Cannonball was one of those guys who was all over the place during the 50s but not nearly enough people know his name.  They know Miles and they know Coltrane, Mingus and Park, but they really should know the roly-poly sax player who was dubbed “Cannonball” as a kid thanks to his prodigious gut. 

“Somethin’ Else” was created about the same time as “Kind of Blue” and it also features many of the same musicians, including Miles Davis.  For all I know once they all finished “Kind of Blue” they just decided Cannonball needed to release his own album and started to work on this one.  I first heard it on vinyl a the jazz radio station I worked at back in college and I fell immediately in love with it.

The list goes on for pages and pages.  It kind of makes me wonder if it just has every single classic jazz album ever created.  There is a lot of Louis Armstrong, for example.  Louis certainly is the pillar upon which modern jazz was built, but I also noticed “Kind of Blue” was not listed among the first few pages, but Davis’ “Nefertiti” was.  While just about any Miles album is something I can listen to (well…almost…) that is not one of my particular favorites

However, other artists are mentioned that I have forgotten about and probably deserve a lot more space here such as Art Blakey and Count Basie.  Sydney Bechet is another example as is Benny Carter.  The vocalists are also mentioned and while I have never been a huge fan of jazz vocals, I do like Sarah Vaughan and Nat King Cole.

So, check out the lists and enjoy your reading. Also, get the checkbook out and start buying or start downloading.  This is a pretty darn good list and this would make an oustanding start to any jazz collection.  If you can dig up an old turntable and find them on vinyl, even better, I think.

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge

So, I know this is a bit late, but I do hope all of you have a great holiday and weekend.  I hope the turkey has gone down all right and digested properly and that no one overindulged and got sick or anything.  I hope you all travel safely and get  to and from your destinations safely.  I hope you have a great time with your relatives.

I know I got a double helping of “baby therapy.”  I have discovered that there is nothing that puts things back into perspective when you are having a rough week like being with an infant.  All of a sudden, everything snaps back into place as far as priorities and everything seems like it will be all right.  I got to visit my niece yesterday along with my cousin’s first baby daughter.  Both beautiful little girls were enough to put me at ease after a strange week.

If you are out shopping, I hope you find the things you are looking for.  I have given plenty of great jazz collection suggestions here.  Personally, I love shopping online these days and hope I get some kind of gift certificate that lets me buy those box sets (or a couple of them) once Christmas has come and gone.

The one cool thing about jazz is that even the Christmas music sounds cool.  It’s because jazz is so much about improvisation.  So, if you are listening to “What Child is This?” played by a jazz musician, you are more likely to hear it in a way you have never heard it before.  I am fairly sure John Coltrane did a version of “Greensleeves” which is the tune of “What Child is This?” that is pretty awesome.  So, when the Christmas music at the malls starts to get to you, pull out a version done by a jazz musician and it may help.

I know that, with  me, nothing helps me relieve stress more than listening to jazz.  Whenever I am stressing about work or family or the holidays, I tune in to the jazz radio station or pull out my jazz CDs and I listen to them.  Before I know it, I am bopping along to the music and my stress has melted away.

So, I wish that for you as well.  In short, Happy Holidays and thanks for stopping by.  I hope you do it again soon.

Post from: Jazz & Blues Lounge