What music do you listen to when you want to relax?

[Erik Weidinger]

What do you put on the CD player, after you have switched off most of the light, opend a beer and sat down in your favourite armchair to relax after a hard day?

[blajay]

Maybe most often Maiden Voyage or side 2 of In a Silent Way

[jazzbo]

Could be almost anything. And oh yeah, no beer in hand.

[blajay]

or Willie Nelson--Stardust

[poetrylover3]

Someday I'm going to put together a Duke Ellington disc with favorite recordings from across the years featuring Johnny Hodges.

Today's Top Ten for making me mellow.

Duke Ellington Orchestra: "Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band"

Billie Holiday: Master Takes and Singles

Bill Evans: Live At The Village Vanguard

Mozart: Gran Partita (Zubin Mehta conducting members of the Berlin Philharmonic)

Cannonball Adderley: Somethin' Else

John Coltrane and Johnny Hartmann

Stan Getz: The Best of the Verve Years, Volume 1

Sonny Rollins: Next Album

Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage

Miles Davis: Kind of Blue

I don't even need to operate a remote control or put the multi-disc changer on "shuffle" for these discs. For classical inspiration it's Beethoven's Late String Quartets; Mozart Piano Concertos (Mitsuko Uchida) and Sonatas(Uchida, again), The Brandenburg Concertos, Beethoven Symphony #6 ( Bruno Walter, Conductor), Brahms Symphony #2 (Wilhelm Furtwangler), Dvorak: Serenade; almost anything featuring Hilary Hahn or Martha Argerich or Jacqueline Du Pre.

The only drawback to this list is that it can mellow me to sleep.

Peace,

Blue Trane

Edited January 9, 2009 by Blue Trane

[Shawn]

Anything in the "Moodsville" style, solo piano, classical guitar, soundtracks...substitute the beer for a "J".

[AndrewHill]

My best time to relax is usually in the morning with a good cup of coffee and when the house is quiet, i.e., when the kids aren't up yet.

Gerry Mulligan-Night Lights-Mercury

Bill Evans-Explorations-Riverside

The Johnny Smith Guitar or Walk Don't Run-Roulette

The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow-Verve

Bill Barron Orchestra-West Side Story Bossa Nova-Dauntless/Fresh Sound

Dave Brubeck-Red Hot and Cool

All five volumes of Mozart's piano sonatas-Virgin Classics

[papsrus]

What do you put on the CD player, after you have switched off most of the light, opend a beer and sat down in your favourite armchair to relax after a hard day?

Myself, I call this partying ...

But, when I enter the sensory deprivation tank, I like to pipe in a little Dexter Gordon -- "Ballads," Turrentine -- "Ballads," Chet Baker -- "Chet," Evans' "Sunday at the Village Vanguard" and "Waltz for Debbie," the Turrentine and the 3 Sounds -- "Complete Blue Hour," maybe some Tomasz Stanko -- "Lontano," or some of Crispell's quieter discs -- "Storyteller."

Then I wake up 8 hours later to find the stereo has been on all night. ( ) ( )

Edited January 9, 2009 by papsrus

[Royal Oak]

In my "smoking" days, it would be more often than not "The Jimmy Giuffre 3" or Joe Henderson's "Page One" or Charlie Haden/Hank Jones's "Steal Away". Fell asleep every time (in a good way).

[Dave James]

My early Sunday morning ritual consists of Glenn Gould, the newspaper and a good pot of coffee. Agree with Shawn that a Prestige Moodsville or any ballad-centric recording fills the bill when it comes to just kicking back.

Up over and out.

[GA Russell]

Agree with Shawn that a Prestige Moodsville or any ballad-centric recording fills the bill...

Be careful Dave! Those Prestige Plays For Lovers albums can get you in trouble around here!

[paul secor]

When I want to relax, I don't listen to music.

[A Lark Ascending]

Listening to music is what I do to relax. I can't think of any other purpose I use it for.

Of course, relaxing can take many forms.

[Shrdlu]

Trane and Pharoah Sanders doing "Manifestation", lol.

[mtodde]

Either piano trios or solo piano - jazz or classical.

[.:.impossible]

Some of the most relaxing music I have is the duets between Walt Dickerson and Richard Davis.

[jaybreezie]

Dick McGarvin - Peaceful

That image is tiny but it's a cat asleep on a cloud which pretty much somes things up. It's all mellow rhodes and flute and pretty soon you're taking the most delightful nap. I'm not sure this ever made it out on CD, but the vinyl is well worth the $20 or so it seems to go for on ebay.

[Chuck Nessa]

Cecil. After that I need to relax.

[Teasing the Korean]

AFTER a day of work, I can listen to just about any genre of jazz I would listen to under any other circumstances.

I'm much more selective about the music I have on when I'm at work.

[king ubu]

"Ascension", because of the elevating effect...

seriously: nothing in particular, might be some piano stuff, might be some Moodsville like things, or just some pre-bop stuff... or some nice easy hardbop (the "Idle Moments" style, or Grant Green's sleeper "Am I Blue").

[aparxa]

Some Pullen or Some Dollar Brand or some Coltrane.

[robviti]

at these times, i find often myself reaching for a duo album, usually saxophone with either a piano or guitar.

one of my all-time favorites is convergence, by richie beirach and george coleman.

if you're a fan of big george and don't have it already, by all means, get it!

[Hot Ptah]