Jazz enthusiasts I need your help

[Beef03]

Let me first get this out of the way: I am uncultured swine. I know little or nothing about jazz. However, my dad loves the stuff and his birthday is coming up. All I can figure out to get for his birthday (He's one of those people who you ask what they want for birthday/christmas and they annoyingly reply world peace, he's freaking impossible to shop for) is a couple jazz CDs.
I humbly request your help. I know he would prefer instrumental, because he listens to it when he reads or is just relaxing.
Any and all help is much appreciated - only catch is since I don't exactly live in a hotbed of culture it needs to be some what common.

Thanks again.

 

[DanOregon]

Do you know what kind of jazz he likes - Old school or modern? Miles Davis "Think of Blue" belongs in everyone's CD library whether they like jazz or not. Stan Getz and Dave Brubeck are personal faves. If you can find it, the box set from Ken Burns documentary Jazz is a good one as well. Everything from the earliest recordings to Herbie Hancock. Speaking of Herbie, he won the Grammy for Album of the Year for his latest jazz recording.
Hope it helps.

 

[Boognish]

I think Dan meant to say "Kind of Blue", Miles' most popular album. Easily the record I would have playing on repeat on a deserted island, if if ever fell out of a FedEx plane in the Pacific and had to pick one.

But if your pops already likes jazz, I would bet he already owns it, and likely a lot of older standard-issue records that fill out most enthusiasts' collections.

Newer guys, like Charlie Hunter, and veteran guys in newer directions, like John Scofield or Bill Frisell, might be a good direction to go. All three are guitar players, but it would be tough to find a record any of these guys have put out in the past 5 years that disappoints.

 

[writing irish]

Blue Trane.

 

[jgmacg]

I wouldn't try to buy music for an avid jazz fan. They have their tastes and obsessions and heroes and probably have a pretty solid collection of the masterworks already. Try something like this instead, if it makes sense:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ELLA-FITZGERALD-JAZZ-SINGER-POSTER-61-X-91-5-cm-PR3178_W0QQitemZ180239985386QQihZ008QQcategoryZ28009QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[mike311gd]

Blue Trane.

That dude, Coltrane, was nuts -- or, at least, extremely dedicated and structured. He used to lock himself in a room and practice the same scale, riffing off it, for 13 hours at a time. It's no wonder he was as good as he was.

I'm a Buddy Rich guy, myself. If your dad loves the drums, you can't go wrong. Miles Davis is great, too.

 

[Ace]

If he's got plenty of Miles Davis and Coltrane, et al., I also like Lee Morgan. "The Sidewinder" would be the CD I pick.

 

[ink-stained wretch]

Beef-boy, It's kinda hard to make suggestions because jazz covers a multitude of sins.

DanO hit some of the high points. I would also suggest Coleman Hawkins and Oscar Peterson. His "Canadiana Suite" is as good as it gets IMHO.

You're a good son.

 

[writing irish]

Always thought Lionel Hampton was underrated.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

He may not have this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Thelonious-Monk-Quartet-Coltrane-Carnegie/dp/B000AV2GCE

It turned up covered with dust in the Voice Of America archives a couple of years ago.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4946796

 

[Huggy]

He may not have this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Thelonious-Monk-Quartet-Coltrane-Carnegie/dp/B000AV2GCE

It turned up covered with dust in the Voice Of America archives a couple of years ago.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4946796

Highly recommended. A tremendous find.

 

[Beef03]

Everyone, thank you for your help. Some excellent suggestions.
I think he said he likes the older stuff, but to a complete novice (if I even hit that level) like myself, I likely wouldn't know the difference from old to new. I know I've gotten him some Thelonious Monk in the past on his request, but at this point I'm not exactly sure what he has and doesn't have. and he lives four hours away so it's tough to go flip through his collection to see.
Again thank you everyone. I think I might get him a three or four of your reccomendations, just to cover the bases.

 

[tonysoprano]

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

 

[Sam Mills 51]

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 ...

 

[ServeItUp]

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.

 

[John]

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

 

[Ben_Hecht]

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

 

[canucklehead]

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.

 

[old_tony]

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:

This album is one of the finest jazz albums from anybody -- period. Barry Manilow displayed tremendous courage in leaving behind his cash cow and doing a bonafide jazz album. Even more courageous was setting some previously unscored lyrics by the late, great Johnny Mercer to music. He was personally entrusted by Mercer's widow with a cache of previously unissued lyrics. His first recorded result of this "collaboration" is the gorgeous "When October Goes". The most amazing aspect is that Mr. Manilow wrote all the songs and got some of the greatest jazz veterans (Shelly Manne, Gerry Mulligan, Mundell Lowe, etc.) to be his band. Another amazing feat is that this album was recorded live. If you like cool jazz, this one's for you. If you don't think you like Barry Manilow, open your mind and listen. This is a classic.

 

[Brooklyn Bridge]

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.