(Part 2) Best products from r/Jazz

Good answer! The Jazz Record Mart is a great resource - home also to Delmark records, with a rich catalog of Jazz & Blues.

Chicago is also important in the development of Free Jazz in the '60's and '70s', with the AACM including a wealth of influential figures like the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, Muhal Richard Abrams and many more. They remain active, staging events like their Chicago Jazz Fest after-parties - often the highlight of proceedings. For the whole story check George Lewis' book - A Power Stronger Than Itself.

In the '90's and '00's another wave of free music activity began, focused on the efforts of reed players Fred Anderson, Ken Vandermark and critic John Corbett, and Bruno Johnson's Okka Disk label. Another group of Free Jazz and free improv players emerged, often collaborating with an influx of visiting luminaries - see Peter Brotzmann's Chicago Tentet, for example. You can follow the continued activity of this community at Umbrella Music. Also, watch for shows at Elastic Arts in Logan Square, and Constellation (including this year's Chicago Jazz after-fest 8/29-30).

Chicago Jazz Festival 2014 has a pretty good line-up, too - showing some renewed vitality after its move to Millenium Park. Also watch for next year's Hyde Park Jazz Festival and the year-long AACM celebrations of their 50th anniversary.

This song is fucking dope, one of the greatest jazz songs ever. The collective improvisation sounds tight as hell while at the same time wild and loose (which Thomas Brothers refers to as the "fixed and variable" model).

Oliver's solo is incredible, in the New Orleans wah-wah "freak" style which he was a master of. Even Louis Armstrong never learned to play that way. Unfortunately it's one of only a couple songs where we hear Oliver clearly.

There's a good case to be made that King Oliver's recordings are better than Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Sevens --- first and foremost, this was Oliver's working band that played together every night, whereas the Hot Fives and Sevens almost never played live together and were just thrown together for recordings without much if any rehearsal.

[I posted this song a year ago] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Jazz/comments/3jw1g8/moldy_figs_1920s_jazz_listening_club_king_oliver/?st=iyb5ds16&sh=7dd6dce6) in an attempt to start a 1920s jazz listening club and got all of one upvote, so I gave up. This sub doesn't give a shit about the original jazz.

Here were my comments:

King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band - ["Dipper Mouth Blues" (1923)] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwpriGltf9g)

You can get a remastered version on [The Complete Set] (http://www.amazon.com/Complete-King-Oliver%5CS-Creole-Jazz/dp/B000TPTLCY/ref=sr_1_1_twi_mus_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1441567458&sr=8-1&keywords=the+complete+set+king+oliver), which will sound a lot better than any youtube video.

Another great collection, though only available on CD (with great liner notes and pictures), is Off the Record: The Complete 1923 Jazz Band Recordings. (I recommend the first version, recorded 4-6-1923.)

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"Joseph Nathan Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 10, 1938) better known as King Oliver or Joe Oliver, was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of mutes in jazz. Also a notable composer, he wrote many tunes still played today including "Dippermouth Blues", "Sweet Like This", "Canal Street Blues", and "Doctor Jazz". He was the mentor and teacher of Louis Armstrong. His influence was such that Armstrong claimed, "if it had not been for Joe Oliver, Jazz would not be what it is today." " - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Oliver

By 1923, Oliver was already having problems with his teeth and gums, so he was past his prime. Some have argued that based on his recordings, we will never really know how good Oliver was (see Thomas Brothers' Louis Armstrong's New Orleans). However, this song probably stands as the finest recorded example of Oliver's soloing. (Another good examples is "King Porter Stomp".) Wikipedia states, "Oliver's plunger mute solo on first cornet became one of the most frequently-imitated solos of his generation." Oliver's muted wah-wah growls were hugely influential on Duke Ellington's first great soloist, Bubber Miley.

"Dipper Mouth" was one of Armstrong's nicknames, due to his large mouth. ("Satchmo" is also a reference to his large mouth, shortened from Satchel Mouth.)

"Dipper Mouth Blues" was later recorded as "Sugarfoot Stomp" by both [Louis Armstrong (with Fletcher Henderson, 1925)] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjEiyhESlh4) and [King Oliver (1926)] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKkgmzDTreE), among others.

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Composed by King Oliver & Louis Armstrong. Personnel:

• Joe "King" Oliver - Cornet (muted solo)
  
  
• Louis Armstrong - Second Cornet
  
  
• Honore Dutrey - Trombone
  
  
• Johnny Dodds - Clarinet
  
  
• Lil Hardin - Piano
  
  
• Bill Johnson - Banjo
  
  
• Baby Dodds - Drums
  
  Here's a [picture of the band] (http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/29/123929-004-3DC207E7.jpg).
  

I love Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas and Louis Armstrong & Friends' "What A Wonderful Christmas" album, which has his wonderful, happy-making "Christmas In New Orleans" on it. ETA: Also, if you like New Orleans style jazz, I recommend Irvin Mayfield's new Christmas album, which is pretty great.

seconding the miles bio. very entertaining.

ted gioia's history of jazz is very comprehensive, and probably "the standard history", but a bit boring (imho). i guess what i really want to read is a history of european jazz in the last 40 years, say, and that is perhaps half a chapter of that book (understandably...).

a better history, for me, was why jazz happened by marc myers. while gioia explains who learnt from whom, and how all the music inter-relates, myers focuses on the politics, sociology, technology, economics, etc., of the time(s), and how all that shaped the music (each chapter is a separate theme - for example, the availability of LPs was probably one chapter, another was the rise in popularity of rock music, if i remember correctly). i found that much more interesting - it really explained some of the broad changes while gioia felt a lot more like genealogy.

would love to hear other suggestions. those are the only "jazz only" books i've read. [though i think this has been asked before...]

Blues In Orbit is another Ellington band album that's great and completely different. The Far East suite is also very cool..

"Monk on Monk" by T.S. Monk is pretty great too, one of the best big band albums to come out in the last 10 years.

You'll find that it's hard to find stuff like TANK! that's not too shrill or repetitive. These recommendations will have a different color but you'll really enjoy them if you give them a chance.

Oh, and a more specific extrapolation on someone's recommendation below:
Mingus Ah Um, a smaller ensemble than the Seatbelts but no less kick-ass.

And for raw kick-ass you gotta check out Free For All by Art Blakey and co.

Oh shoot and don't forget this Oliver Nelson classic, "Blues and the Abstract Truth". <3 Hoe Down's bridge. Pretty cool ensemble writing!

Ok, I'll stop now. It's notable that all the guys I mentioned have 5-50 more albums which sound completely different, and each song on each album is very different! Imagine, music before pop...

Lots of good info already in this thread but came here to say this. Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony by Bert Ligon is worth checking out. He lays a good framework for a harmomically specific approach to improvisation. Tons of examples from many different jazz players are used to demonstrate his ideas. If anything, its full of tasty licks but there's a good method approach to be had as well.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0793561930/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1324440326&sr=8-1

Mingus Ah Um has always been one of my favorites. Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane is a good album too. If you are looking for some amazing vocals check out some Nina Simone.

a power stronger than itself is a history of the association for the advancement of creative musicians. it's well-written, politically aware without baraka's stridentness, and quite possibly the first you'll have heard about most of these fantastic musicians.

interesting. I recently put together an huge list of Jazz books oriented towards non-musicians. After putting together the list I organized it into courses like a university might. I called it my "Masters Degree in Jazz Studies for Non-Musicians." The first two courses I think would be perfect for you.

<br /> <br /> **Course 1: Jazz Appreciation**<br /> This course is meant to give you a solid grounding in how to listen to jazz music without delving too deeply in music theory or requiring the student to be a musician. It is also meant to expose you to the core body of work of jazz. <br /> <br /> [Enjoying Jazz - Henry Martin](http://www.amazon.com/Enjoying-Schirmer-Books-Henry-Martin/dp/0028731301/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8)<br /> <br /> [How To Listen To Jazz - Jerry Coker](http://www.amazon.com/How-Listen-Jazz-Jerry-Coker/dp/1562240005/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1420760894&amp;amp;sr=1-9)<br /> <br /> [Jazz Standards - Ted Gioia](http://www.amazon.com/The-Jazz-Standards-Guide-Repertoire/dp/0199937397/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;refRID=0DX94W5SY4BM04GD6W5J)<br /> <br /> <br />

Course 2: Jazz History 101
This is a basic course in jazz history. it is not meant to be an in depth coverage of every style. It is meant to give the student a broad overview of the general progression of jazz from it's inception into the modern era. Other courses in the program go much further in depth into specific styles and the major players of those styles.

Ken Burns Jazz

Jazz 101 - John F Szwed

History of Jazz - Ted Gioia

Visions of Jazz - Gary Giddins

`

so far the program I developed has 10 courses. If anyone is interested I could share the content of the other courses. and I am considering developing a syllabus for each course and possibly even more courses, but the time and effort needed to complete the 10 courses would already be more than the effort I put in to obtaining an actual master's degree from a university so I'm not sure how much more effort I would want to put into this right now.

It's hard to say what he might or might not have. Ideas:

http://www.amazon.com/imagined-savior-far-easier-paint/dp/B00HGFIMK2

This is a jazz album that just came out this year and is pretty critically acclaimed. It's recent, so he might not have it.

http://www.amazon.com/Miles-Davis/dp/1451643187/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1419120324&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Miles+Davis+autobiography

This is one of the best jazz musician autobiographies I've read. There's a chance that the guy might have read it already, though.

Thank you all for the DMs and message here, I finally found it! For those who were curious :) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000027DWG/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

His first album is pretty hard to come by even in this digital age. But Amazon has it for 21. Yeah it seems kinda high but its the kinda album that you have to sit down and listen to from start to finish. Here is a Amazon history of price.Oh and his new works are easier to find.

All my favorites have already been mentioned (want to note that I've recently been digging into a lot of Ahmad Jamal...), but one guy I love listening to is Joe Burton (sometimes The Joe Burton Trio). Hard to find his work; there are a few at Amazon on CD, though.

Since you mentioned that you're interested in theory, these two should be highly rewarding:

Early Jazz - Gunther Schuller

Something to Live For: The Music of Billy Strayhorn - Walter van de Leur

These books are (left to right):

Notes And Tones: Musician to Musician Interviews (Arthur Taylor): http://www.amazon.com/Notes-Tones-Musician---Musician-Interviews/dp/030680526X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419879383&sr=8-1&keywords=notes+and+tones

The Jazz Standards: A Guide To The Repertoire (Ted Gioia): http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Standards-Guide-Repertoire/dp/0199937397/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419879452&sr=8-1&keywords=the+jazz+standards

DownBeat - The Great Jazz Interviews (a 75th Anniversary Anthology) (Frank Alkyer): http://www.amazon.com/DownBeat-Great-Interviews-Anniversary-Anthology/dp/1423463846/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419879539&sr=8-1&keywords=the+great+jazz+interviews

The History Of Jazz (Ted Gioia): http://www.amazon.com/History-Jazz-Ted-Gioia/dp/0195399706/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419879629&sr=8-1&keywords=the+history+of+jazz+ted+gioia

Ella at Christmas is amazing. My go-to. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ella-Wishes-You-Swinging-Christmas/dp/B00006WL1Q

try this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Standards-Guide-Repertoire/dp/0199937397