Recommended Listening: There are obviously so many great jazz albums, but here are some albums that have been pivotal to my own development jazz Sonny Rollins- the king of tenor lyricism; great for learning tunes and melodies; Live in Denmark '68, Vols 1 +2 must haves!!! 25 minute solos, all melodically developed; The Freedom Suite w/ Oscar Pettiford Joe Henderson- master of improvisation - Inner Urge; In and Out Kenny Wheeler- Gnu High; Double, Double You- Jack Dejohnette and Dave Holland w/ Brecker, Keith Jarrett and others Larry Young- some great Blue Note albums from the mid 60's and a total hookup with Elvin: Unity, I want to Hold Your Hand, etc Joey Calderazzo- To Know One -with Jack, Dave, and Bergonzi Dave Liebman- Trio + One- with Jack Dejohnette and Dave Holland Chick Corea- Now He Sings, Now He Sobs; Miroslav and Roy Haynes Bill Evans- You Must Believe in Spring - a poignant album from the end of his life; Live at Town Hall (1964); Everybody Digs Bill Evans The Fringe- It's Time for the Fringe- Garzone in his finest hour anything with Elvin Jones - Coltrane, Grant Green, Wayne Shorter, Joe Farrell, Joe Henderson, Live at the Lighthouse; esp with Jimmy Garrison, Bob Cranshaw; Grant Green- Solid anything with Coltrane- Transition, Love Supreme, etc Duke Ellington- America's classical music - The Far East Suite, Duke Ellington Vol 5 - amazing counterpoint and thematic development Phillie Joe Jones and Paul Chambers as a rhythm section; so many albums with Miles and others, but check out Chet Baker in New York, Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section, also Everybody Digs Bill Evans (w/Sam Jones) anything with Charlie Haden- Enrico Pieranunzi and more Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, and the Tristano school- great for linear development, extension, and vocabulary- check out Lee Konitz Motion w/Elvin Jones and Sunny Dallas Keith Jarrett- Standards Vol 2; Still Live; Eyes of the Heart; Survivor Suite Allan Holdsworth - Sixteen Men of Tain - unbelievable lyricism, phrasing and execution; Secrets; Live; check him with Tony Williams' Lifetime, mid 70's, for perpective classical Some performers I'd recommend for classical interpretation, phrasing, and more: Claudio Arrau, Pablo Casals, Rostropovich, Janos Starker, David Oistrakh, Glenn Gould, and so many others Federico Mompou- a little known Spanish composer, impressionistic; find the 4 disc set of Mompou plays Mompou; also Musica Callada Morton Feldman - Coptic Light Olivier Messiaen- Illuminations of the Beyond
Quartet for the End of Time organ works Toru Takemitsu- I Hear the Water Dreaming Lou Harrison- Suite for Violin with String Orchestra Mozart- piano sonatas (great for easily accessible examinations of form) Bach- The Art of the Fugue (the apex of Baroque counterpoint) Shostakovich- string quartets (particularly nos. 8 and 15) Bartok- string quartets Hindemith- sonatas for any instrument Eliott Carter- Complete Music for Piano Ligeti- Hungarian composer; amazing textures and orchestrations; some of my favorites are his Music for Barrel Organ and Music for Player Piano; Piano Etudes Charles Ives- composer who in complete obscurity at the turn of the 20th century anticipated many modern musical ideas by decades world/Indian, etc Zakir Hussain- The Art of Rhythm- world renown master of the Indian tablas Trichy Sankaran- Laya Vinyas- Mrangdam virtuoso; a great CD for odd meters, rhythmic superimositions, and more Farmer's Market- Norwegian musicians fusing Balkan music, rock, jazz, and more Bjork- Vespertine, Medulla Merzbow- Japanese noise- every texturally concerned musician has to hear this at least once Meshuggah- thrash/death metal band specializing in the fastest odd meters and rhythms you'll ever hear- even if you don't like the genre, there is a quite interesting rhythmic approach to check out here...Destroy, Erase Improve; I ; Chaosphere; Catch 33 Gamelan Semar Pegulingan- a gamelan orchestra from Bali Chano Dominguez- incredible, lyrical flamenco/jazz pianist
I firmly believe that dialogue is an integral part of one's artistic, emotional, and intellectual development. This not only applies to conducting dialogues with one's peers and associates, but the "dialogue" of repeatedly immersing oneself in a composer or author's work.
In my experience, finding resources that aid artistic growth is not always an easy task, so if this list helps you in any way, wonderful! And as no list could possibly be complete, I have chosen composers, performers, and authors that tend to be less well known or striking examples of a concept. Suggested Reading: Stravinsky - The Poetics of Music Toru Takemitsu- Confronting Silence (selected writing) Various authors; ed. Peter Hill - The Messiaen Companion Antokoletz- The Music of Bela Bartok Lieberman/Miller- Lou Harrison Harry Partch- Genesis of a Music The Collected Essays of Milton Babbitt Martin Clayton - Time in Indian Music Martin Heidegger- Poetry, Language, Thought- particularly check out the first essay: The Origin of the Work of Art Stephen Nachmanovitch- Free Play -interesting exploration of the creative mind in relation to Eastern philosophical concepts Douglas Hofstadter- Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid - amazing book drawing parallels between counterpoint, form, Bach, MC Escher, mathematical theory, and consciousness William Barrett- Time of Need- incredible book relating modern art and philosophy Nietzsche- On the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life- the relationship of creative action to the past and future I also recommend various Eastern thinkers for their inquiries into meditation and nature of mind: Krishnamurti, Maharaj, Suzuki
Feel free to email me with any questions, inquiries, or your own recommendations! |