New to the forums, new to jazz!

[rinoRotti]

Hello all!

My first post, wahey! I am wondering if you could help me with expanding my jazz library. I'm not entirely new to jazz, since I have a great liking for the following albums:

• James Farm - James Farm
• Aaron Parks - Invisible Cinema
• Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band - Season of Changes

That's... Three albums. There are a few songs I particulary like on these albums, being Chronos (James Farm), Peaceful Warrior (Invisible Cinema) and Season of Changes (Season of Changes). The other songs on each album are great too, but these songs stand out from the others in my opinion. They are exactly what I'm looking for in jazz.

Perhaps you could help me? I'm not sure where to look next. I am searching for 'adventurous' jazz, preferably extended in length. The songs I mentioned earlier are adventurous to me, but I think that word has a different meaning to everyone when it comes to music. Since I'm a drummer myself, it's safe to say I enjoy phenomenal drumming on jazz records (think Eric Harland, think Brian Blade).

Hope you can help me with this! Glad to be here, by the way!

[Alypius]

Rino, Welcome to the board. The three records you list are favorites of mine as well. First, let me suggest some recent works along similar lines:

(1) Ben Allison, Little Things Run the World (Palmetto, 2008) (Try track #5: "Roll Credits")
(2) Brad Mehldau, Ode (Nonesuch, 2012) (Try track #3: "26").
(3) Pat Metheny / Brad Mehldau, Quartet (Nonesuch, 2007) (Try track #1: "A Night Away")
(4) Diego Barber, Calima (Sunnyside, 2009) (Try track #3: "Desierto")
(5) Federico Casagrande, The Ancient Battle of the Invisible (CamJazz, 2012) (Try track #1: "7 Roses")
(6) Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth, Deluxe (2010) (Try track #5: "The Clutch").

You mentioned two great drummers, Brian Blade and Eric Harland. I think you'll like drummer Jeff Ballard, who appears on both of the Mehldau recommendations as well as on the Diego Barber. If you want to explore contemporary jazz, you might look at the playlists that I've posted over on the "Playlists for Newcomers" thread:
http://forums.allaboutjazz.com/showthread.php?t=43449
You'll see that I have various Artist Playlists, including one of Brian Blade:
http://forums.allaboutjazz.com/showt...t=43449&page=6

I hope you will post your reaction to any of these. All the best.

[rinoRotti]

Thank you so much, Alypius! Can't wait to hear those records!

[Jeff Smith]

Sounds like you may as well check out the Pat Metheny Group catalog, so you can get past it sooner than later. It's inevitable.

[rinoRotti]

Should've mentioned that Still Life (Talking) is one of my favourites too. Last Train Home and Minuano (Six Eight) are great, great tracks! But thanks, I'll definately check Metheny out some more.

[xybert]

Hi rinoRotti, welcome to the board!

Check out the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96eiPEHAD3I

[1/2 Baked, Not Fried]

A couple off the top that might fit the vibe you're after:

Chad McCullough & Bram Weijters – Imaginary Sketches – Track 1 (Imaginary Folksong)

Lake Superior – Tunnel Six – Track 1 (Tunnel Mountain), Track 3 (Lake Superior)

Matt Jorsensen – Tattooed By Passion – Track 3 (Colorado)

I'm sure there are many others. If I get time, I'll scan the rack and see if anything else comes to mind.

Welcome to jazz.

[rinoRotti]

Originally Posted by xybert

Hi rinoRotti, welcome to the board!

Check out the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96eiPEHAD3I

Sounds great, xybert. Thanks for recommending!

Originally Posted by 1/2 Baked, Not Fried

A couple off the top that might fit the vibe you're after:

Chad McCullough & Bram Weijters – Imaginary Sketches – Track 1 (Imaginary Folksong)

Lake Superior – Tunnel Six – Track 1 (Tunnel Mountain), Track 3 (Lake Superior)

Matt Jorsensen – Tattooed By Passion – Track 3 (Colorado)

I'm sure there are many others. If I get time, I'll scan the rack and see if anything else comes to mind.

Welcome to jazz.

Added them to my shopping list, thanks! All these replies are surely a warm welcome to jazz. Can't wait to hear the records you all recommended!

[1/2 Baked, Not Fried]

Rino - thanks for the reply. Please do us a favor, and check back in to let us know how things are going. A lot of times, people pop into the forums and ask a question or two, never to be heard from again. I think it deters some here from chiming in sometimes, including me. Anyway, I hope your venture into jazz proves as worthwhile for you as it did for me, and look forward to hearing more from you down the road. Best regards,

PS - Alypius' recommendations are excellent!

[djangoblackbird]

Originally Posted by rinoRotti

Hello all!

My first post, wahey! I am wondering if you could help me with expanding my jazz library. I'm not entirely new to jazz, since I have a great liking for the following albums:

• James Farm - James Farm
• Aaron Parks - Invisible Cinema
• Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band - Season of Changes

That's... Three albums. There are a few songs I particulary like on these albums, being Chronos (James Farm), Peaceful Warrior (Invisible Cinema) and Season of Changes (Season of Changes). The other songs on each album are great too, but these songs stand out from the others in my opinion. They are exactly what I'm looking for in jazz.

Perhaps you could help me? I'm not sure where to look next. I am searching for 'adventurous' jazz, preferably extended in length. The songs I mentioned earlier are adventurous to me, but I think that word has a different meaning to everyone when it comes to music. Since I'm a drummer myself, it's safe to say I enjoy phenomenal drumming on jazz records (think Eric Harland, think Brian Blade).

Hope you can help me with this! Glad to be here, by the way!

All the recent comments have been spot on.

I'd add:

Kurt Rosenwinkel (particularly "Deep Song" and "The Next Step")
The Claudia Quintet (anything)
Fly Trio (anything)
Kneebody ("Self-titled aka Break Me" "Low Electrical Worker" and I'm sure "You Can Have Your Moment" is great, I just don't own it)
Miles Okazaki (three albums under his name)
Ralph Alessi
Drew Gress
Vijay Iyer (the trio records in particular)
Dave Binney ("Graylen Epicenter" particularly, based on your previous listening)

[rinoRotti]

Originally Posted by 1/2 Baked, Not Fried

Rino - thanks for the reply. Please do us a favor, and check back in to let us know how things are going. A lot of times, people pop into the forums and ask a question or two, never to be heard from again. I think it deters some here from chiming in sometimes, including me. Anyway, I hope your venture into jazz proves as worthwhile for you as it did for me, and look forward to hearing more from you down the road. Best regards,

PS - Alypius' recommendations are excellent!

I will! In fact, I've finished listening to three of Alypius' recommendations: Ode by Brad Mehldau Trio, Little Things Run the World by Ben Allison and Calima by Diego Barber.

What can I say? Mind blowing! Loved each and every one of them! I'll need a few more listens to decide which one I like most (which seems like an impossible choice because they're all great), but especially Little Things Run the World put a big smile on my face!

I need some more time to let these records 'sink in', but they made my week.

Originally Posted by djangoblackbird

All the recent comments have been spot on.

I'd add:

Kurt Rosenwinkel (particularly "Deep Song" and "The Next Step")
The Claudia Quintet (anything)
Fly Trio (anything)
Kneebody ("Self-titled aka Break Me" "Low Electrical Worker" and I'm sure "You Can Have Your Moment" is great, I just don't own it)
Miles Okazaki (three albums under his name)
Ralph Alessi
Drew Gress
Vijay Iyer (the trio records in particular)
Dave Binney ("Graylen Epicenter" particularly, based on your previous listening)

Awh yeah. The list is getting bigger and bigger. I'll definately give each artist a try, I just don't want to rush it, hah!

You guys are great.

[Alypius]

Originally Posted by rinoRotti

I will! In fact, I've finished listening to three of Alypius' recommendations: Ode by Brad Mehldau Trio, Little Things Run the World by Ben Allison and Calima by Diego Barber.

What can I say? Mind blowing! Loved each and every one of them! I'll need a few more listens to decide which one I like most (which seems like an impossible choice because they're all great), but especially Little Things Run the World put a big smile on my face!

rino, Glad to hear that you're enjoying those. 1/2 Baked recommended Matt Jorgensen's Tattooed by Passion. Given that you're a drummer, you should especially check that one out. My only ever-so-slight disagreement with 1/2 Baked is the track he recommended. Track #3 is really gorgeous, but if you check out tracks #1 ("Space, Plane and Line") and #2 ("Tattooed by Passion") you'll hear his skills as a drummer.

Let me also second 1/2 Baked's recommendation of Tunnel Six's Lake Superior. The CD is hard to find, but the download is readily available.

djangoblackbird recommended Kurt Rosenwinkel. I presume that you discovered that Rosenwinkel is the guitarist on Brian Blade's Season of Changes. That's one of the tricks, by the way: Follow the sidemen of the records you enjoy. Let me second Django's recommendation of Rosenwinkel's Next Step; track #6 ("Use of Light") is a masterpiece. Rosenwinkel's The Remedy: Live at the Village Vanguard is also excellent. He has a brand new record, Star of Jupiter that came out just the other day. I have it on order and will report once it arrives. The clips sound great.

Another recommendation: John Zorn's group Bar Kokhba. Zorn doesn't actually play, but is the composer and producer. Check out their drummer Joey Baron and guitarist Marc Ribot. Start with their Lucifer: Book of Angels, Vol. 10 (Tzadik, 2008). Here's a YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBSS7XIaxWA
Here's another from them: "Geruvah" from their record The Circle Maker (Tzadik, 1999):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajl28OdWqtc

Since you're a drummer, let me recommend you getting to know the work of Hamid Drake. To my ear, he's the finest drummer working in jazz today (though Eric Harland is very, very close second). Drake's usual partner-in-crime is the great bassist William Parker. They once made--get this--a drum-and-bass duo record Piercing the Veil. The difficulty is that the two of them work mainly in pretty wild avant-garde settings. Here's a couple of YouTube examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7iIXoDUczk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfIzB...ture=endscreen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS1AyrKQWeY
Worth exploring even if it's not exactly your taste.

[rinoRotti]

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to give me those personalized recommendations, Alypius. I'm going on a four-day trip tomorrow, so I'll have more than enough jazz to check out on the road. Thanks!