato
    As previously mentioned, George Benson, Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, Earl Klugh and Grover Washington
    Internet streaming radio stations such as (these are streams, so you need something like iTunes or RealPlayer or Winamp) Bay Smooth Jazz, Sky FM, (web page) Smooth Jazz.com, (web page) Shonan Beach FM from Japan

    I hope this helps. You’ve got my email address, so if you desire I can mail you a few CDs.

  18. mahmood

    Guys, thank you so very much for this fantastic list. I shall strive to acquire some works by these artists. Chap, that is a fantastic list! You’re right I do like “smooth jazz” I guess owing to my liking of Fourplay and Spyro Gyra quite a lot. With the other compilations I have, some works dating to the 30s and above I am enjoying as well, but not as much I must admit.

    This is turning out to be another voyage of discovery, I suppose I’ve got to dust my iPod and fill it up with this stream now.

    Ibn, thanks for the vote of confidence. Pamela, Phil Collins has some very nice easy listening tracks which I like.

    Thanks all again for an excellent list. Keep them coming!

  19. N.A.

    Hmm from the top of my head:

    Michael Buble
    Diana Krall
    Billie Holiday
    Ella Fitzgerald
    Edith Piaf
    Charlie Biddle Trio
    Duke Ellington
    Norah Jones
    Sergio Mendes

    Hope that helps.

  20. mahmood

    Wasn’t Bublé featured over the last couple of weeks on Star World? I remember because we (the kids and I) were poking fun at his name and suggested that we should just call him Bubbles and forget about that funny thing above the é!

    But I listened to one track of his last night and I must say that I like his voice. I look forward to listening more from him.

    The others you suggested from your list I look forward to listening to as well. I do have Norah Jones (my secretary actually looks a spitting image of her! :)) and I like her in short durations, I find her kind of music somewhat depressing. Ella Firtzgerald I have a few CDs of in compilations and I really enjoy her music.

    All in all, Jazz to me is such a wide sea and most sailings in it have been pleasant.

  21. Johnster

    NA – that’s a great list

    As for Buble, I think he is way overrated – in fact peter Cincotti is a much better singer.

    But I would add Django Rheinhart and Stefan Grapelli to the list. they created a unique jazz sound (quintet du hot club de France) which is unique amongst European musicians because jazz is an American medium (in fact the only true new music form to come from the US)

    I can lend you a CD if you like.

  22. Johnster

    PS mahmood, in view of your comments re your secretary,m I think I will bring the CD personally to your office

  25. mahmood

    I would love to listen to streaming music… except Batelco has other ideas and I can’t affort to bust the limits.

    (and it’s 3rabiah, the 7 would be pronounced as a hard H as in 7mar!)

  26. Tony Tindale

    MJQ, John Coltraine, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker to name but a few. Enjoy

  27. na9rawi

    shu hadh ya 5oeee m7mood… i dont know 3=ain, 7=ha?

    7arbiyeh – as in the genre of music from fargat al-3ein, fargat dbai al7arbiyyeh, fargat almazyood al7arbiyyeh….

  31. F

    I’m not very familiar with jazz. However, I saw a documentary about
    the influence of the Tuareg, tribesmen of North Africa, had on Jazz. Apparently, their music sounds very similar to it. Travelers from there took it back to their homes and mixed it into their own music.

    It is a fascinating world we live in where everything influences everything else.

  33. lorena

    Hi Mahmood .. here is what i leasent !

    It is a new Age Jazz!

    Mehdi
    Jeff Oster
    Paul Adams and David Hoffman
    Kohala
    David Nevue
    David Cullen & Michael Manring
    Anita Baker
    Rene Oldtead http://www.reneeolstead.com/ ( I love it! )
    Michael Buble http://www.michaelbuble.com/ I Love it !! is cool!

    There is so many more.. you just like Jazz? or you like chill out music? like Caffe del mar? .. thats a cool music too have you try it? … I have them all! i can share them with you ! 😛

  34. Pamela

    Check out Julie Fordham too.

    I love Norah Jones, had that playing in my car with the hatch open on a snowy night when we diecided to have an outdoor fire.

  36. naddooi

    Mahmood, have no clue if you’ve tried this, i’m sure you have, BUT, this site does pretty much what everyone has been trying to do with their replies, gives recommendations on music based on what you already like:

    http://www.pandora.com/

    Just put in the song/artist you like, and they’ll compile a list of songs for you to listen 😀 There is a free version with ads, which doesnt matter cause i just focus on other windows/tabs 😀 And you can compile a huge number of “stations” for yourself, based on different sounds etc. Its apprently all done by some music pro’s who sit and analyse loads of music based on some rating system, etc etc.

    btw, for some “newer/next generation” jazz, try Joss Stone and Jamie Cullum (seriously cant believe a guy that looks like him has a voice like he does!!!).

    Enjoy!

  37. mahmood

    Joss Stone is a permanent fixture on my playlists, while Jamie Cullum I like based on a a single track I heard on the radio, so I was meaning to look him up.

    Thanks for the pandora suggestion, will certainly have a look.

  38. Rainer

    Hi Mahmood,
    definetly Diana Krall.

    What about Cannonball Adderly, John Coltrane?

    Or Viktoria Tolstoy?

    Greetings

    Rainer

  39. Sid

    Mahmood you’re definitely talking smooth jazz here, and though I can’t help you with that per se, here’s a few things that might interest you:

    1) Air – a french band, lounge style, slightly dancy with strong jazz undertones
    2) Laurent Garnier – “The man with the red face”, although Garnier is a DJ first and foremost, this track is AMAZING – live sax played on top of a gentle, yet thumping sample
    3)Miles Davis – Kind of Blue – people hear Miles and a lot of them think “crazy, heavy music a la ‘bitches brew’ – which btw is a masterpiece – but Kind of Blue is in a league of its own – spectacular start to finish.

    Those are specifics that come to mind, of course people have already mentioned Diana Krall and my personal favorite Ella, throw in some Patsy Cline and some Nina Simone – although Simone is a bit more of an acquired taste for some.

    The smoothest thing I know if in Jazz though is probably Herbie Hancock, hands down!

  41. Pamela

    Just for grinns, I will suggest a few artist/bands I love:

    *The Finn Brothers (Finn Brotehrs, and Everyone Is Here)

    *Neil Finn (Try Whistling This, One All, Encore!)

    Everything But The Girl (The Langage Of Life)

    *Joan Armatrading (Classics Vol 21)

    *Shawn Colvin (Live 88, Cover Girl, Steady On, A Few Small Repairs)

    *Mary Chapin Carpenter (Stones In The Road, Come On Come On, Party doll And Other Favorites)

    Toto (Past to Present 1977-1990, or The Essential Toto)

    *Joni Mitchell, Loreena McKennit,* Kate Bush,* Carly Simon, Taylor Dane, you’ve probably heard about all of these

    I know non of these are jazz, thought I would throw them out anyway.

    * = very favorites of mine.

    Right now listening to Toto “99” This song was popular when I was in High School…awhile back. 😉

  42. Hanan

    Hey Dad… Here’s a question.. If you’re into Jazz, and thinking that that is a sign of old age, is your daughter ageing older than you when you were my age? 😉

    Anyway, as quite a few people have already said, try out Frank Sinatra. I’ve got a couple of songs on my computer if you want, though it’s quite litterally a couple – My Funny Valentine, and, The Best Is Yet To Come.

    I like Jamie Cullum, but it keeps slipping from my mind to grab a few songs to see if they’re any good.

    Hmmm… Michael Buble is good, in particular I like ‘Sway’, and yes I did watch a couple of his songs on TV when, finally, he was shown on Star World… However, now that the adverts are over, I can’t snap my fingers along to it anymore 😀
    Though I do see that someone’s already suggested Michael Buble. I must say I feel a bit cheated about not being the first to say it to you as you all had a laugh at my expense about me singing along on the ads.

    … I’m not entirely sure as to why I’m posting here, but hey.. ;P Hope you find something to listen to, there are so many suggestions already.

  43. Ibn

    Mahmood,

    Calling someone (or yourself) old for listening to Jazz is probably not the worst insult to hurl at someone for listening to this genre.

    I have been called worse.

    Specifically, the accusation that my friends level on me is that I am guilty of liking “elevator music”.

    hehe! 🙂

    -Ibn

  44. mahmood

    Thanks Hanani! I promise not to make (too much) fun of bubbles and shall listen with rapt attention to his lustrious voice and music. But only if you promise that you would listen to him with me too!

    Frank Sinatra is really not my cup of tea; however.

    Apart from Fourplay and Spyro Gyra, I also love listening to Aziza Mustafa Zadeh who I think has tremendous talent and scope.

  45. Hanan

    Would absoloutely listen to Bubbles with you, and the invitation is much appreciated.

    Frank I find has more of a completely relaxing theme to his music (off from what I’ve heard), and suits lazy days where you just want your mind to switch off. Isn’t a lot of peoples cup of tea though 😉

    Hmm… Must check them out too, perhaps I’ll even get back to you on what I think of them 😀

  47. Anonymous

    Considering your penchant for “smooth jazz,” try Weather Report and definitely Donald Fagen or his more familiar group Steely Dan.

  48. the Colonel

    The best CD to start with is Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” (many claim this is the best jazz recording eve made). Some other favorites: “My Favorite Things” by John Coltrane, “See No Evil” by Wayne Shorter, “Hothouse Flowers” by Wynton Marsalis, and any solo albums by guitarist Joe Pass. If you like Spyo Gyra, try Chuck Mangione. BTW, BonsaiMark says hi (he doesn’t like jazz but I’m trying to convert him)

  49. mahmood

    Colonel, if you wrap a shawarma in a CD case, believe me he WILL fall in love with Jazz… ask him!

    Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll look them up.

  52. Chap

    Mahmood,

    Thanks very much for the link to Aziza Mustafa Zadeh!

    I noted the reference to feeling old on some comments, and realized that some of the brand new music coming out is in a somewhat similar style, just as good, but listened to by the young hipsters! So–here’s the music the twenty-somethings are playing in the fashionable clothing stores!

    Some examples might be:
    –Zero Seven (the album “Simple Things”)
    –Koop (the song “Waltz for Koop”)
    –As someone mentioned earlier, Air (whose album “Moon Safari” was a wonderful mix of electronica and 70’s library music!)
    –Someone also mentioned Laurent Garnier, who made an album called “Tourist” under the name St. Germain that is very good
    –Eric Truffaz (French trumpeter from the later Miles Davis tradition; album “Bending New Corners” is nice)
    –Record labels like Six Degrees, Quango, and the Frequent Flyer and After Hours series are making internationally minded chillout records that are worth a listen
    –4 Hero, sort of drum’n’bass and a string quartet combined
    –Compilations by folks like Gilles Peterson (or Peterson’s weekly Radio One BBC show, which isn’t smooth jazz at all but lots of music styles)

    I know, I know, too much! But perhaps someone on here might like something on the list…

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