Don Byas!!!
Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges duo albums are great as well.

Question: are we to stick around sax players exclusively or does O. Peterson and others qualify?

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I'm partial to the saxophone. But, when paired with a piano (e.g., Oscar Peterson, Eddie Higgins), I have no objections.

quote:

Originally posted by mr kablammo:
In a league of its own, Vince Guaraldi 's Charlie Brown Christmas. His other releases are listenable.

In my opinion, better than "listenable". LOL. I'm a huge Vince Guaraldi fan and have several of his albums (both Peanuts and non-Peanuts related). One of my all-time favorite jazz pianists. His Latin Jazz stuff is outstanding.

Thanks guys! Appreciate the suggestions. I'm making a list.

I'm partial to sax that can accompanied by piano and/or bass.

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
Don Byas!!!
Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges duo albums are great as well.

Question: are we to stick around sax players exclusively or does O. Peterson and others qualify?

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Oscar Peterson is the king. My favorite jazz artist regarldless of style or instrument.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:

Oscar Peterson is the king. My favorite jazz artist regarldless of style or instrument.

He is the best.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I'm partial to sax that can accompanied by piano and/or bass.

If "cool jazz" is something you can enjoy, if you are not familiar with this album, it is mandatory listening. IMO, the best jazz album ever created, bar none, I listen to it easily at least once a month in its entirety. Not only do you have Cannonball Adderly and John Coltrane on saxophones, but Bill Evans on piano. Along with Miles Davis, these guys in his band were giants in jazz. Kind of Blue is one of my Top 5 desert island albums.



Another cool jazz giant not mentioned in this thread is Dave Brubeck. You might have heard this-

Thanks! I have various Coltrane and Miles Davis CD's, including KoB. I bought them when I first started to get into jazz and they were recommended as must listen.

They are good but just not the style I prefer, especially Monk and Coltrane. Davis is easier to listen to.

Maybe I should listen to KoB again. I've just found that I really enjoy Getz and Pepper and similar. But I such a novice that I can't even explain why.

Two favorites of mine:

John Coltrane Blue Train
Cannonbal Adderley Somethin Else
Both are must haves.

My entry point to Jazz was Oscar Peterson. I knew nothing about jazz and wasn’t particularly fond of piano but i rented 10 Oscar Peterson albums at the same time and listened to them over a fortnight back then in my student days. After that i was hooked.

I am particularly focused on sax players and that period too, konata. Not an expert but close to a collector. Prefer small groups, usually a trio plus a guest sax player.

Nowadays i enjoy duos. Piano and…. Cool, bluesy, quiet and over relaxed.
Archie Shepp hasn’t been mentioned yet. Listen to Going Home and Trouble in Mind. Both are piano /sax duos with Horace Parlan.


My CD are all stashed away and without them i am a bit lost.

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Trane went though different phases. Bop, Hard Bop, Modal, Free, and a few more. He was always changing, just like most jazz musicians.

You should also try Chet Baker (trumpet and singer).

Remember during the early days of CDs, all releases were limited in numbers as they had to make the new stuff and the old catalogs as fast as they could to promote the sell of players.
As a result, plenty of albums were released in small numbers and then never reissued.
I saw Line for Lyons, a live album with Stan Getz and Chet Baker so many times i was disgusted, then it disappeared and could never find it again until not to long ago.

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Con Fusion...

Spreading your wings a little further, give Keith Jarrett`s My Song album a shot. The title song is as beautiful as it gets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KmxG-WXiIE

His "classic" jazz albums are excellent. Same warning as with Sadao Watanabe, Jarrett plays different kinds of music (jazz, fusion, electronic) and has time periods as well. With his Jazz trio you`ll do fine.

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There are some good generic background jazz sites on YT.

Relaxing Coffee Jazz is one.

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
You should also try Chet Baker (trumpet and singer).

I'm partial to the sax, but definitely make an exception for Chet Baker. Thumbs way up.

Top of my head, some sax players i haven’t seen mentioned and that you might want to check:

jackie mclean
joe lovano
johny hodges
lester young
lee konitz
paul desmond
zoot sims

will cast another vote for Coleman Hawkins and Don Byas in case you missed them.

Come to think of it, you will enjoy these movies too: 1) Bird -1988- and 2) Round Midnight -1986- and if you want an extraordinary jazz score besides these two, watch Midnight at the Garden of Good and Evil -1997-(also directed by Clint Eastwood, a very very serious jazz lover). Eastwood movie scores are serious stuff. Well worth your time.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0094747/

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0090557/

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0119668/


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Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond were both referenced in my post above. Two links were provided to Paul Desmond material. Desmond was terminally ill and may have expedited his demise with pills. He had no children and named the Red Cross as the beneficiary of his royalties. It estimated that Take Five and other pieces have benefited the RC to the tune of Five Million dollars.

Looking abroad, Masayoshi Takanaka is a Japanese guitar hero. He even had a surfboard guitar custom made. His favored style of play is called 'beach jazz'. Here is an introduction to him, acoustic guitar featured. Mellow and fun.

The Moon Rose.

https://youtu.be/oTRneedbtjg?si=-sLSCE3F9A_DACu5

Recently discovered this artist/album that you might like. A trumpetist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zg8z2mEALY

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Thanks guys! Adding to the list of artists to check out.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Thanks guys! Adding to the list of artists to check out.

Ditto.

Thanks Nicky for loading up my Spotify queue with new stuff to listen to!