aidanhallbass Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 After doing my grade 8 I now want to get myself grounded in jazz and jazz improv techniques. I'll be honest I haven't any albums in that field to listen to other than jaco pastorious. Can anyone reccommend some jazz tracks to listen to ? I'm wanting to put together a playlist that will inspire me and learn from it. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Starter Pack!! Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue Oliver Nelson – Blues and the Abstract Truth Charles Mingus – Ah Um Joe Henderson – So Near, So Far Bill Evans – Sunday Night at The Village Vanguard Dave Brubeck – Take Five Duke Ellington – Such Sweet Thunder Wynton Marsalis – Standard Time Vol. 1 John Coltrane – Blue Train/Giant Steps/A Love Supreme Count Basie – The Atomic Mr. Basie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burg Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 You could start by learning the standards. [url="http://www.jazzstandards.com"]www.jazzstandards.com[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 You could spend the rest of your life learning them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Try the Methany Meldau Quartet. I'm not a huge jazz fan but I found MMQ intuitive to listen to and introduced me to loads of musicians I wouldn't have heard of before. I'm not a huge fan of brass and the keys and guitar suited my listening tastes more than brass-led jazz does. Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidanhallbass Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm looking forward to getting into this ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Any album with Oscar Peterson (piano) and Ray Brown (bass). Sublime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidanhallbass Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Got all those on a spotify playlist now .. Better get working on those walking bass lines .. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmo Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 You could try Nina Simone, Nat King Cole. Ray Charles has a jazzy, blues vibe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyd Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 If you want some great versions of jazz standards then I'd recommend the Miles Davis Prestige albums - Cookin', Relaxin', Workin' and Steamin'. They're really well recorded and Paul Chambers' bass playing is very clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I would recommend this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Miles-Davis-Classic-Albums-Audio/dp/B004UVCOZ4/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1420647089&sr=1-1&keywords=miles+davis+20+cd++box+set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basstorius Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Starter set list! (Cf. Bilbo, above) Straight No Chaser Giant Steps Donna Lee Spain Impressions Blue Bossa Wave The Chicken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 [quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1420556244' post='2650585'] Any album with Oscar Peterson (piano) and Ray Brown (bass). Sublime. [/quote] Oh yes! And the Ray Brown Trio too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natjag Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I go to a local Jazz Jam. I make a note of the tracks they do, so I can go over them during the week. After a while the same tracks keep coming up. As a result I've got the standards, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Early Ray Charles, Count Basie (mentioned above), John Coltrane and Charlie Parker, Charlie Mingus (Mentioned above) collections. More to be added. Like you I've only just started getting into Jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 It's a big topic and you need to break it into manageable chunks. The funnest way (and also will really help with repertoire) is to apply all your practising to tunes. Take a tune you like that is a relatively common jazz standard and shed over it. Things you could work on are: Learning the melody of that tune by ear Playing the associated chord (up to the 9th) for each chord symbol (try to learn the chords without any lead sheet, use your ears) Ditto with the scale Walking a line through the tune Learning (via transcription) licks over that tune So when you make a playlist it's great to have a few exemplars of playing you like on a particular tune, then add lots of transcribed material to your bag of tricks. It's really nice to transcribe the walking lines of different bass players - you need lots of ways to outline the harmony clearly with a walking line. You'll find work you do on one tune translates really well into others, as there's a lot overlap in the types of chord progressions that come up. Ideally you want to have harmony in your ears and hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jaywalker Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Whilst I don't disagree with the above suggested listening by any manner of means; it's important to remember that the bass didn't really develop fully until good quality steel strings and amplification came along. The evolution of sound and technique since the early 1960's in both the Jazz and Classical worlds has been exponential. Check out players who have emerged since then: Gary Peacock, Eddie Gomez, Marc Johnson, Dave Holland for example. Also, Peter Washington is a great contemporary example of the Paul Chambers vibe, same as Chris McBride is to the Ray Brown stuff. We also have an amazing bass tradition in Europe - Niels-Henning Orsted-Pedersen, Arild Andersen, Palle Danielleson, Miroslav Vitous, Anders Jormin, Mads Vinding etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 This list of great players is endless but, if you want to understand Jazz, I seriously recommend you got back to the giants. Sart with Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Doug Watkins, Scott LaFaro, Charlie Haden, Ron Carter etc and, when you move on to the cats Jaywalker is talking about (who are all monsters and amoung my favourite players). it will make more sense. I think if you start with Gary Peacock, you may struggle with the kinds of gigs you are most likely to start with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jaywalker Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Agreed...but, there's little point in saying leave modern bass playing that for later and concentrate on the 1950's until you find your feet. Chances of a beginner having a bass set high with guts and no amp are pretty slim; so from a sonic development point of view it makes more sense to be aware of a broader range of bassists than potentially trying to emulate the sound of Ray or Doug playing really hard on gut as they struggle to cut thru the band; all whilst playing on spiros and a decent action for example. Also, there's no reason for someone not to start with Gary as an influence if they have access to good tuition material with regard to bass line construction etc etc. i started with Ron and the Bill Evans guys like Gary and Marc Johnson - never had any desire to sound like PC or Ray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I was assuming you were talking about beginners who were coming to Jazz fresh. I think that understanding the context of a walking bass line would be easier to explain/comprehend with RB and PC (who studied with RB) than, say, Marc Johnson with John Abercrombie or Dave Holland with Circle etc. I don't think that most beginners would be overly concerned with [i]sounding[/i] like PC, GP or anyone else for that matter let alone whether their strings were gut or otherwise. That would come later. For the first six months, they would be trying to get through a whole song without bleeding!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jaywalker Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Ha! Aye....them were the days 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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