“Idle Moments” Grant Green
“The Matador” Grant Green
“Best of Herbie Hancock” Blue note years
“Bright Size Life” Pat Metheny
“The Way Up” Pat Metheny
“For the funk of it” Grant Green
“Root Down” Jimmy Smith
“The Boss” Jimmy Smith(Geo.Benson-guitar)
“Punk Jazz” Jaco Pastorious

God Bless you and your gift of creation and speading the word of God through jazz.
Thank you for the message on sun…it was wonderful to hear and see you!!
tia

Brother,
thanks for your great list here. I haven’t read your books yet but will and will work my way through the jazz list with my Rhapsody account. I have really enjoyed a few folks over the years (Coltrane, Fats Waller, Herbie Hancock, Louie, Miles, etc.) and enjoyed finding the places in my neighborhood where many of them played and some lived.
Blessings,
Joel.

If it wasn’t for jazz fusion of the 70′s – Return to Forever and specifically Al DiMeola I may have never encountered jazz.
Joe Pass and Larry Carlton has does some great things too.

Hold on there! Where’s Ella?? I don’t think Louis would appreciate you leavin’ her out. (Neither would The Count, Benny, or Louis Jordan) If you have iTunes open, here’s a classic: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=1109031&id=1109050&s=143441

Diana,
I am remiss…how could I have left out the first lady of song!
robert

Beautiful work, brother! In the time periods from 1980 onward, you could include works that build on the foundation of John Clayton on bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums. A good example is the album “The Music” by the Clayton Brothers. Clayton and Hamilton have skills beyond limit, but they put all their skill purely at the service of the music. No egos — it’s all about excellence in the musical result. True beauty!

D Phil,
Thanks for the tip…I’ll check it out.

Good start. May I suggest Charlie Christian & (early) Freddie Hubbard? Also Modern Jazz Quartet.

The only other suggestion for getting into jazz I can think of is to find a friend, who you know likes jazz, who also likes a lot of the other music you listen to & borrow some. …or do like I did, find a musician friend [in my case, guitar teacher] & get them to make a list for you. I like Miles Davis, & subsequently some of the fusion groups born from the members of his bands. Mahavishnu Orchestra [formed by guitarist John McLaughlin], Return to Forever [formed by Chick Corea], & Weather Report [formed by Joe Zawinul & Wayne Shorter]. By the way…I actually don’t have Kind of Blue, I don’t know if I liked it the first time I heard it. [probably would like it now] I like Tribute to Jack Johnson, & In a Silent Way -a lot.
Since I like progressive rock stuff, my teacher got me into different jazz bands/ artists, like Bela Fleck & the Flecktones. Don’t know if this helps anybody.

I think it is notable to consider that Jazz remains the the only authentic American art form. From a mathematical and theological perspective, it boasts the most complex of musical mechanics and delivery. Jazz has the potential for unlimited musical resolutions unlike any other brand of music, be they more limited by pattern or structure. This is why there are so many strains and variances of jazz, each offering creative opportunity based on the unique gifting of the individual artist or group. Therefore it is likely there is a recorded style of jazz pleasurable for most anyone. Jazz could be described as “an artist’s art form” since it encourages improvisational expertise and the free flow of musical idiom. The writing, arrangement and performance of jazz music, inspired by the likes of legends listed in your summary, have historical relevance beyond time and space.

So, after spending Tuesday Night with the Jazz Theologian, I went home and found my Pharaoh Sanders, Karma album and listened to The Creator has a Master Plan, Miles, Kind of Blue album, Flamenco Sketches, Cannonball Adderly, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy and John Coltrane, Love Supreme albums. It was a wonderful walk down memory lane. When I was a kid growing up in Boston, my oldest sister married Lenny Johnson, a trumpet player who played with Miles Davis, Quincy Jones (you can see Lenny in Quincy’s documentary, “Listen Up”)Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Clark Terry and many, many others. He taught me to play the trumpet and more importantly, appreciate jazz. He was very well known and has a memorial at the Berklee School of Music. From the age of 13, every week I sat in Paul’s Mall, the Jazz Workshop, Blinstrub’s, and other clubs listening to anyone who came into town, for FREE! Every Thursday, or Sunday ‘matinee’, I would be somewhere listening to Miles, Roland Kirk (who was blind and played 3 horns at the same time!), Herbie Hancock, Herbie Mann, all aforementioned artists, and many, many others. I was even invited to go to Russia with Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines as a valet with Budd Johnson; and Joe Williams, the jazz singer and Arthur Prysock and Tony Bennett were Lenny’s personal friends, who came by the house for dinner, when in town. I spent my summers in New York from ages 13-17, and was a regular at the Village Gate and The Village East jazz clubs; and any outdoor concert at Bryant Park where I saw Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughn, and others. Needless to say, as a young man I was richly blessed to experience “The Groove”. I listen to Les McCann’s ‘Layers’ album every day because of the Lord’s peace and serenity it provides my spirit. I have a fairly substantial jazz collection, and am willing to share my journey in jazz’ theology with you anytime! Meanwhile, I humbly thank you for taking me back to my core, “one more again” as I “Look down, look down, that lonesome road…”

Robert
thank you my friend and brother in Jesus Christ
mega blessings
Manuel
http://www.solidfrontmusic.com

Robert my brother thank you
mega blessings
Manuel

Hi Robert,
We had spoken about one recording I think you may enjoy as well as other people visiting this site. Grover Washington Jr. Soul Box 1 and 2. I have it on album (wax, disc whatever the trendy name is now). It’s a great addition to the collection you’re exampling. Thanks for all the other comments. Peace to you and your families.

I am currently reading your book, Finding the Groove and I would like to suggest the following groups and/or individuals to be placed in the time period of 1990-2000.
Lala Hathaway
Incognito
Terrence Blanchard
In addition, where is Nina Simone? Thank you for your voice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Robert,
After reading your list. I closed my eyes and it took me back to when I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn,N.Y. early 60′s & 70′s, how I would just sit around some of the old timers in my building or on the fire escape . And listen to 40% of the artist you mention. I have allowed myself to forget the beauty of real jazz music and how simple the melody and words can connect with life experiences. just like country and gospel which I enjoy as well. Your list is a good one. Two of my favorites are Nat & Ella.
So thank you for sharing and taking me back to when life was oh so simple. I will start sharing my music memories with my daughters.
Many blessings and the Favor of the Lord be on you and your family.

You must add Mary Lou Williams to your list. Especially from a spiritual perspective, check out Mary Lou’s Mass. You can find it on I-tunes. Mary Lou’s career as a jazz pianist (yes, a woman in a tough man’s field) spanned from the 1920′s to the 1970′s. She played and composed with and for all of the greats, but she received scant credit. The biography “Morning Glory” by Linda Dahl tells her story.

wes montgomery…”Bumpin”
Let’s not forget…