Jazz/Ska for Beginners

[False Joe]

Looking for some stuff to get a good idea of the genre.

You know, like recommending Metallica as opposed to Opeth for someone trying to get into metal.

 

[panzerfaust666]

John Coltrane,Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Joe Pass, Chick Corea , Bela Fleck and the Flecktones ( arguable)

 

[Alter]

Ska? As in ska punk?

Choking Victim and Leftover Crack.

 

[The Ozzman]

Coltrane
Davis
Jaco Pastorius
Diana Krall

 

[Vimana]

Django Reinhardt.

 

[Vuashke]

for jazz:

guitars: pat metheny, kurt rosenwinkel, joe pass, wes montgomery, scott henderson
sax/brass/winds etc: john coltrane, sonny rollins, ornette coleman before his free jazz stuff, miles davis before bitches brew and his fusion stuff (try kind of blue), charlie parker

 

[panzerfaust666]

whast wrong with bitches Brew, one of the best Jazz albums ever IMO.
Fucking Dave Holland, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock,John mclaughlin etc played on that record.

 

[NinjaGeek]

I always had trouble getting into Jazz because of people recommending the essentials like Miles Davis, I understand they were influential, but their music does nothing for me. I did eventually find Jazz that fit my tastes though.

 

[The Ozzman]

How about some Jazz Fusion?

Weather Report
Mahavishnu Orchestra

 

[Lord Kur]

desmond dekker and the israelites for ska.

 

[Matt]

I like big band type stuff with no vox. That's really all I listen to.

 

[panzerfaust666]

How about some Jazz Fusion?

Weather Report
Mahavishnu Orchestra

RETURN TO FOREVER!!!

fuck yes

 

[Vuashke]

well personally i dont like bitches brew, but i only said before his fusion stuff because i thought the OP was asking for straight up jazz, not a fusion genre

my mistake

 

[Vimana]

Since I don't feel like starting a new thread. What Mahavishnu Orchestra album(s) should I get?

 

[ShredHeadJHJ]

Frank Gambale
Allan Holdsworth
TJ Helmerich
Brett Garsed
Shawn Lane
Weather Report (first two albums)
Dennis Chambers
Chad Wackerman
Bill Bruford
Hiromi Uehara

All great Jazz/Fusion artists. It's a lot of technical stuff. Start out with...

Allan Holdsworth, Jensa Johansson & Anders Johansson "Heavy Machinery"
Frank Gambale "Passages"
MVP [Gambale/Garsed/Lane] "Centrifugal Funk"

For traditional Jazz I prefer John Coltrane generally to a lot of stuff I've heard, but I'm not so much into traditional Jazz as a whole. Just never listened to it much.

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

Django Reinhardt.

Great guitarist... as for Ska... Fishbone perhaps? ... As for Jazz... i never really got into it but i do like Django and Dixie Jazz as well... Jazz from the 20's also... Do not know what artists to recommend... as for Fusion I always liked Al DiMeola along with John McLaughlin and Paco De Lucia in Mediterrean Sundance:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uhblkt1OeU&feature=related[/ame]

 

[Vimana]

That was awesome.

I found this band called Young & Rollins. They're a guitar duo that mixes salsa, blues, latin jazz, samba, bossa nova, flamenco, and classical.

 

[KMADD]

The Specials, The Skatalites, Judge Dredd, Operation Ivy, The Toasters, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Bosstones, The Pietasters, Buck O' Nine.

 

[Dem0n0id]

For ska, try-
Madness - One Step Beyond, Divine Madness(a good compilation if you are looking to buy)
The Specials - Specials, More Specials
The Beat - I Just Can't Stop It
Then there's Streetlight Manifesto & Catch 22, who are kinda ok...but i find most ska after the 80s to be quite boring.

Jazz, well, do you want Jazz-rock or traditional Jazz?
If you are looking to get into traditional Jazz, then imo, don't start with jazz-fusion. I find them to be quite different, even though there are obvious similarities.
Kind of Blue by Miles Davis imo is quite a good place to start. Doesn't matter how famous it is. Starting rite from song 1, it's a pleasure to listen to that album.
Other than that, try Song for My Father by Horace Silver and Blues & Roots by Charles Mingus.(a bit more easy going than his other albums)

 

[Bassman366]

Mahavishnu Orchestra...