Getting Into Jazz, Part 1

Yesterday I received an email from a friend of a reader who said he was interested in listening to jazz but wasn't quite sure how to approach the music or the history. To this person, jazz seemed tremendously exciting but overwhelming in terms of where to start. Rather than respond in detail, I told the writer I'd post today on the subject, since I've received many emails recently with similar pleas for jazz help. 

So I'm going to make this really easy for everyone who is new to jazz. I'm dividing the history of jazz into two parts: 1917 to 1944 and 1945 to today. And to make it really easy, let's leave the first half for another time and focus on the second half, since the music after 1945 will likely sound more familiar to you and should be easier to enjoy initially. We'll come back to the older half after soon. With me so far?

Below, you'll see a list of 10 songs from 1945 to 1965. Jazz continued through the decades and still is recorded and performed today, of course. But the 20-year period outlined is crucial and needs to be mastered first. All of the artists below are significant and each changed jazz. If you listen to the clips in order, with your eyes closed, you'll hear how the music evolved over the years. You'll also feel the poetry and love.

For more information about the albums or the artists I've selected, look them up at Wikipedia. If albums below interest you, give them a listen at YouTube. In many cases, entire albums are up at the video site. Or go to Spotify. Once you've listened to these albums with care, listen to other albums by the artists listed here. Then you're ready to check out artists from the same periods. Make sense? OK, let's dive in, but be sure to listen in order. That's very important:

1. Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie— Groovin' High (June 1945)...



2. Lester Young—One O'Clock Jump (February 1947)...



3. Stan Getz—Time on My Hands (December 1952)...



4. Clifford Brown—Joy Spring (July 1954)...

 

5. Sonny Rollins—Paul's Paul (May 1956)...



6. Dave Brubeck (with Paul Desmond on alto saxophone)— Alice in Wonderland (June 1957)...



7. Miles Davis—So What (March 1959)...

 

8. John Coltrane—Giant Steps (May 1959)...



9. Wes Montgomery—Repetition (August 1961)



10. Bill Evans—Elsa (February 1965)...