Oldies But Goodies: The Best Jazz Music

Looking for some good jazz music to listen to? Check out our list of the best jazz albums of all time! From Miles Davis to John Coltrane, these are the classics that any true jazz fan needs to have in their collection.

Introduction

Jazz is a genre of music that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States. It originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in blues and ragtime. Jazz is seen by many as “America’s classical music”. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, jazz has become recognized as a major form of musical expression. It then emerged in the form of independent traditional and popular musical styles, all linked by the common bonds of African-American and European-American musical parentage with a performance orientation. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and in African-American music traditions including blues and ragtime.

The Best Jazz of the 1920s

The 1920s was the decade when jazz really took off. Jazz bands started to become popular in society, and people all over the world were dancing to the new sound. Some of the best jazz musicians of all time emerged in this decade, including Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. If you’re a fan of jazz, then you need to check out the best jazz music of the 1920s.

Louis Armstrong

Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father, William Armstrong, abandoned the family when Armstrong was an infant. His mother, Mary “Mayann” Armstrong, then took up with a string of men before settling on family friend Joseph Davis. Davis eventually adopted young Louis, and although Davis was not involved in the music scene of New Orleans, he did instill in his adoptive son a love of music and especially the new sound of jazz that was being created by such local legends as Sidney Bechet and King Oliver.

Duke Ellington

One of the most prolific and influential figures in Jazz history, Duke Ellington’s career spanned over 50 years. He wrote over 1,000 songs, including hits like “Sophisticated Lady” and “Mood Indigo.” He also helped to shape the sound of Big Band Jazz, and his band was one of the most popular in the country during the 1920s.

Jelly Roll Morton

Jelly Roll Morton was one of the first important composers and bandleaders in jazz. His period of peak creative activity fell between 1924 and 1928, when he wrote and recorded many of his best-known pieces, including “King Porter Stomp,” “Black Bottom Stomp,” and “West End Blues.” Morton was also a highly skilled piano performer, and his records are full of his inventive piano playing. He became less active as a musician in the 1930s, but he continued to be an influential figure in the development of jazz; his work was an important influence on performers as diverse as Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.

The Best Jazz of the 1930s

The 1930s was a decade of great experimentation in the world of jazz. Musicians were influenced by everything from the blues to Latin American music. This decade saw the rise of some of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. Let’s take a look at some of the best jazz music of the 1930s.

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was one of the most important and influential jazz vocalists of all time. She had a unique style that combined elements of blues, swing, and torch songs. Her voice was emotionally expressive and she was known for her ability to convey the feeling of a song with her delivery.

Holiday began her career singing in nightclubs in New York City. She rose to prominence in the 1930s with recordings for Commodore and Columbia Records. Her hits from this period include “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” and “Strange Fruit.” In the 1940s, she recorded for Decca Records and collaborated with legendary jazz musicians such as Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and Ben Webster. Holiday’s later years were marked by personal difficulties and her health began to decline. She died at the age of 44.

Coleman Hawkins

Coleman Hawkins was one of the first instrumentalists of the jazz age to gain widespread recognition. His tenor saxophone style was fluid, authoritative, and innovative, and he played an integral role in the development of jazz over the course of his long career.

Hawkins was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, in 1904. He began playing piano at an early age but switched to saxophone when he was 11. He soon developed a strong interest in music and began playing professionally while still in his teens. In 1924, he moved to New York City, where he quickly became a fixture on the city’s vibrant jazz scene.

Hawkins made his first recordings with Fats Waller in 1929 and rose to prominence in the early 1930s with a series of influential recordings for the Bluebird label. He also recorded extensively as a sideman with other leading jazz musicians of the era, including Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington.

In 1939, Hawkins recorded “Body and Soul,” a ballad that became one of the most enduring standards of the jazz repertoire. He continued to perform and record throughout his life and remained active until shortly before his death in1969.

Benny Goodman

Benny Goodman (born Benjamin David Goodman, May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader known as the “King of Swing”. In the mid-1930s, Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America. His concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City on January 16, 1938 is described by critic Bruce Eder as “the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history: jazz’s ‘coming out’ party to the world of ‘respectable’ music.”

Goodman’s bands launched the careers of many major jazz artists. During an era of racial segregation he also hired African-American musicians and backed their recordings under his own name. He is remembered as an early advocate for racial equality in the music industry. Goodman continued to perform successfully into the 1980s, but experienced a flurry of activity during World War II, dying suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 77.

The Best Jazz of the 1940s

Jazz music originated in the early 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. The 1940s was the decade that saw the birth of bebop, which was a style of jazz characterized by fast tempos, complex chord progressions, and improvisation. If you’re a fan of jazz, then you’ll love these oldies but goodies from the 1940s.

Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker was one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 1940s. He was a master of bebop, a style of jazz that emphasized complex improvisation and fast tempos. Parker’s innovative approach to music changed the course of jazz and had a profound impact on all forms of popular music. He is widely considered one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time.

Dizzy Gillespie

One of the most influential figures in the development of bebop, Dizzy Gillespie was a superb trumpeter whose style contained elements of Tyree Glenn and Roy Eldridge but who nevertheless was quite individual and soon forged his own sound. He also played an important part in the development of Afro-Cuban jazz. Gillespie was born in Cheraw, SC, on October 21, 1917; his original name was John Birks Gillespie. In 1930 he began playing alto saxophone in local bands before switching to trumpet the following year; he quickly mastered that instrument as well.

Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Monk was one of the best-known exponents of Thelonious Monk was one of the best-known exponents of bebop. He had a unique approach to melody and rhythm, and he was known for his innovative use of dissonance and irregular phrasing. His best-known compositions include “Round Midnight,” “Blue Monk,” and “Straight, No Chaser.”

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed our list of the best jazz songs! Jazz is a truly unique and special genre of music, and we feel lucky to have been able to share some of our favorite tracks with you. If you’re ever feeling in the mood for some toe-tapping and soulful tunes, we hope you’ll give this list a listen.