you guys should really get your hands on shining's new album "In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster" [Rune Grammofon recordings]. it's an insane release, totally original. i'll post up a track tomorrow. here's some info on it:

"Brand new album from young quartet counting two former Jaga Jazzist members and writers in their ranks, giving new meaning to the concept of progressive art rock and marking a change in musical direction from their two previous jazz albums. For the first time they use a number of guitars, vintage keyboards, horns and percussion instruments, but forget about endless synth soloing and long symphonic excursions leading nowhere. This is young, fresh and vital music with a strong sense of direction, bridging the gap between classic King Crimson and ECM lyricism."

also check out Arve Henriksen, especially his latest release "Chiaroscuro" on Rune.

I love David Brubeck Quartet's 'Take Five'. Can someone recommend me some similiar albums?

I don't own much jazz at all but I love Brubeck's 'Time Out'. If you like Brubeck, you'd probably like that one.

'Take Five' is actually on Time Out, so there ya go. Spence: check my first post, particularly the movie soundtrack and Jazz At Massey Hall.

I actually own that. That's what I meant to say, something similiar to 'Time Out'.

My favorite jazz album...

[img][650:650]http://www.coveralia.com/audio/q/Queen-Jazz-Frontal.jpg[/img]

Actually Shape of Jazz to Come is on Coleman's mellower side. It was recorded before the Free Jazz sessions and a lot of his other noisier, crazier stuff. It's a great place to start.

That Brubeck tune is pretty unique, even within the rest of Brubeck's own catalog. Hell, I don't even think the rest of Time Out sounds anything like it.

However, if you like that, you may in interestd in the West Coast or cool jazz style of music. I'd suggest something by Chet Baker, his ablum simply titled Chet would be a good start. He's a really lyrical, laid back player, who also has some vocal tracks on some of his other records if that would interest you.

Although it's been said, asking for good jazz is sort of overwhelming, considering that there is an 80 year span of recordings to choose from, and hundreds of styles and subgenres that are contained within its limits. I'll just try to spout some random favorites:

Anita O'Day - Anita Sings the Most
Nat Adderley - Work Song
Miles Davis - In A Silent Way
Jaco Pastorius - s/t
Gerry Mulligan / Thelonious Monk - Mulligan Meets Monk
Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners
Dizzy Gillespie - The Champ
John Scofield / Medeski Martin Wood - A Go Go
Django Reinhardt (anything you can get your hands on, really)
Wes Montgomery (ditto)
Les Paul / Chet Atkins - Chester and Lester
Buddy Rich - Mercy, Mercy

. .. . . too much good stuff!

Mingus and Coltrane are my two favorite jazz artists. My top 10 jazz records are:

Mingus- Black Saint & the Sinner Lady
Coltrane- A Love Supreme
Miles Davis- Kind of Blue
Eric Dolphy- Out to Lunch
Coltrane- My Favorite Things
Mingus- Mingus Ah Um
Oliver Nelson- The Blues & the Abstract Truth
Coltrane- Ole Coltrane
Sonny Rollins- Saxophone Colossus
Mingus- Pithecanthropus Erectus

Ornette is solid- but I think this list gives a nice foundation for a jazz collection- and I totally disagree with the earlier comment that the albums are of inferior quality and you should just get collections- that statement is no more true than if you applied it to any genre of music. Buy the records, and some live stuff- you won't be disappointed.

Miles Davis...
Milestones
Kind of blue
Cookin' / Steamin' / Workin' / Relaxin'
Seven Steps to Heaven
Sketches of Spain
Live at the Plugged Nickel
In A Silent Way

Coltrane...
A Love Supreme
Blue Train
Giant Steps
Ballads
w/Johnny Hartman
My Favorite Things

Monk...
Brilliant Corners
5 by 5 by Monk
Alone in San Francisco
Straight no Chaser
Misterioso
In Action
Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane

Bill Evans...
Live at the Village Vanguard
Waltz with Debbie
Everybody Digs Bill Evans
Portrait in Jazz
Live at Shelley's Manne Hole

Sonny Rollins...
Saxophone Colossus
Way Out West
Now's The Time
The Bridge
A Night at the Village Vanguard
Freedom Suite

Charles Mingus...
Mingus Ah Um
Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus
Tijuana Moods

Ella Fitzgerald...
Ella & Louis
sings the Gershwin Songbook
sings the Rogers & Hart Songbook
sings the Irving Berlin Songbook

Cannonball Adderly - Something Else
Dave Brubeck - Take 5
Duke Ellington - Blues In Orbit

Dexter Gordon...
Dexter Gordon - Go
Dexter Gordon - A Swingin Affair

Getz/Gilberto
Stan Getz & Charlie Bird - Jazz Samba
Lee Morgan - Sidewinder
Sonny Stitt - Blows the Blues
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Oliver Nelson - Blues & thre Abstract Truth
Ike Quebec - Easy Living
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - A Night in Tunisia
Kenny Dorham - Quiet Kenny
Ray Brown Trio - Soular Energy
Oscar Peterson - Night Train

You absolutely cannot go wrong with the amazing and wonderful At Carnegie Hall. This is the Time Out band live and they completely smoke.

If you don't have the Time albums already, I highly suggest picking up the For All Time box. It's all five of the of the time-related releases. They're all good, but none quite reach the peak set by Time Out and Time Further Out (both of these are absolutely essential.)

The old-school of jazz is great, but if you're like me and you want something newer, but completely and entirely unrelated to the pap-jazz that people refer to today (basically anything that sounds like Kenny G and/or that new-agey BS that has absolutely nothing to do with jazz like Keiko Matsui and her ilk,) check out titles by trumpet player Dave Douglas (he's very Miles Davis inspired, and The Infinite comes VERY highly recommended,) John Zorn's Masada (anything you pick up by this band is incredible - Ornette Coleman meets klezmer, and it's freakin' mind-blowing stuff, plus it also includes Dave Douglas,) Matthew Shipp (Harmony And Abyss is amazing, as is Nu Bop, and for that matter anything in Thirsty Ear's Blue Series) pretty much anything by Paul Motian (I will point to his latest with Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano, I Have The Room Above Her) . . . I could go on and on. New real jazz is really incredible stuff, but it's not necessarily "pretty," which is why the masses will never accept it like the aforementioned Kenny G, etc.

And a warning: if you're like me at all, once you get started down this path you will find it impossible to back track - this stuff changes how you hear music, and it's not always a good thing. Nothing ever sounded quite the same once I "got" the noisier jazz musicians.

Yes! I meant to comment on that too. Collections are for . . . what was it? Little girls and moms? Something like that. I can't remember the quote. Whatever. Regardless, jazz albums are NOT filled with inferior quality material. Jazz musicians very, very rarely just toss something off. These guys live and breathe their music in a way no other musician does. And, again, I'm talking about real jazz musicians, mind you. When these guys play, they give it their all. And they play all the time. If you don't like a particular album, it's because you don't like that particular album, not because the album's got two good songs and the rest is rounded out with filler. That just doesn't happen. Jazz is, in general, the music I can count on to be the best musical investment I can make.

Duke Ellington - Blues in Orbit = excellent, cohesive, and pretty approachable. That one's been in regular rotation with me for the last 7 or 8 years, and it's still very good.

Lena Horne - Travelin' Light = smooth, vocal, pretty.

Bud Powell - The Scene Changes = piano, quick, impressive, all-around good.

And I second the Getz / Gilberto recommendation!

A few more ideas of some slightly less well-known post-bop greats popped into my head:

Dexter Gordon: Go

Jackie McLean: Capuchin Swing

Freddie Hubbard: Hub Cap

Horace Silver: Finger Poppin' and Song For My Father

Grant Green: The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark (this is one of my absolute favorite guitar-jazz albums, actually)

Wes Montgomery: Smokin' at the Half-Note

I have to stop or I'll just wind up recommending everything in my collection . . .

Keep 'em coming I say!

Probly should have made my point a bit better. I have more jazz albums than comps; my point is that there are some inferior jazz albums out there largely because a lot of these guys were involved in shady record deals and labels released slapshod materials---to wit: you cant go wrong with the classics albums. I think I was making more a reference to using a comp to determine an era of a particular arist that you think is the bees knees before investing the almighty $$$ in it. tcj, jazz isnt usually my best musical investment, so i gotta be more careful you know....

And im no little girl or mom. Bitch.

btw y'al,l nice thread, im noting some suggestions on some shit ive been sleeping on for far too long.

I really wish I could contribute more but the suggestions are great.

Yes, yes, yes!

Also a fan of Kenny Drew's Undercurrent, Gene Ammons' Boss Tenor, Sonny Red's Out of the Blue, Thad Jones' The Magnificent and Ike Quebec's Blue and Sentimental.

And... can Bill Doggett get some love? Hot Doggett is f'n awesome.

Has anyone brought up Milt Jackson yet? Vibes come alive on anything with Milt.