sometimes I think I am starting to like jazz

[arely staircase]

and then the feeling passes.

[pscot]

1. That's a shame

There's a lot to like

[arely staircase]

4. i will keep trying. nt

[Manifestor_of_Light]

2. Yes. And there are many different kinds.

[arely staircase]

3. yes. i think it is the sort of random free form stuff that I just don't "get"

granted that isn't a very knowledgeable statement. but it is all I have.

[pscot]

9. Start with the basics

Louis Armstrong's Hot 5's and Hot seven's; Duke Ellington's 1930's recordings, especially the small groups, if you can find them; Billie Holiday's early recordings before alcohol and smack messed up her voice. Stuff being done today is mostly derivative, and not nearly as strong as the music made by the people who created the music. Wynton Marsalis is a great, classically trained musician who grew up playing with symphony orchestras. Sidney Bechet was a great, classically trained musician who grew up playing in honky tonks and race clubs. Racism drove him out of the country. It makes for a huge difference in what each produces without a score in front of them. Marsalis seems to squeeze out each note. Bechet is a force of nature. The music floods out like a river. There's a wonderful journey of exploration there for those willing to travel. And a surprising amount of it is available on youtube.

[grilled onions]

12. Racism Slowed It Down

But it never could stop it. The Ken Burns series would be a great starter for anyone interested or is curious about jazz and perhaps what kind of jazz they would like.
Their talent withstood the hate and time. They had to go in back entrances, sleep on buses because no hotel would allow them in. Yet the music stood out and the creativity crossed all the barriers that were thrown at it.

[Ino]

14. I'm with you there...

all that discordant cacophony where it sounds like everyone is playing something different at different tempos is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I can't stand to be within hearing distance, it makes me so jumpy and skin-crawly.

The more melodic stuff is tolerable... just barely.

[OriginalGeek]

5. I wish there were jazz clubs around

maybe there are - we don't get out much. But I love live music and I've been to hundreds, if not thousands, of live shows but I've never seen live jazz. I like when it's in movies...it looks like fun...What are my chances of walking into a dark, smokey bar and finding John Coltrane-class jazz happening? If there were more jazz clubs around I'd have a shot.

[Baitball Blogger]

7. There was a jazz room in Lake Buena Vista, once.

But it was old time jazz. Good performers, but I don't think the run of performers that went through the place was as vigorous as it would be in a contemporary jazz place.

[OriginalGeek]

10. lol, that's another problem I have

I don't know enough about Jazz to know what style I should even be looking for.

I know I love Coltrane and Miles and Brubeck but I do not like Kenny G.

I love the idea of a sax a piano and stand-up bass taking off from a known place and soaring wherever the spirit takes them. THere's apparently a jazz bar in the Grand Bohemian downtown but it sounds (from yelp reviews) more of a Kenny G place than Coltrane place to me. Plus it's probably expensive.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

17. Kenny G noodles. He does not play jazz.

And Pat Metheny agrees with me; there's a famous rant by Pat online where he says Kenny G doesn't know his chord structures, modulations etc. "Noodling" is a slang musician term for aimless playing. Kind of like the lead guitarist playing the "deedle e deedle e deedle ee" solo as Frank Zappa calls it.

I like Wes Montgomery and his contemporaries and later players like Howard Roberts, Joe Pass and Pat Metheny.

Pat Metheny has done some stuff recently that sounds like white noise, has no chord structure to it and I don't like it.

Then there's Stephane Grappelli and Jean Luc Ponty on the jazz fiddle.

Stephane Grappelli and Yehudi Menuhin made some memorable jazz recordings you can find on youtube.

Check out some Oscar Peterson too.

[OriginalGeek]

18. Thanks!

adding these all to my list to explore. Except Kenny, lol.

[a kennedy]

6. Was told I'm not a jazz fan because I like the smooth type.....

hard core jazz fans don't even acknowledge smooth jazz.... Craig Chaquico http://www.last.fm/music/Craig+Chaquico "forbidden love" OMGosh..... a w e s o m e. JMHO.

[pscot]

13. That's probably why Miles Davis

never made it big.

[Chan790]

8. I once thought I was starting to like jazz...

it turned out to be indigestion.

[Codeine]

11. That's because you're not listening to enough Coltrane.

A quick dose of Miles and a shot of 'Trane and you'll be a lasting convert.

[sakabatou]

15. As long as it's not smooth jazz, it can be pretty good

[a kennedy]

16. Try this......

http://www.last.fm/music/Craig+Chaquico/_/Forbidden+Love by Craig Chaquico....he used to be with Jefferson Starship.....

Craig Chaquico
Guitarist
Craig Chaquico is an American guitarist of Portuguese descent. He has had over thirty years of success in a variety of genres: in the 1970s with the post-Summer of Love Jefferson Starship, in that band's ... Wikipedia
Born: September 26, 1954 (age 59), Sacramento, CA
Music groups: Jefferson Starship (1974 – 1990), Jefferson Airplane
Albums: A Thousand Pictures, From the Redwoods to the Rockies, More
Movies: Jefferson Starship: The Definitive Concert
Nominations: Soul Train Music Award for Best Jazz Album

one of my favorites.....

[Mr.Bill]

19. Get the boxed DVD set of Ken Burns' Jazz.

You can find it on PBS' website, I'm sure.

Reserve a weekend to watch it. You will be hooked.

For now, listen to this from 1959 -

Also, check this out, it's the story of the above album and others from that era.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017171031

[arely staircase]

20. I love that nt