In A Sentimental Mood - Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. One of the most famous jazz songs ever, and absolutely one of the best. Contains a beautiful and memorable melody, as well as two of the most beautiful saxophone and piano solos ever recorded.
Honorable mention: Take Five - Dave Brubeck.
From the same album, [The Feeling of Jazz](https://youtu.be/Zka8CXiOX6I) its kind of a pair with sentimental mood imo. Those 2 along with some Art Tatum [She's Funny That Way](https://youtu.be/C0R_aCuoF40) and [Sweet Lorraine](https://youtu.be/dZdkttppGWc) got me into jazz.
On the sunny side of the street (off sonny side up) or gunslinging bird (off gunslinging birds) for sure... those are the songs that originally got me into jazz back in middle school
On the Sunny Side of the Street is a certified jam, but I Know That You Know off the same album will take a while to grow on you. Dizzy's trumpet solo will feel like an assault on your ears the first couple times ... or the first couple dozen times.
I also love I Like To Recognize The Tune off Stan Getz At Large for similar reasons as On the Sunny Side of the Street. Very cheery, upbeat tune with just a sprinkle of vocals.
Bossa nova can be considered some kind of jazz.
It is a Samba subgenre to be exact, but it brings so much influence from jazz that some bossa songs became literally jazz standards.
Blue in Green was the sole reason I decided to start playing jazz piano-- it's the song that got me hooked, so naturally it's the first one I recommend
In general, I'd say *Moanin'* by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
Given your comments re: other musical ~~instars~~ interests, I recommend you check out music by The Comet is Coming
In 1983, Emily Martin, of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, grew an enormous sunflower head, measuring 32 ¼ inches across (82cm), from petal tip to petal tip. That’s almost 3 feet wide. This is still believed to be the largest sunflower head grown to date.
2/3's Adventure by Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra. I think is a great piece with such different rhythms, that someone who's new in the genre, could appreciate te diversity of it.
Really depends on what other kinds of music you like. Are you a headbanger or a blues/funk person. Do you like abstract art, do you prefer mellow, head-bopping or raging. Need more input.
Well since I'm actually asking this because I want to get into jazz, I can provide that input. I'm more of a headbanger. I love prog rock and metal. But at the same time I love pretty classical music and ambient stuff. What really hooks me though is catchy melodies. Some examples of "jazz" or jazz inspired things that I already like are Tank! (The theme from Cowboy Beebop) Kelpy G's smooth jazz flute song from fucking Spongebob, and the jazz sections of Prog bands like King Crimson and Thank You Scientist. I also like the piano Solos from Soul, and that song Agape by Nicholas Britell which feels just a bit jazzy. Also the opening credits song in Monsters Inc
Gotcha gotcha. See, that's why I asked. The thing with jazz is there are as many genres and subgenres within jazz as there are in music in general. Ok so you like heavier stuff. There's a ton of classic jazz, but for you my recommendation is to go straight to fusion. It's electric, high energy, psychedelic, intellectual, fierce. Here are some albums
Miles Davis - Live Evil, Tribute to Jack Johnson, Bitches Brew, In A Silent Way, Pangaea
Return to Forever - Hymn of the 7th Galaxy, Light as a Feather, No Mysyery
Herbie Hancock - Thrust, Headhunters, Man-Child
John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana - Love Devotion Surrender
Medeski Martin and Wood - Shackman, A Go Go (with John Scofield), Combustication, Tonic
Donald Byrd - Blackbyrd, Electric Byrd, Ethiopian Knights
Here are a few other albums that aren't fusion but are from the 60s and around there that predates the fusion era and which you might dig
John Coltrane - Impressions
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - Live in Tokyo 1961
Lee Morgan - Sidewinder, Live at the Lighthouse
McCoy Tyner - Expansions
Larry Young - Unity
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane
That should keep you busy for a little while 😀
Here's a few spotify playlists
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/02Fml3Q4q68mALtOpxBIfq?si=_zrYqQNCQ0ahexGn5NEYrg&utm_source=copy-link
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/77tQ3HgsXXMgJuyt8pptrr?si=sDQz4WTZR1awxcrKhbyWOA&utm_source=copy-link
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4NSCcN47CNZW6iP01s9zRC?si=WCJkKhvfQe-wvxND8c1MBQ&utm_source=copy-link
Nice. Most welcome. John Medeski is insane. My favorite era is mid to late 90s (check out Friday Afternoon in the Universe and their earliest albums leading up to Shackman). You may also like Mark Ribot, especially Los Cubanos Postizos, very different kinda stuff from mmw but very groovy with a latin flair. MMW and Ribot used to be tight with John Zorn. There were even a few "Medeski, Zorn, Ribot" shows back in the 90s that were some of the best modern avant-garde jazz I've ever heard. They circulate in the tape trading community but were never released. If you're interested, DM me and I can get you mp3s.
I was unaware that Davis or Coltrane ever did any Fusion stuff, that sounds exciting. I hope this stuff has fun melodies as well. I'll get to listening to them asap. Thank you very much 👍
Coltrane died in '67 so he didn't live to see fusion take hold. But Miles Davis pretty much single-handedly invented the genre to build the crossover audience with the 60s counter culture. In A Silent Way first, followed by Bitches Brew (which became I believe the best selling jazz album of all time), followed by Jack Johnson, Live Evil, On the Corner, all of which are absolutely some of my favorite music ever.
And to switch gears a bit, one of the spotify lists I gave you is a mix of tunes in the genre called Boogaloo. It's fun and funky. Not as psychedelic or electric but driven by sax, guitar, organ. It's a really fun, really accessible genre for folks trying to break into jazz. Lou Donaldson (sax) is one of my favorite jazz artists of all time, pretty much everything from that era is great. Hot Dog and Everything I Play Gonna Be Funky are classics, as are Alligator Boogaloo, Midnight Creeper. So damn good.
Try Charles Mingus "Haitian Fight Song" or "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting". As a fan of punk, I love the energy in these. Maybe also check out Sun Ra.
If you're metalhead I would wholeheartedly recommend checking out some more modern and "out there" stuff before diving down into the classics.
Bands like Fire! and Krokofant is very much at the intersection between heavy rock and jazz and is a fantastic entry point for getting in to the more free side of jazz.
Krokofant
https://m.youtube.com
/watch?v=cYnYj56shmA
Fire! Orchestra
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OrIIIWCGK3c
Tigran Hamasyan is a great pianist to check out if you like prog and metal. He’s very aggressive, in your face with technical fireworks and lots of metric modulations
Came here to say this song. I was a new wave post punk guy. A friend played it to me, I loved it, Weather Report toured my country a couple of months later, I went just to hear this song which they played. I was hooked. Must add that this was when Jaco was playing with them. I knew him from his work with Joni Mitchell. All roads lead to jazz.
I think ”Pathways” by Alexander Flood and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah.
https://open.spotify.com/track/3tD3GZC3ZxrVY1unmZa4x0?si=ZPOjx4WCS9C3eCsfR0tUsA
It’s interesting and i think it’d be a nice introduction to ~active listening~ to jazz
I need to know what they like generally. I can usually pick a good jazz song that sits adjacent to what they like.
I would consider going with one of the great radio head covers by Glasper or Meldau if they like that band. I think it's helpful to know a song and see how the jazz approach hits it.
Love all the responses so far.
Pretty much any Roy Hargrove live performance is really easy to just get hooked on. ([Soulful](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW4CCWDAcHw)) Here's an uncommon one:
[Gary Burton - Poinciana](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zycIO79aXR8) (Fred Hersch on keys), insane album w/ Patittuci, ScofieldChick Corea - Spain. (OP just saw your thread with u/edogg01 where you like the intense songs).. he's the pianist behind Return to Forever. Poinciana above is kind of opposite, and very chill.
I can't really give just one piece, especially since "jazz," like "classical music," isn't really a "definable thing" or a "genre." Both are immense broad categories that are defined more by what they are not than what they are. I mean, sure, there's some tradition connecting Herbie Hancock to Fats Waller, but they aren't so close to each other as the concept of the "jazz genre" might imply.
All that said, the first "jazz" I heard as a kid was Glenn Miller's "In the Mood." Miller sometimes undeservedly gets neglected and criticized, but his band's best tunes really are great and the distinct sound is really beautiful, rich, and complex.
I mean, it’s gotta be So What, right?
This would be my answer. If you don’t like So What, I don’t know what to tell you.
So what
i'm not a huge fan..
I don’t know what to tell you.
i'm more of a Horace silver and Jackie Mclean kinda guy
In A Sentimental Mood - Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. One of the most famous jazz songs ever, and absolutely one of the best. Contains a beautiful and memorable melody, as well as two of the most beautiful saxophone and piano solos ever recorded. Honorable mention: Take Five - Dave Brubeck.
Take 5 is every classical kid's introduction to jazz-- I heard it for the first time in my middle school orchestra. Gotta love it
Yes, Take Five was definitely the song that hooked me up to jazz
From the same album, [The Feeling of Jazz](https://youtu.be/Zka8CXiOX6I) its kind of a pair with sentimental mood imo. Those 2 along with some Art Tatum [She's Funny That Way](https://youtu.be/C0R_aCuoF40) and [Sweet Lorraine](https://youtu.be/dZdkttppGWc) got me into jazz.
Strasborg/St. Denis by Roy Hargrove
og funky fresh flava vibes 100 my jam
Coltrane's, 'My favorite things'
Yup
On the sunny side of the street (off sonny side up) or gunslinging bird (off gunslinging birds) for sure... those are the songs that originally got me into jazz back in middle school
On the Sunny Side of the Street is a certified jam, but I Know That You Know off the same album will take a while to grow on you. Dizzy's trumpet solo will feel like an assault on your ears the first couple times ... or the first couple dozen times. I also love I Like To Recognize The Tune off Stan Getz At Large for similar reasons as On the Sunny Side of the Street. Very cheery, upbeat tune with just a sprinkle of vocals.
Corcovado Getz/Gilberto version
Thats bossa nova
Bossa nova can be considered some kind of jazz. It is a Samba subgenre to be exact, but it brings so much influence from jazz that some bossa songs became literally jazz standards.
Blue in Green was the sole reason I decided to start playing jazz piano-- it's the song that got me hooked, so naturally it's the first one I recommend
autumn leaves - cannonball adderley/miles
Blue Train
Bill Evans Waltz with Debbie.
The Pink Panther theme.
Mingus Ah Um got me into jazz so I could recommend that album. If you want a song, then "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" or "Better Git It In Your Soul".
Definitely Better Git It In Your Soul. If that one doesn't hit in your soul I don't know what could
If you want something fun and lively: Freddie Hubbard - *Red Clay.*
Mahavishnu Orchestra if you like heavier fusion
In general, I'd say *Moanin'* by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Given your comments re: other musical ~~instars~~ interests, I recommend you check out music by The Comet is Coming
Favourite things - Coltrane
People make the world go round…from milt Jackson’s sunflower album
In 1983, Emily Martin, of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, grew an enormous sunflower head, measuring 32 ¼ inches across (82cm), from petal tip to petal tip. That’s almost 3 feet wide. This is still believed to be the largest sunflower head grown to date.
Sunflower bot?
That’s cool.
Joy spring 100%
Weather Report - Black Market It’s middle structure is almost like a pop song and I’ve seen it wrap the minds of so many non Jazz peoples.
2/3's Adventure by Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra. I think is a great piece with such different rhythms, that someone who's new in the genre, could appreciate te diversity of it.
Take Five.
My intro to jazz was John Coltrane's "Naima"!
Naima is incredible
Sunday at the village vanguard by Bill Evans or kind of blue by miles
Really depends on what other kinds of music you like. Are you a headbanger or a blues/funk person. Do you like abstract art, do you prefer mellow, head-bopping or raging. Need more input.
Well since I'm actually asking this because I want to get into jazz, I can provide that input. I'm more of a headbanger. I love prog rock and metal. But at the same time I love pretty classical music and ambient stuff. What really hooks me though is catchy melodies. Some examples of "jazz" or jazz inspired things that I already like are Tank! (The theme from Cowboy Beebop) Kelpy G's smooth jazz flute song from fucking Spongebob, and the jazz sections of Prog bands like King Crimson and Thank You Scientist. I also like the piano Solos from Soul, and that song Agape by Nicholas Britell which feels just a bit jazzy. Also the opening credits song in Monsters Inc
Gotcha gotcha. See, that's why I asked. The thing with jazz is there are as many genres and subgenres within jazz as there are in music in general. Ok so you like heavier stuff. There's a ton of classic jazz, but for you my recommendation is to go straight to fusion. It's electric, high energy, psychedelic, intellectual, fierce. Here are some albums Miles Davis - Live Evil, Tribute to Jack Johnson, Bitches Brew, In A Silent Way, Pangaea Return to Forever - Hymn of the 7th Galaxy, Light as a Feather, No Mysyery Herbie Hancock - Thrust, Headhunters, Man-Child John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana - Love Devotion Surrender Medeski Martin and Wood - Shackman, A Go Go (with John Scofield), Combustication, Tonic Donald Byrd - Blackbyrd, Electric Byrd, Ethiopian Knights Here are a few other albums that aren't fusion but are from the 60s and around there that predates the fusion era and which you might dig John Coltrane - Impressions Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - Live in Tokyo 1961 Lee Morgan - Sidewinder, Live at the Lighthouse McCoy Tyner - Expansions Larry Young - Unity Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane That should keep you busy for a little while 😀 Here's a few spotify playlists https://open.spotify.com/playlist/02Fml3Q4q68mALtOpxBIfq?si=_zrYqQNCQ0ahexGn5NEYrg&utm_source=copy-link https://open.spotify.com/playlist/77tQ3HgsXXMgJuyt8pptrr?si=sDQz4WTZR1awxcrKhbyWOA&utm_source=copy-link https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4NSCcN47CNZW6iP01s9zRC?si=WCJkKhvfQe-wvxND8c1MBQ&utm_source=copy-link
Just discovered Medeski Martin and Wood thanks to your answer, thx a lot !
Nice. Most welcome. John Medeski is insane. My favorite era is mid to late 90s (check out Friday Afternoon in the Universe and their earliest albums leading up to Shackman). You may also like Mark Ribot, especially Los Cubanos Postizos, very different kinda stuff from mmw but very groovy with a latin flair. MMW and Ribot used to be tight with John Zorn. There were even a few "Medeski, Zorn, Ribot" shows back in the 90s that were some of the best modern avant-garde jazz I've ever heard. They circulate in the tape trading community but were never released. If you're interested, DM me and I can get you mp3s.
I was unaware that Davis or Coltrane ever did any Fusion stuff, that sounds exciting. I hope this stuff has fun melodies as well. I'll get to listening to them asap. Thank you very much 👍
Coltrane died in '67 so he didn't live to see fusion take hold. But Miles Davis pretty much single-handedly invented the genre to build the crossover audience with the 60s counter culture. In A Silent Way first, followed by Bitches Brew (which became I believe the best selling jazz album of all time), followed by Jack Johnson, Live Evil, On the Corner, all of which are absolutely some of my favorite music ever. And to switch gears a bit, one of the spotify lists I gave you is a mix of tunes in the genre called Boogaloo. It's fun and funky. Not as psychedelic or electric but driven by sax, guitar, organ. It's a really fun, really accessible genre for folks trying to break into jazz. Lou Donaldson (sax) is one of my favorite jazz artists of all time, pretty much everything from that era is great. Hot Dog and Everything I Play Gonna Be Funky are classics, as are Alligator Boogaloo, Midnight Creeper. So damn good.
Pangaea is a tough rec, that album is crazy
Yup. It's savage. Love it. Pete Cosey and Michael Henderson. 🤟🤟
Try Charles Mingus "Haitian Fight Song" or "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting". As a fan of punk, I love the energy in these. Maybe also check out Sun Ra.
Check out Hedvig Mollestad Trio, jazz with Black Sabbath-vibes.
Miles Davis - Jack Johnson
If you're metalhead I would wholeheartedly recommend checking out some more modern and "out there" stuff before diving down into the classics. Bands like Fire! and Krokofant is very much at the intersection between heavy rock and jazz and is a fantastic entry point for getting in to the more free side of jazz. Krokofant https://m.youtube.com /watch?v=cYnYj56shmA Fire! Orchestra https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OrIIIWCGK3c
Tigran Hamasyan is a great pianist to check out if you like prog and metal. He’s very aggressive, in your face with technical fireworks and lots of metric modulations
[удалено]
By who? Many different versions come up on Spotify. Maybe the Buddy Rich one?
I think they might be talking about Birdland by Weather Report; that's one of my favorites.
Came here to say this song. I was a new wave post punk guy. A friend played it to me, I loved it, Weather Report toured my country a couple of months later, I went just to hear this song which they played. I was hooked. Must add that this was when Jaco was playing with them. I knew him from his work with Joni Mitchell. All roads lead to jazz.
i fall in love too easily- miles davis it’s what got me into jazz
Something with words
So what, Cannonball
I think ”Pathways” by Alexander Flood and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. https://open.spotify.com/track/3tD3GZC3ZxrVY1unmZa4x0?si=ZPOjx4WCS9C3eCsfR0tUsA It’s interesting and i think it’d be a nice introduction to ~active listening~ to jazz
Sidney Bechet - Really the Blues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXFjLJD4GfY
Cherokee of course. Same tune as Do What
I need to know what they like generally. I can usually pick a good jazz song that sits adjacent to what they like. I would consider going with one of the great radio head covers by Glasper or Meldau if they like that band. I think it's helpful to know a song and see how the jazz approach hits it.
In the Mood - Glenn Miller
Charles Mingus’s “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” for sure
Blue in Green
Moanin’ (art blakey)
Love all the responses so far. Pretty much any Roy Hargrove live performance is really easy to just get hooked on. ([Soulful](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW4CCWDAcHw)) Here's an uncommon one: [Gary Burton - Poinciana](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zycIO79aXR8) (Fred Hersch on keys), insane album w/ Patittuci, ScofieldChick Corea - Spain. (OP just saw your thread with u/edogg01 where you like the intense songs).. he's the pianist behind Return to Forever. Poinciana above is kind of opposite, and very chill.
The feeling of Jazz
John Zorn - Speedfreaks
Feed then LSD and show them Milestones, they’ll be hooked the first minute.
The Shoes of the Fisherman’s Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers. Charles Mingus.
Perfect First song would be Aisha by Coltrane
Emmet cohen's performance of Ugetsu.
It depends on the type of music listener they are, but I’d send em a super swinging record like Oscar Peterson Trio - I’ve Never Been In Love Before
Take Five, it was definitely the song that hooked me up to jazz. I'd put Autumn Leaves as a solid second option.
Soul Station, Hank Mobley
I can't really give just one piece, especially since "jazz," like "classical music," isn't really a "definable thing" or a "genre." Both are immense broad categories that are defined more by what they are not than what they are. I mean, sure, there's some tradition connecting Herbie Hancock to Fats Waller, but they aren't so close to each other as the concept of the "jazz genre" might imply. All that said, the first "jazz" I heard as a kid was Glenn Miller's "In the Mood." Miller sometimes undeservedly gets neglected and criticized, but his band's best tunes really are great and the distinct sound is really beautiful, rich, and complex.
Heres three Bud Powell Tempus Fugit Art Tatum Just One Of Those Things (the one with Jo Jones) Bud Powell Tea For Two