Reddit mentions: The best traditional vocal pop music

I'm really not knowledgable in music, so I'm sure someone could give you a much better answer than I ever could, but I'll give it my best shot.

For Sinatra himself, the obvious thing would be to listen to a best of album to get started. An example would be the album titled "Sinatra: Best of the Best" or "Classic Sinatra". I don't think it's well known, but I like the album Watertown.

As far as the genre is concerned, I believe he is technically Jazz or Swing, but if you were looking for a CD at the store you would typically find him in the Easy Listening section. This is what it was at Best Buy.

And finally, you said you like Sinatra type music. This is where I will struggle to give good answers. Some different artists might be Louis Armstrong or Dean Martin. My personal favorite artist, who is inspired by Sinatra - both crooners, is Michael Bublé. If you don't know him, he's a more modern artist. Here is his cover of Sinatra's Come Dance With Me, and an Original song - Close Your Eyes. The majority of his songs are covers of older artists including Sinatra. Very talented. If you have money to blow I believe he is just starting a US tour. If you're still looking for the classic vibe, you're best bet of these three might be Dean Martin (Everybody Loves Somebody).

I hope I helped a little.

Edit: Links

Dude, start with some Louis Prima.

Jump, Jive An' Wail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4V8pbg3rNU

Angelina & Zoomba Zoomba: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIJzpdJIdmI

Just a Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody (medley): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDkLSjsiqlM

If you like Buble but want some more period-specific stuff, you can't go wrong with Bobby Darin. His album stuff is more standard, but live he is a total ham.

Mack the Knife (live 1970): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiGFZUnJgqU

Beyond the Sea (live): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzdpBNrVFpc

And if you want fast-paced vocals in this genre, you cannot go wrong with the best concert album ever, Sinatra at the Sands with Count Basie in 1966. Conducted by Quincy Jones. Buy it now and thank me later.

http://www.amazon.com/Sinatra-At-The-Sands-Frank/dp/B002N9MK8G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393818938&sr=8-1&keywords=sinatra+at+the+sands

The Rat Pack live at the Sands - there are a ton of jokes, it's as much a comedy album as a performance.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Rat-Pack-Live-Sands/dp/B00005RGHW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393818994&sr=8-1&keywords=rat+pack+live

The thing about these singers is that Sinatra always got first pick of the new songs and thus has the best catalog. So I don't really have any Dean Martin to recommend (Ain't That a Kick in the Head is great though). However there is one Sammy Davis Jr. album that really stands out, Live at the Cocoanut Grove. I had no idea it was this expensive until just now, but it's worth getting used. http://www.amazon.com/Cocoanut-Grove-Sammy-Jr-Davis/dp/B00005JGAL/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393819115&sr=8-1&keywords=sammy+davis+coconut+grove

Still looking for instrumentals? Check out Henry Mancini's Music from Peter Gunn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3srRS3RFu2A

If you like that, check out Stan Kenton's Minor Riff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM_Eyu_t-eM

What else - this is uncharacteristic for him, but check out George Michael doing Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? with Pavarotti and Friends: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_cZjgThPks

Happy hunting!

So many good pianists, where to begin? Have you checked out the Maybeck Recital series? The concert by Stanley Cowell is one of my favorite albums, Toshiko Akiyoshi really good as well..

Right now I'm listening a lot to Pastorale by Steve Kuhn, and a few albums by Enrico Pieranunzi (1685: Plays Bach, Handel and Scarlatti is superb. I'd say it's my favorite, but it is from 2011 so it hasn't yet stood the test of time. Trio: Dream Dance, Plays Morricone, Seaward and many more).. Eddie Higgins is good.. Ray Bryant's Somewhere in France is nice.. Fred Hersch plays Jobim is great. En Vivo piano solo by Ernán López-Nussa is also worth a listen.

Brad Mehldau as mentioned by someone else is of course the obvious recommendation for a modern jazz pianist, not obscure at all but brilliant. Live , Live in Marciac and Highway Rider would be my picks. One trio, one solo and one more ambitious undertaking (with his regular trio + Joshua Redman and a Chamber Orchestra)

| | |
|-:|:-|
|name|Spencer Day|
|about artist|Spencer Day, a uniquely American singer/songwriter, has been enjoying a remarkable musical career. The release of his much anticipated third CD, “Vagabond” is his most ambitious and accomplished musical endeavor to date. “Vagabond” spotlights his own distinctively expressive style of American contemporary music, a blend of jazz, pop, soul and folk. His smooth baritone voice interprets his original compositions with compassion and a touch of humor. “Vagabond” sets the tone for the 21st-century American Songbook. ([more on last.fm](http://www.last.fm/music/Spencer Day))|
|album|Vagabond, released Sep 2009|
|track|Till You Come to Me|
|images|album image, artist image|
|links|official homepage, myspace, track on amazon, album on amazon|
|tags|jazz, soul|
|similar|John Hicks, Eric Reed, Eugene Maslov, Chihiro Yamanaka, Red Garland Trio|
|metrics|lastfm listeners: 4,506, lastfm plays: 36,754, youtube plays: 11,049, radd.it score: 7.5|


Please downvote this comment if this data is incorrect!
I am a bot by radd.it data services. I have been requested to post these reports.

I didn't really appreciate Kind of Blue the first time I heard it, though I did grow to like it later. Both Kind of Blue and Time Out are good albums, but the artist who actualy got me into jazz is Artie Shaw. Based on that, I would recommend big band swing. Bug Music by Don Byron could be a good one. It includes contemporary recordings of works by Raymond Scott, Duke Ellington, and some others.

If you know something about what music the people in question are already into, you could choose jazz that appeals to that musical interest.

For classical, Foxie by Bob James or nearly anything by Opera Swing Quartet or Jacques Loussier would be good.

For new age, nearly anything by Keiko Matsui. I started with No Borders.

For rock, I Got No Kick Against Modern Jazz: A GRP Artist's Celebration of the Songs of the Beatles.

Three that spring to mind are:

Johnny Winter with The Return of Johnny Guitar

John Campbell with A Man And His Blues

Freddie King with King Of The Blues

This covers a range of styles and some fantastic music.

And just as a wildcard here is some French blues - Johnny Hallyday with Le Coeur d'un Homme. Some great songs really well sung.

Enjoy the blues and keep exploring.

One of the best purchases I ever made at a Goodwill store (and I've made quite a few) was this album. I saw it in the CD bin and thought, "Yiddish folk songs sung by Inigo Montoya? How cool is that?" Then I took it home and played it. I had no idea what I was in for.

Reading the liner notes, I saw that Patinkin's grand concept was to view all pop music written by Jews in America as part of the larger historic body of Jewish folksong. He expressed that thesis by taking pop songs by Jewish songwriters, from "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" to "Maria" from West Side Story to Paul Simon's "American Tune", translating the lyrics into Yiddish, and singing them with an orchestral accompaniment. The funniest thing I've ever heard. Here is a tantalizing tidbit of Mandy goodness.

The ultra lounge CD collections. I personally love vegas baby and Vegas baby too!. It would fit in perfectly with new Vegas.


Vegas baby:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006I0B2?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links


Vegas baby too!:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Lounge-Vegas-Baby-Too/dp/B002DI2XXY/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1348388188&sr=1-1&keywords=Vegas+baby+too

Jazz at the Pawnshop

Someone else mentioned this album in another thread like this, and it's amazing. The production quality is incredible - with a good set of headphones and a quiet room, it feels like you're actually in the room with the performers and the audience.

Charlie Haden's Quartet West album "Haunted Heart" is exactly what you're looking for, it's a beautiful album start to finish.

Amazon: "Opening with the Warner Bros. fanfare that introduced John Huston's classic 1941 realization of The Maltese Falcon, this programmatic gem shifts from '40s covers to sympathetic originals evoking the smoky demimonde of noir classics"

Edit: As well as the next album, "Always Say Goodbye". Amazon

Gerry Mulligan. Gerry Mulligan. Anything with Gerry Mulligan. He's got some great solos on Birth of the Cool, but you'd probably be even better off with something like Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster.

I did a little research and it looks like the [Studio Chronicle 40-48] (http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Parker-Studio-Chronicle-1940-1948/dp/B0000AJ5SR/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410238640&sr=8-1&keywords=charlie+parker+studio+chronicle) set is the best to get for Charlie Parker. That includes all of his classic recordings for pretty cheap.

Yay for Gershwin! this is still one of my favorite collections :)

Mandy Patinkin has a great Yiddish album, although I don't know how this kind of thing works these days.

I especially love his version of Az Der Rebbe Elimelech.

I love the jazz idea. I recommend the 4-CD box set from Proper Records, The Arranger's Touch. It sells for around $30 and I've found it on ebay before.

For a little more money you could get Ken Burns's Jazz: The Story of American Music. It's the soundtrack to his 10-part jazz documentary.

While I recommend the Ken Burns set a little higher, both sets include quintessential tracks/artists and are arranged in, more or less, a chronological order.

I hate to say my favorite is a compilation of Nina Simone. This one here I think there are a few "best of" but I love this one.

If you want to get into it, I suggest getting the "Verve Unmixed" compilations (1, 2, 3, 4), so you get a good sample of a lot of great Jazz artists.

I'm a HUGE Frank Sinatra Fan. The majority of my favorite Sinatra songs can be found on this album.

I'd recommend Ultralounge Vegas Baby. I love this CD.

Bird & Diz show up in each other's bands on a lot of the early Bebop sessions - Shaw 'Nuff, Salt Peanuts, Ko Ko, Hot House, Night In Tunisia, Dizzy Atmosphere...just find any Parker studio compilation that includes those tunes - like this. The Verve record called Bird And Diz is slightly later, and not so vital.

There are also several live recordings featuring them:

Town Hall

The Quintet/Jazz At Massey Hall

Bird 'N' Diz At Carnegie Hall

Chasin' The Bird - great collection of live Parker, including Dizzy on some sessions

No more Mr. Nice Guy

this is the album that started my obession