Selections for Houseguests with Infant Jazz Tastes

Big_Stacks · January 2006

Hey Folks,We had houseguests over the weekend. A lot of times, these folks have infant jazz tastes where I have to play them some pablum rather than some steak. What are some of the jazz LPs that you play that they can stomach? I'll start off.-"Sleeping Gypsy" or "Art of Tea"-Michael Franks.-"Soft Space"-The Jeff Lorber Fusion.-"S/T" and "Morning Dance"-Spyro Gryra.-any Bob James.-"Reed Seed", "Feels So Good", and "Mister Magic"-Grover Washington, Jr.-"Rainbow Seeker"-Joe Sample.-"Sophisticated Funk" and "Fourth Dimension"-Jack McDuff.-early-mid 70's Ramsey Lewis.-most Stan Getz.-"Shadow of Your Smile"-Astrud Gilberto.-"Wave"-Antonio Carlos Jobim.-most Shirley Horn.Peace,Big Stacks from Kakalak

Mondeyano · January 2006

-any Bob James.

Bob James isn't fit for anyone IMO, be it either the newbinger or the seasoned raer aficionado.

will add Kind of Blue + any Blossom Dearie

mannybolone · January 2006

Why not some "Favorite Things" era Coltrane? Who can't get with that?

Brian · January 2006

i dont think you can go wrong with kind of blue or my favorite things

mannybolone · January 2006

i dont think you can go wrong with kind of blue or my favorite things

Raystar · January 2006

i dont think you can go wrong with kind of blue or my favorite things

I thought this thread was about jazz for infants... my son loved Blue Train... then we found out that he was intolerant to milk so he started drinking Isomil and we didnt need to play Trane much anymore.

Brian · January 2006

blue train, straight no chaser, and alive! all seem to go over well at work (coffee shop) for me.

Big_Stacks · January 2006

blue train, straight no chaser, and alive! all seem to go over well at work (coffee shop) for me.

But Brian, you're talking about a coffee shop. Those folks are probably more open-minded than most. Unfortunately (cultural insight-related), everyday Black folks think Najee is good jazz. I can't drop down that far though, so I play them something progressive. I actually started with "Moonchild" by the Johnny Lytle Trio ft/ Ray Barretto at first, which didn't go over well strangely enough.

Peace,

Big Stacks from Kakalak

Brian · January 2006

nah man, most of the people who come in here are dumb college students who try to act sophisticated and shit. are you looking for more straight up jazz kind of stuff or would something like blacks and blues or places and spaces be suitable? im horrible with genres, sorry.

rsmeets · January 2006

oliver nelson- blues and the abstract truth
coltrane- ballads

Big_Stacks · January 2006

nah man, most of the people who come in here are dumb college students who try to act sophisticated and shit. are you looking for more straight up jazz kind of stuff or would something like blacks and blues or places and spaces be suitable? im horrible with genres, sorry.

Not really a genre Brian, just acknowledgment of the fact that John (Joan) Q. Public gravitate toward music that is easy to interpret. The usual "K.I.S.S." maxim applies here, fa real.

Peace,

Big Stacks from Kakalak

asstro · January 2006

I always play "Maiden Voyage" for jazz neophytes. Lees familiar than "Kind Of Blue" to most people but just as accessible and just as great in my book.

Birdman9 · January 2006

nah man, most of the people who come in here are dumb college students who try to act sophisticated and shit. are you looking for more straight up jazz kind of stuff or would something like blacks and blues or places and spaces be suitable? im horrible with genres, sorry.

Not really a genre Brian, just acknowledgment of the fact that John (Joan) Q. Public gravitate toward music that is easy to interpret. The usual "K.I.S.S." maxim applies here, fa real.

Peace,

Big Stacks from Kakalak

Maybe some Eddie Henderson on Capitol or the Tom Browne w/Funkin' For Jamaica

oh, and plenty of 70s Crusaders and Roy Ayers 76-82 seems to fit into this sound.

Skip Drinkwater · January 2006

dude, you gon' scare them away with all that spyro gyra/michael franks shit!

The Raise Up · January 2006

I remember as a teenager going on holidays with my family and having to pick stuff that went down easy if I was gonna be able to play any jazz at all in the car. This worked best:
Miles Davis - Relaxin'
Stan Getz - The Brothers
some Billie Holiday plus some songs like
Bill Evans - Nardis
John Coltrane - My Favorite Things
Gary Bartz - I've Known Rivers

hammertime · January 2006

I don't know anyone that could be mad at:

99Problems · January 2006

Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else (Blue Note)

cHiller · January 2006

i guess some George Benson LPs might work, too...

The_Hook_Up · January 2006

When faced with folks asking me to introduce them to jazz, they are usually rock listeners and I always play them Mingus, something like "blues and roots" right off the bat and they love it. I am thinking they can like it so quickly because he is so riffy and it has a deep driving beat. I have found that "Kind of blue" sounds kinda sleepy and boring to neophytes because that style is taken for granted and sounds unremarkable to people who do not fully know what they are hearing. I know if I was exposed to "Kind of Blue" in a "I wanna check out some jazz" stage of my musical life I would have yawned and not taken an interest in jazz. What did it for me was Art Blakey "Night in Tunisia"...I was hooked after repeated listening to that.

Flomotion · January 2006

Just give 'em Astrud, Getz, Ella and all the things they hear at Starbucks. Bob James ain't gonna help

faux_rillz · January 2006

Why not some "Favorite Things" era Coltrane? Who can't get with that?

Seriously, there's a lot of classic jazz that's also quite accessible--you don't have to resort to playing them fuzack.

dig_this · January 2006

Just give 'em Astrud, Getz, Ella and all the things they hear at Starbucks. Bob James ain't gonna help

+

white_tea · January 2006

Bill Evans - Nardis

gloom · January 2006

andrew hill (ie. grass roots)

Tabasko · January 2006

Lynn_Ness · January 2006

Some stuff that hasn't been mentioned that I'd probably dig out for the house guests would be;

Ahmad Jamal (maybe Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra, Extensions, The Awakening...)
Milt Jackson (his stuff on CTI is very accessible; Sunflower and Goodbye)
Wes Montgomery (especially his Trio work and the song Four on Six)
Paul Desmond (most of his catalog is pretty easy to digest)
Stan Getz (Sweet Rain, Focus, Early Stan, Big Band Bossa Nova...)

Man, there's tons of this shit out there... And it's good as well, so you're not just sandbagging it -- like playing that Spyro Gyra shit.

Jonny_Paycheck · January 2006

Unfortunately (cultural insight-related), everyday Black folks think Najee is good jazz.

Stacks you are dumbing down your own people man, "everyday Black folks" that I know love some Miles, Coltrane, on down to obscure shit like Prince Lasha "The Cry" which I was playing the other day... an older Black gentleman strolled in and kicked it for a while on the strength of the music. He wanted a burn of the record because he listens to CDs.

I mean, I know plenty of folks, of all colors and walks of life, who are not into records or obscure music and can still appreciate real jazz. Sounds like these friends of yours just have bad taste.

Big_Stacks · January 2006

Unfortunately (cultural insight-related), everyday Black folks think Najee is good jazz.

Stacks you are dumbing down your own people man, "everyday Black folks" that I know love some Miles, Coltrane, on down to obscure shit like Prince Lasha "The Cry" which I was playing the other day... an older Black gentleman strolled in and kicked it for a while on the strength of the music. He wanted a burn of the record because he listens to CDs.

I mean, I know plenty of folks, of all colors and walks of life, who are not into records or obscure music and can still appreciate real jazz. Sounds like these friends of yours just have bad taste.

Hey Jonny,

You said it, an "older Black gentleman", is not exactly "everyday Black folk" today. Remember, I'm 36 years-old, so I wouldn't normally hang out with that cohort. I'm talking my age and slightly younger, folks are clueless about jazz. They say and I quote, "I don't like that old stuff." Doesn't this sound familiar (rap-related)? I even have an older Black colleague (mid 50ish) who gets amped about going to a Boney James show. I remember back in Akron, my wife and I (girlfriend back then) went to see 1 + 1 with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Some Black folks next to us were complaining because they didn't play "Rockit"

I think I saw 2-3 Black folks out of a predominately White crowd at a Buddy Guy concert in Cleveland some years ago. Oh course, there are exceptions like my older brother and some of his dudes (who are older also, by the way), but folks are on some dumb shit about music. It's the sad truth.

Peace,

Big Stacks from Kakalak

Jonny_Paycheck · January 2006

Stacks I wonder if your problem is specific to the late 30s-early 40s set. Kids my age are into THAT REAL SCHITT (I'm 28).

rape_donkeys · January 2006

just put on najee and stop condescending to your friends

faux_rillz · January 2006

Unfortunately (cultural insight-related), everyday Black folks think Najee is good jazz.

Stacks you are dumbing down your own people man, "everyday Black folks" that I know love some Miles, Coltrane, on down to obscure shit like Prince Lasha "The Cry" which I was playing the other day... an older Black gentleman strolled in and kicked it for a while on the strength of the music. He wanted a burn of the record because he listens to CDs.

I mean, I know plenty of folks, of all colors and walks of life, who are not into records or obscure music and can still appreciate real jazz. Sounds like these friends of yours just have bad taste.

Hey Jonny,

You said it, an "older Black gentleman", is not exactly "everyday Black folk" today. Remember, I'm 36 years-old, so I wouldn't normally hang out with that cohort. I'm talking my age and slightly younger, folks are clueless about jazz. They say and I quote, "I don't like that old stuff." Doesn't this sound familiar (rap-related)? I even have an older Black colleague (mid 50ish) who gets amped about going to a Boney James show. I remember back in Akron, my wife and I (girlfriend back then) went to see 1 + 1 with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Some Black folks next to us were complaining because they didn't play "Rockit" I think I saw 2-3 Black folks out of a predominately White crowd at a Buddy Guy concert in Cleveland some years ago. Oh course, there are exceptions like my older brother and some of his dudes (who are older also, by the way), but folks are on some dumb shit about music. It's the sad truth.

Peace,

Big Stacks from Kakalak

Man, just because people don't actively seek vintage jazz out doesn't mean that they're going to be totally hostile to it. I think that's the mistake you're making.

As far as Najee goes, I don't think I know any young folks of any race that listen to that crap, although I have known plenty of older black folks that somehow went from listening to James Brown and the Stylistics to listening to John Tesh over the past thirty years (actual example)... but even so, I don't think most of the older folks that now listen to smooth jazz would be like "turn it off" if you tried to put on some real jazz.

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Selections for Houseguests with Infant Jazz Tastes

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