Jazz enthusiasts I need your help

Let's see. My top five recommendations -

1. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong "Ella and Louis" (** In my top five fav CDs **)
2. Wynton Marsalis - Standard Time Vol.2 Intimacy Calling
3. Anything with Billy Holliday
4. Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington "The Great Summit" (2 disc set)
5. Tony Bennett Unplugged

 

Beef,

Traditional or fusion?
Small groups or larger bands?
Featuring what instruments?
Unstructured like Jellyroll Morton or more structured such as Scott Joplin?

Jazz isn't much different from other forms of music in that some people who really like the genre may absolutely love one particular niche of it and not care for another niche at all.

It's a wonderful form, still. I took a History of Jazz course in school from a superb instructor who played all sorts of gigs when not doing stuff for the university.

OK ... I know this added nothing - sorry - but thought it was worth a little bandwidth. Good luck in searching ...

 

Horace Silver's "Song For My Father" if he doesn't have it, or "The Jody Grind," a ridiculously funky and underrated album.

Wynton Marsalis' "Black Codes From the Underground" is unbelievably complex but listenable. Last album he and Branford recorded together, and it marked the Marsalis debut of pianist Marcus Roberts. Or, pick up some of Marsalis' Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra studd, which is choice.

If you want something modern, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra busts off some crazy stuff. Roy Hargrove is very accomplished as well; make sure it's under the Roy Hargrove name and not The RH Factor, though.

Otherwise, the Monk/Coltrane concert is a good call.

 

Coltrane's first album, I believe, and still my favorite:

 

Is your dad a piano guy?

If so (trying to cover a lotta bases in the shortest possible space . . . ):

Art Tatum
Keith Jarrett
Erroll Garner

 

If you live near your dad you've got to go over to his place and dig through his collection when he's not looking and see what he's got. Then come back to the board for more advice.
If he's a serious listener he's got all the Davis, Coltrane, Brubeck, Mingus, Rollins he needs.
If he's a pain in the ass to buy for like all dads, get him a gift card at Best Buy or whatever and let him sort through the jazz section himself. Better yet, pile him in the car and take him there yourself, stopping for a birthday beer on the way home so you and him can have some alone time.
By the way, why hasn't anyone mentioned Chet Baker? My fave.

 

When jazz went cool in the 80s, one of the biggest and best albums was the collaboration album of David Sanborn and Bob James called Double Vision. Excellent stuff.

Also, I'd recommend just about anything by Flim & the BBs. Tricycle was the first one of their's I had and it's outstanding, but "Tunnel," "Neon" and "The Further Adventures of ..." are also great CDs.

Also, this one doesn't fall under the instrumental category you mentioned, but I seriously think -- and I've said this previously on other threads -- that one of the best jazz albums of the last 30 years was the one Barry Manilow did in 1984 called "2 a.m. Paradise Cafe." It has Mel Torme, Gerry Mulligan, Sarah Vaughan and others on it. Here's a review of it on Amazon.com:

 

You might want to try some Latin Jazz...anything by Tito Puente or Celia Cruz.. Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto also had a good album. Also recommend the Afro-Cuban All stars. Its a bit of a different direction, but give it a try.

 

Verve puts out some great compilations of jazz vocalists.

I know it sounds a bit much like K-Tel but I have a few 3 or 4 CD boxed sets with everybody from Besse Smith to Ella to Frank to Dinah Washington. Love 'em.

 

I'm an In A Silent Way/Bitches Brew/Jack Johnson/Agartha kind of guy, but that doesn't sound like what you'd want.

 

I really wish i could be more specific, but again I have to claim ignorance here on the genre - of course I've heard of a lot of the greats, but I really couldn't tell you what made them great or separated them from each other or anything like that.
All I know is he likes the older stuff and preferably non-vocal because it is what he listens to while he reads.
Unfortunately he is not close enough to where I live to rifle through what he has.
I don't think he's really partial to one instrument over another.
I wish I could be more help in direction. I think I may need to phone home and see if my mom could do some scouting for me.

 

I'm a big fan of piano jazz -- Monk, Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner. Try the latter first. I've always found him more accessible.