The Best Jazz to Listen to for Music Lovers
Contents
Looking for some great jazz to listen to? Check out our list of the best jazz albums for music lovers. From classic bebop to modern jazz fusion, there’s something for everyone.
Best Jazz Albums
If you’re a fan of jazz music, you’re in for a treat. This genre of music is rich, soulful, and full of life. There’s a reason why it’s one of the most popular genres in the world. In this article, we’ll be discussing the best jazz albums for music lovers.
A Love Supreme- John Coltrane
A Love Supreme is a 1964 studio album by jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. It is generally considered to be one of the greatest and most influential jazz albums of all time. Recorded in one session on December 9, 1964, at Van Gelder Studios in New Jersey, the album was released by Impulse! Records in February 1965. A Love Supreme features Coltrane playing with his quartet featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones.
The album is broken into four parts: “Acknowledgement”, “Resolution”, “Pursuance”, and “Psalm”. Each part is composed as a suite that builds up from a simple motif stated at the beginning. For example, the opening motif of “Acknowledgement” is stated twice by Coltrane on saxophone before being taken up by Tyner’s piano, which then leads into a solo by Garrison. This opening of statement and restatement continues throughout each part, with each musician adding his own variations on the theme. The result is a deeply personal and spiritual work that showcases Coltrane’s incredible technical virtuosity as well as his ability to evoke emotion through his playing.
A Love Supreme was well-received upon its release and has since been regarded as one of the greatest jazz albums of all time. It has been cited as an influence by many musicians, including Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Wynton Marsalis. In 2000, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Blue Train- John Coltrane
Blue Train is a studio album by American jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1957 on Blue Note Records. It is considered one of the greatest jazz albums of all time.
The album features Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Kenny Drew on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The title track was inspired by the 1952 Miles Davis recording “Blue Moods”, which in turn was based on the song “Blue Moon”.
Coltrane’s improvisations on “Blue Train” are some of his most memorable, and the overall atmosphere of the album is blues-based hard bop. The opening track features a solo by each member of the band except for Chambers and Jones, while “Lazy Bird” and “Moment’s Notice” showcase Coltrane’s extemporaneous abilities.
Blue Train was well received by critics upon its release and has since been viewed as one of the finest examples of hard bop. In 1998, the album was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants
Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants is a studio album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1964 on Columbia Records. The album features Davis’s sextet, which at the time included pianist Herbie Hancock, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams. Loosely based on the concept of cool jazz, the album’s compositions are mostly standards written by jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Jimmy Heath. Sound engineer Frank Laico recorded the album at Columbia’s 30th Street Studio in New York City.
Personnel
Miles Davis – trumpet
Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
Herbie Hancock – piano
Ron Carter – double bass
Tony Williams – drums
Frank Laico – sound engineer
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane is a classic album that deserves a spot on any jazz lover’s list. The album features two of the greatest jazz musicians of all time collaborating on some of Monk’s most iconic compositions. The result is an album that is both technically masterful and emotionally resonant. If you’re looking for the best of what jazz has to offer, this is a great place to start.
Best Jazz Songs
When it comes to finding the best jazz to listen to, there are a few things you need to take into account. The genre of jazz can be very diverse, so you need to figure out what kind of jazz you like. Do you like Miles Davis or John Coltrane? Do you like bebop or swing? Once you figure out what kind of jazz you like, it will be easier to find the best jazz songs for you.
“So What” – Miles Davis
Miles Davis’ “So What” is a bracing, beautiful work of art that effortlessly combines elements of jazz, blues, and classical music into something altogether new and exciting. It’s one of the most influential pieces of music ever created, and it continues to inspire musicians and listeners alike.
“Take the ‘A’ Train” – Duke Ellington
“Take the ‘A’ Train” is a 1941 composition by Duke Ellington that rapidly became a Jazz standard and one of the most commonly played tunes of the Big Band era. The piece is included in the Smithsonian Institution’s collection of “Conflict and Hope: Songs of Civil War, Depression and World War.”
The tune was originally composed as an instrumental, but soon after, Ellington’s collaborator Billy Strayhorn wrote lyrics for it, which are now more commonly sung than the original melody. It is tradition for jazz performers to take a few liberties with the melody when improvisation.
The song is named for New York City’s A trains which run through Harlem where Ellington grew up. In fact, the opening bars quote from “Joy Spring” by Clifford Brown which has the same chord progression.
“All Blues” – Miles Davis
“All Blues” is a composition by Miles Davis first appearing on the 1959 album Kind of Blue. The piece is in the form of a twelve-bar blues and modal jazz composition and features collective improvised solos by Davis and his sidemen.
It has been described by music critic Ben Ratliff as “one of the most influential and frequently played pieces of music in jazz history”, while Miles Davis biographer Quincy Troupe calls it “the most beautiful melody ever created”. The composer Herbie Hancock views “All Blues” as a jumping off point for creative exploration, writing that it “‘allowed us to open up our imaginations'”.
“My Favorite Things” – John Coltrane
The 1961 version of “My Favorite Things” by John Coltrane is one of the best jazz songs of all time. It’s a beautiful, relaxing tune that is perfect for any occasion.
