Jazz & Blues Lounge

I was doing some more noodling around online and found something that NPR has put together for your fledgling jazz folks out there.  You can click HERE for their “Basic Jazz Library.”  It appears to be a series of articles or blogs that goes back to 2005.  What struck me is that the first record on the list is Cannonball Adderly’s “Somethin’ Else” which is one of my all-time favorites
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 …read more

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Looking around for lists has been an interesting experience.  It seems that people truly love lists and there are an endless number of people willing to write them.  At the same time, I began to wonder.  I began to wonder if there was someone out there to definitively declare what they felt was the “Greatest Jazz Album of All Time.”
Of course, such a thing would be nearly impossible to declare.  I could not even tell you for certain which jazz album in my own collection would be my vote for Greatest Jazz Album of All Time.  “Kind of Blue” would …read more

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Let’s be upfront about things.  As I write this, I am 36-years-old.  I am not of the age where I should be having so many “senior moments” like I am having now.  At the same time, I have written so many posts here, it is only a matter of time before I start repeating myself.  If I have mentioned this list before, I apologize, but I like sparking a debate and more people are reading this blog these days, so why not bring it up again?
The list of the “25 Must-Have Jazz CDs of All Time.”  It is on a …read more

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I think I have found my calling when it comes to these end-of-year lists that everyone wants to do.  Since I feel it is unfair to try and put together a list myself as I have not come nearly close enough to listening to all of the music that was released in 2007, I am leaving the list-writing to people who have had that kind of time.  Or, at the very least, I hope to spark some debate among the people who stop by here and read my ramblings.
I posted one list which was on Amazon.com.  It generated some talk, …read more

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Earlier in the week I talked about an article on Amazon.com that purported to be the best blues albums of 2007.  Of course, there is also a list of the supposed best jazz albums of 2007 there as well. 
In theory, I should have my own list.  I have some problems with that, though.  I am just one guy and it would be physically impossible for me to listen to every single jazz album released in 2007.  How could I reasonably be expected to create a list of my favorite albums when, at best, I may have heard only one tune …read more

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Writing my post yesterday got me feeling bad about the fans of the blues who might have stumbled across this particular blog.  Sure, I may not get quite as many readers as the other bloggers around here, but I get enough to at least be able to hold my head up at the end of the day.  I pictured some poor newbie when it comes to the blues doing a Google search, stumbling across this site, eagerly looking for information about blues artists and venues, and finding only page after page of information about Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and other …read more

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It is tough to get the blues essentials.  There are just so many blues albums out there, how can you find the supposed best ones?  Well, Downbeat magazine, back in 2003, had some help in order to help you build up your collection.
These albums are mostly older, as you might imagine.  Again, this was released in 2003 and they  tried to compile a list of 50 must-have blues albums.  They asked 80 musicians, music industry folks and music journalists for their opinions and then started weeding it out, editing it and putting it all together.
According to Downbeat, these are the …read more

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