Hi, I'm doing well thanks. I hope the same for you. The Ted Gioia book is good if you are new to jazz and is a solid introduction to the vast genre. If you are an avid listener Ted Gioia's The History of Jazz is more suited to the advanced listener. Also,here are some other excellent books on jazz you might check out - Dan Mortgensen's Living With Jazz, Nat Hentoff's The Jazz Life, James Kaplan's 3 Shades of Blue, Ashley Kahn's Kind of Blue - The Making of the Masterpiece, and for every serious jazz listener you must get a copy of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Seventh Edition. The book stopped being published several years ago shortly after Richard Cook died, but today it still stands as the greatest source of information on almost every Jazz Recording ever made pre-2000. Its 1,750 page long. Hope that helps and happy reading!

So true, so true. I am slightly jealous of you because I remember how exciting it was to hear some of the great jazz records for the first time and have my mind completely blown away. The discovery of so many hidden gems is the best part of the process. I hope your listening journey is amazing!

Hell yeah! Thanks. 😊 I think around 17-18 years old I started minimally to listen to some Jazz and start ti understand why my dad loved this old people music. I think it was Kind of Blue by Davis and such I started out with because the internet talks a lot about that record (and critics at large over decades). Then around when I was 19 or 20 went to see The Aristocrats and John McLaughlin uhm... Quintet? With my dad. Ever since I've been slowly getting into jazz. Around 22 it really started to click and I've been going to a fuckload of shows with him and Nica Jazz Club the new club that opened just under 2 years ago is now our most visited venue. And since recently turning 23 a few weeks later around the start of October Jazz/Funk have clicked as my favorite genres!!!

Thanks for stopping by. If you haven't heard them before, here are 3 great albums that are a good introduction to the world of jazz - Miles Davis - Kind of Blue, Thelonious Monk - Monk's Blue and Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um. Hope you find something you like and happy listening!

Great to see you listening to Keith, Duke, Mingus and Lester - I fear that one day there may be entire generations that never get the chance to hear their music because it will have disapeared from the digital world - but am hopeful that day never comes. "I cannot say what I think is right about music...I only know the rightness of it." -- Keith Jarrett.

Ah yes - the elusive shoo-doo-wop-skibbity-bee-bop-bop recordings - they are hard to find but when you do find them, they sure are fun. I think there are three that might be what you are looking for - Count Basie's album, "The Atomic Basie," is a whole lot of shoop-doo-wop with a healthy serving of skibbity-bee-bop. After Mr. Basie, you might check out Duke Ellington's masterpiece, "Blues in Orbit," followed by Dizzie Gillespie's 1964 classic, "Cool World," to close out the set. Now, I'm off to turn the lights on, on the dance floor and listen to some Basie myself. Hope the music gets the toes tapping, the knees slapping and the fingers snapping!

Yes. I recently read his autobiogray, "Straight Life," and have been spending a lot of time with his music recently. He really was the greatest alto-saxaphonist of the post Charlie Parker era (with a nod to Cannonball who I would place third.) The challenge I am having, is there is this recent flood of, "unreleased," recordings that are everywhere for Art Pepper and its challenging to find the albums that he actually released as albums but I am working my way through. I always prefer to go back to the music in the way in which it was originally released as opposed to compilations, box sets or volumes of, "unreleased," live recordings - but as they say, its not about the destination, its the journey that makes it worthwhile! And I am loving the Art Pepper journey!

Love this! Thank you for posting it! You’re awesome!

That's awesome! Enjoy the ride...its a whole lot of fun!

If you are looking for a book to accompany you on your journey, The Penguin Guide to Jazz - Seventh Edition (published 2004 - the one with Art Blakey on the cover) by Richard Cook and Brian Morton is the best there is. Its 1,725 pages long and is a gold mine of information and insight into the world of jazz recordings. Sadly, the annual guide stopped being published in 2009 shortly after Richard Cook's death in 2007, but I still refer to my copies weekly for the keen insights and history of the recordings and I am always finding something new to listen to.

Thanks! I will definitely check them out!

you ought to listen to john zorn‘s naked city😛

He's one of our greatest contemporary musical composers.

My go to has always been, Houston Person's, "To Etta with Love." The album is a love letter to Person's long-time musical partner, Etta Jones. Released shortly after her passing, Person plays his saxophone with his signature gorgeous tone and breathy attack, that has all the dusky ambience of the dimly-lit establishments Person and Jones spent a lifetime performing in. If you're looking for something piano-based, the best all time for me is Keith Jarrett's, "The Melody At Night With You." Recorded in December of 1997 as a Christmas present for his wife, Jarret had just had his Hamburg Steinway overhauled and wanted to try it out at his home studio. He clicked on the tape recorder and played for a few minutes and was amazed at how softly he could play. The end result was quite magnificent. The usual flourish associated with Jarrett, is not on this recording, the playing is earnest, passionate, focused and simple - as the musical language of love truly is, at its core.

And that my friend, is the secret sauce...

Thanks for stopping by! Great to see Bird and Cannonball in your library!

Thanks. You too! "As the painter needs his framework of parchment, the improvising musical group needs its framework in time." - Bill Evans

Here's a few I would suggest if you haven't heard them before - Introducing Paul Bley with Paul Bley, Art Blakey and Charles Mingus, Chick Corea - Tones for Joan's Bones, Freddie Hubbard - Breaking Point, Keith Jarrett - Facing You, Jackie McLean - Capuchin Swing, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Coobook, Vol. 2 - Hope you find something you haven't heard before and like!

thanks! I honestly don't remember what I listened to but I'll check them out :)

Happy New Year to you too! Great to see Charlie Parker in your scrobbles. Horace Silver once said, " You can sum up jazz history with four words: Louis Armstrong Charlie Parker." - Without Bird, we wouldn't have much of the music we have today.

I hope 2026 is a great year for you!

Thanks! And a very happy new year to you too! Hope you find lots of new music in 2026.

Thank you and the same to you! I hope 2026 is filled with lots of new musical discoveries!

And a very Merry Christmas to you and yours!

These aren't all ECM label artists, but you might enjoy them as they are similar to Tord - Esbjörn Svensson Trio, Bobo Stenson, Joe Lovano, Ketil Bjørnstad, Avishai Cohen, The Bad Plus, Bokani Dyer Trio, Gogo Penguin, Foehn Trio, Mammal hands, Omer klein, Vijay Iyer, Emil Brandqvist Trio, Manu Katche, Paul Motian. Hope that helps!

Guilherme - hope everything is good in Brasil - if you enjoy Bill Evans (he is one of the all time greats) here are some other pianists and albums you might enjoy: Keith Jarrett - The Melody At Night With You - also any of Keith Jarret's Trio albums - especially Standard in Norway and Still Live. You might also like - Charles Mingus - Mingus Play Piano, Thelonious Monk - Solo Monk and Thelonious Alone in San Francisco, Chick Corea - Triology 1, 2 and 3 with Brian Blade and Christian McBride, John Lewis, The John Lewis Piano, Sir Roland Hanna - Colors from a Giant's Kit, Paul Bley - Solo and Alone Again: Solo Piano, Barry Harris - Listen to Barry Harris...Solo Piano, Kenny Drew - Kenny Drew and His Progessive Piano, Kenny Barron with Charlie Haden - Night And the City, McCoy Tyner - Plays John Coltrane: Live at The Village Vanguard, Jan Johansson - Blues, Tord Gustavsen - Changing Places, Brad Mehldau - Songs: The Art of the Trio, Red Garland - Red Garland's Piano

I do. Music is going 24/7 in my home. For some, coffee is the best part of waking up. For me, its putting on another jazz record. Hope you find some music that continues to speak to you.

Such a great musician! RIP

Here's a few to check out - Paul Bley, Jaki Bird, Sir Roland Hanna, Gene Harris, Cedar Walton, Steve Kuhn, Andrew Hill, Roy Meriwether, Lennie Tristano, McCoy Tyner, Ahmad Jamal, Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) and Horace Tapscott - The Tapscott Sessions Vol 1 - 11. There's so many but hopefully there something interesting among them for you.

Thanks! Can't wait to dive in.

Nice! When Manfred Eicher started ECM in 1969, he not only created one of the greatest record labels of all time, he created a musical genre unlike any other. Happy listening my soon to be very highly compatable listener!

Keith Jarrett, The Koln Concert. Changed my life forever.

Here are some lesser known gems you might check out: Paul Bley - Introducing Paul Bley (Charles Mingus discovered Paul Bley at a jazz workshop in 1953 and convinced him to record. So impressed with his ability he was able to recruit Art Blakey to join him on the record) - Chick Corea - Tones for Jones Bones (Released in 1968, this is vintage Corea at his finest and the track Litha may be his best work) - Hank Crawford - More Sould (Crawford was the music director in Ray Charles' group and in 1961 he released his first album as band leader on saxaphone) - Jack DeJohnette - Jackie Board (Most people don't know drummer Jack Dejohnette started his career as a pianist and this EP is Jack at his finest) -additionally you may like, Johnny Griffin - Night Lady, Freddie Hubbard - Hub-Tones, Joe Gordon - Introducing Joe Gordon, Jackie McLean - Capuchin Swing, Stanley Turrentine - Joyride and everyone knows Miles, but not everyone knows his album Nefrtiti which is an absolute masterpiece.

Paul Winter and Carlos Lyra released in album in 1964 called "The Sound of Ipanema," that is also a jazz/bossa nova type album. Also, Ike Quebec's, "Bossa Nova Soul Samba," might fit what you're looking for. And if all else fails, Getz has another album with Charlie Bird that was released in 1962 called, "Desafinado," that is very similar. Hope that helps and happy listening!

"There are four qualities essential to a great jazzman. they are taste, courage, individuality, and irreverence. You can read all the textbooks and listen to all the records you want, but at the end of the day, you have to play with musicians that are better than you." - Stan Getz

Thanks!

Thanks - you too! Great to see Art Blakey in your recent plays!

I'm looking into Jazz and your profile will definitely guide me!

Thanks. Hope the jazz speaks to you!

Its the lineup from Kind of Blue - hands down, the greatest jazz group ever assembled - Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb. There will never be a more talented group of jazz musicians playing together ever again. In terms of his Quintets, I am partial to the First Great Quintet from 1955 - 1958 which featured John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and my man, Philly Joe Jones on drums - another remarkable Hall of Fame lineup. A lesser known group that Miles put together, but also one of my favorites, was the group he put together for Live Evil - Gary Bartz on saxaphone, John McLughlin on guitar, Michael Henderson on bass and two of my favorite players, Keith Jarrett on keys and Jack DeJohnette on drums round out the ensemble. Miles was a master at pairing the best with the best for the sound he was trying to achieve at that point in his career. What about you? What is your favorite Miles group?

For me its a tie between Cecil Taylor and Anthony Braxton - what about you?

valid picks. it's a tie for me as well between yosuke yamashita trio, charles tyler, and alan silva

Its not just you - its been a steady decline since the beginning of the year. Its a shame, because the music info on the site is fantastic - but I keep wondering if today will be the day we get the email that they are shutting down for good.

Thanks so much for stopping by - your charts reflect everything that is great about jazz and what it means to the world. Inspiring to see Chick Corea's Piano Improvisations in your recent listens - have you heard his duo piano improvisation album with legendary classical pianist Friedrich Gulda - it is quite the exercise in excellence. Solo piano improvsation is hard enough - but to attempt and succeed with four hands is remarkable and the end result doesn't disapoint. Hope the music is speaking to you today.

Thanks - here's another one for you, "“Monk was a gentle person, gentle and beautiful, but he was strong as an ox. And if I had ever said something about punching Monk out in front of his face – and I never did – then somebody should have just come and got me and taken me to the madhouse, because Monk could have just picked my little ass up and thrown me through a wall.” - Miles Davis on Thelonious Monk