My top 5 Blue Notes

[CJ Shearn]

This is a new Medium article I wrote, inspired by a friend who likes jazz but doesn't know much about it.  It's designed to help people like herself who want to discover the music; not for us.  Enjoy.   https://bit.ly/3QL42dr 

I'm sure my choices will be challenged ;-) Go ahead

[T.D.]

Thanks, nice article but one thing is not completely clear to me.

Is this a list of (a) Your personal top five BNs, or (b) Your top 5 BN recommendations for someone just getting into jazz?

I'm inclined to think (b).

[CJ Shearn]

11 minutes ago, T.D. said:

Thanks, nice article but one thing is not completely clear to me.

Is this a list of (a) Your personal top five BNs, or (b) Your top 5 BN recommendations for someone just getting into jazz?

I'm inclined to think (b).

Its B

[JSngry]

So, by jazz, you mean...what, exactly?

Or Blue Note, for that matter, but my hunch is that the first question answers the second? 

Also, no two friends are the same...not that I have that many. 

[CJ Shearn]

1 minute ago, JSngry said:

So, by jazz, you mean...what, exactly?

Or Blue Note, for that matter, but my hunch is that the first question answers the second? 

People getting into the music might hear about Blue Note and wonder what it's about but I like your question by jazz what exactly do I mean? Kind of fuzzy because we could say music originated by Black Americans but now evolved and played the world over by everyone. Perhaps I'll change the title a bit and make it a bit clearer the goal of the article. Thanks!

[JSngry]

Would they be asking to learn about the music or to have a new hip lifestyle accessories? Those are two different questions with two (or more) different answers.

And that's why I don't like to answer questions from civilians, at least not unless they ask more than once and/or show that they want a serious answer and not some sillyass shopping list. They got beaucoup sampler collections for that.

Actually...you could recommend them five such samplers and do them a favor .. 

[John L]

Those are some classic albums with the possible exception of A Blowing Session.   For Johnny Griffin, I would have been more inclined to choose his first album (Introducing Johnny Griffin).  Of course, we can think of many other classics, beginning with Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Herbie Nichols, Sonny Clark, Sonny Rollins, etc. 

Edited August 16, 2022 by John L

[danasgoodstuff]

Good lists, both the 5 & the 40.  Just a little disappointed that there's no pre-bop or cool school on it, although not much is easily available right now.

[JSngry]

I guess these days you would recommend a playlist instead of a sampler...unless your friend is old, in which case, tell them that vinyl sounds better and get busy brokering some deals that benefit everybody, especially you! 

[Larry Kart]

Jacke McLean, "New Soil"

Hank Mobley, "Soul Station"

Horace Silver, "Blowin' the Blues Away"

Grachan Moncur, "Some Other Stuff"

John Coltrane, "Blue Train"

 

Must add: Tina Brooks, "True Blue"

 

P.S. These are persomal favorites, not chosen to lure anyone in

[CJ Shearn]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

I guess these days you would recommend a playlist instead of a sampler...unless your friend is old, in which case, tell them that vinyl sounds better and get busy brokering some deals that benefit everybody, especially you! 

She is young my friend but has an interest in deep dives of genres through streaming but doing a separate article with a playlist might be cool. She has an interest in audio and would like to hear my system (mainly set up for CD/SACD playback) but my Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC is also connected to my laptop to streaming so laptop connection in through DAC and goes through the CD out of my preamp 

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

So, by jazz, you mean...what, exactly?

Or Blue Note, for that matter, but my hunch is that the first question answers the second? 

People getting into the music might hear about Blue Note and wonder what it's about but I like your question by jazz what exactly do I mean? Kind of fuzzy because we could say music originated by Black Americans but now evolved and played the world over by everyone. Perhaps I'll change the title a bit and make it a bit clearer the goal of the article. Thanks!

[clifford_thornton]

I was gonna say one might start where Blue Note started, with Meade Lux Lewis, but this is a pretty solid top five otherwise! 

[aparxa]

[CJ Shearn]

1 hour ago, clifford_thornton said:

I was gonna say one might start where Blue Note started, with Meade Lux Lewis, but this is a pretty solid top five otherwise! 

I gotta track those discs down they were issued in the 90s.

2 hours ago, Larry Kart said:

Jacke McLean, "New Soil"

Hank Mobley, "Soul Station"

Horace Silver, "Blowin' the Blues Away"

Grachan Moncur, "Some Other Stuff"

Agree about the first 3 but "Some Other Stuff", I could have put  on the list of 40, but for that level of out I chose "All Seeing Eye" and "Out to Lunch" instead. I would NOT personally recommend the Moncur to someone just into jazz unless they were into some form of avant garde or coming from another place like punk. "Gnostic", my favorite track on the album would be too strange for most people. 

Edited August 16, 2022 by CJ Shearn

[Gheorghe]

Hard to say, I have many BN´s from bop-hardbop to modal and free. 

I´d say from the bop sides the Bud Powell with Fats and Sonny, that´s one of the best bebop-sessions.

From Hardbop maybe "Cool Struttin", it´s the perfect hardbop sound.

From the 60´s must be features something with Freddy, Wayne, Herbie, Tony or Elvin, something like "Speak No Evil" "Cantaloupe Island" or so, and from so called "Free Jazz" maybe Don Cherry´s "Complete Communion" or the Ornette at Golden Circle (which anyway have more swing that "free") or Taylor´s "Unit Structures". 

[BillF]

The 1940s Navarro/Dameron and Bud Powell albums are my favorites.

I also particularly like Whistle Stop with those beautiful Dorham compositions and the combination of Kenny, Hank, Philly and Paul.

Edited August 16, 2022 by BillF

[Gheorghe]

45 minutes ago, BillF said:

The Navarro/Dameron and Bud Powell albums are my favorites.

I also particularly like Whistle Stop with those beautiful Dorham compositions and the combination of Kenny, Hank, Philly and Paul.

Yeah, me to, but from the 60´s my first choice of Dorham is "Una Mas". I like the tune and like to play it too. And Hancock and Williams of course . 

[Rabshakeh]

It's a good article and a pretty good list, although I would not personally have chosen any of those records. 

There is quite a lot of guidance out there already in relation to Blue Notes, including where to start, deep cuts, soul jazz, avant garde records, etc etc. I think that anyone who is interested in getting into jazz, whether out of musical interest or just for some good record sleeves, has quite easy access to this information.

[Dan Gould]

2 hours ago, BillF said:

 

I also particularly like Whistle Stop with those beautiful Dorham compositions and the combination of Kenny, Hank, Philly and Paul.

I hope "Kenny" was meant to cover Kenny Drew also because he is an integral part of the success of that album. IMO.

[BillF]

1 hour ago, Dan Gould said:

I hope "Kenny" was meant to cover Kenny Drew also because he is an integral part of the success of that album. IMO.

Just as well I didn't write Kinny. 

[Peter Friedman]

It is tough , if not impossible, for me to select my 5 favorite Blue Note albums. It would even be difficult to select my 10 or 20 favorites.

But only one on your list - Blue Train - would be among my true favorites.

[CJ Shearn]

4 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

It's a good article and a pretty good list, although I would not personally have chosen any of those records. 

There is quite a lot of guidance out there already in relation to Blue Notes, including where to start, deep cuts, soul jazz, avant garde records, etc etc. I think that anyone who is interested in getting into jazz, whether out of musical interest or just for some good record sleeves, has quite easy access to this information.

True and fair enough, just wanted to put my spin and passion on what my fav. Blue Notes are, and what I'd recommend to others.

[clifford_thornton]

Everybody's top five is gonna be different. At least a couple of mine probably wouldn't make anybody else's list but that is perfectly all right. It's funny, I barely associate Griff with BN though his few for the label are quite enjoyable.

[Steve Reynolds]

I’d have to pick 5 from the late 50’s to very early 60’s which is the sweet spot pre-modal/pseudo free / then 5 more. This is the first jazz outside of Miles, Mingus & Monk that I fell for in the early 1990’s. 

Cool Struttin’

Soul Station

Moanin’

New Soil

Whistle Stop

then from the next era

Out to Lunch

Point of Departure

Oblique

Inner Urge

Adam’s Apple

of course there are 30-40 others that fit right in or around these core records 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2022 by Steve Reynolds

[mhatta]

 I think it is too difficult to select only 5 discs without setting some conditions. So I tried to select only unreleased but very much BN-esque ones.

Sonic Boom / Lee Morgan

The Soothsayer / Wayne Shorter

Back To The Tracks / Tina Brooks

Another Workout / Hank Mobley

Hipnosis / Jackie McLean