This will probably end up being too specific a thing, but I thought considering that Jazz is a bit good and a bit important there may be a space to have a bit of chat about it and exchange some recommendations.

One of the most recent people I have gotten a love for is Mel Torme, AKA’d as The Velvet Fog AKA’d as The Smoothest Scatter in All of Jazz.



He wrote The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting) but is far more important and good as a Jazz singer, as well as being a world class scat guy and drummer.

A Foggy Day In London Town



Fascinating Rhythm



April Showers



Down For Double with Jon Hendricks (epic scatting)


His ability to fit in with the bands he played with on instruments and scatting means that he has an improvisational edge that other greats don’t really have so much. Being able to solo vocally is a fair gift.

Other vocal heads I like include:

Johnny Hartman



Another smooth as silk crooner who worked with such sorts as John Coltrane and Jim Hall. His album with Coltrane is probably my favourite of all of his stuff and is neck and neck with The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans records as being my favourite vocal/instrumental combos. His For ‘Trane is also full of the good stuff.

Lush Life





The Nearness of You



I Just Dropped By To Say Hello



Frank Sinatra



An obvious one, and someone who wasn’t always firmly in the Jazz camp, but a listen to In The Wee Small Hours - one of the first concept albums if that kind of thing gets you hot - and Only The Lonely gave me a severe feeling for that blue eyed guy. Plus a watch of High Society helped.

Only The Lonely



In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning



It Never Entered My Mind



Tony Bennett



Frank called him the best singer in the world. Another super famous guy, but definitely more consistently a Jazz guy than not. His two albums with Bill Evans are some of my favourite things in all of music. Recorded during the worst financial period in Tony’s whole career, they are among the very best things he ever did. A shame that he’s kind of become that gimmick duet guy, but he’s still got the pipes.

We’ll Be Together Again



Young and Foolish


Anything Goes



Chicago with Count Basie and His Orchestra





Billie Holiday



Has all of those strange elements to her that make her voice do it. Down and glum but capable of being quite beautiful. Interestingly, the song Gloomy Sunday which had all that guff about killing people is less harsh on Billie’s version than it is on Mel Torme’s which does not have the stock happy ending to it, although I guess Billie’s voice goes some way to disguising that fact.

Autumn in New York



God Bless the Child



Fine and Mellow



Gloomy Sunday



Gloomy Sunday (Mel Torme version)



Getting a taste for Jazz started with people like Chet Baker, and then Bill Evans. Both helped me remove my general impatience with instrumental music and then my lack of why Jazz is a pretty great thing.

Chet Baker



Chet’s main pull, and why he was the first Jazz guy to break through for me, was his voice and the super soft way he performed these songs. I did fairly quickly come to love his trumpet playing though with albums like Chet Baker in New York and Chet where he wears a lovely jumper on the cover. Worked with Charlie Parker early in his career and even went on to play with Elvis Costello later on. Almost Blue was written by Elvis and is a perfectly suited to Chet’s near death voice. The documentary Let’s Get Lost () is highly recommended.

Almost Blue



Let’s Get Lost


Come Rain or Shine



My Future Just Passed



Bill Evans



Everybody Digs Bill Evans is probably my favourite of his, but I also love Alone and the Conversations With Myself albums.

Peace Piece



Portrait In Jazz




Blue In Green



The Universal Mind of Bill Evans



Ornette Coleman



Beauty is a Rare Thing



The Shape of Jazz To Come



Jim Hall



Jim Hall is one of relatively few jazz guitarists who are well known and fairly important. I got a feeling for him first on the album Undercurrent which he did with Bill Evans.

I Hear a Rhapsody



Stella By Starlight



A Conversation with Jim Hall



Wes Montgomery



The other famous Jazz guitarist, who had a ridiculously short career largely because of a silly commitment to his family.

Round Midnight



Live in 1965



Four on Six



Wayne Shorter



Speak No Evil



Introducing Wayne Shorter



Miles Davis



Of course. While it is a bit of a shame that he ended up doing 80s things in the 80s, he had a much longer career than his habits should probably have allowed him. I love Round Midnight. One of the coolest motherfuckers on the planet.

Round Midnight



Kind of Blue



Live in Europe 1967



Quincy Jones



A stone cold legend as an R&B / Soul / Funk producer but a helluva Jazz guy also. The Quintessence gave me a taste for the bigger band sound.

The Quintessance



Straight No Chaser



Duke Ellington



My favourite of the older school. His album with John Coltrane is a regular feature in my listening.

Take the A Train



Caravan



Switch Blade



The Feeling of Jazz




So those are some things I like. I am interested to see if anyone here has managed to crack any recent-ish Jazz and whether they can recommend some worthwhile stuff.