madwolf on 8/11/2008 at 10:52
I'm not a huge jazz fan but I've always liked Miles Davis, particularly Sketches of Spain. Spanish folk tunes given a jazz overhaul; lovely stuff.
As for easy listening, you can't go far wrong with Sigur Ros. Especially double album Heim which is rarely off my cd player these days. Gorgeous chilled out piano with a fire crackling in the background. Oh and a strange falsetto voice.
EvaUnit02 on 8/11/2008 at 15:33
The "Down By Law" soundtrack.
Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan - New Morning
Bob Dylan - Hard Rain (Live)
Bob Dylan - Planet Waves
I bought Blood on the Tracks the other day, I'll give it a listen and report if it's relevant to the discussion - Dylan's styles are quite diverse as you know. I.e. His Country record, Nashville Skyline, is fricking awesome.
rachel on 8/11/2008 at 16:53
As much as I like Dylan and the variety of his music, I've never considered it jazz... More like folk turned rock/pop.
(Highway 61 Revisited and Bringing It All Back Home should be in any decent music collection though, that's for sure. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan and Blonde on Blonde too, for that matter.)
edit: A few weeks ago I found the Live at Budokan, when he took many of his old tunes and reworked them with a heavy pop touch. There are a few where it doesn't quite work, but it's pretty interesting nonetheless.
re-edit: There's a cool 70's jazz album by Nick Ingman, Terminator. Upbeat kind, really nice. I listen to it regularly along with Lalo Schifrin's Bullit soundtrack.
ArcturusXIV on 8/11/2008 at 18:59
There are two CDs that are absolutely mandatory for Noir jazz music, and unfortunately, one of them is an import.
Ulver's "Perdition City" (haunting saxophone work, though the album is "technically" electronica)
Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Black Earth (haunting, spectral jazz music)
Both are very relaxing, but very interesting. Ulver's music reminds me of a David Lynch film.
june gloom on 8/11/2008 at 20:40
Perdition City is one of my favourite albums of all time. Have you heard Teachings in Silence? It's a combination of two earlier EPs, Silence Teaches You How to Sing and Silencing the Singing. The first song on it is composed of a lot of stuff that was cut from Perdition City and it's pretty haunting.
rachel on 8/11/2008 at 23:55
Quote Posted by ArcturusXIV
Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Black Earth (haunting, spectral jazz music)
I just bought that one (based on your post) and the mood reminds me of
Arkhangelsk by Eric Truffaz. Good stuff, thanks :thumb:
ArcturusXIV on 9/11/2008 at 16:10
Quote Posted by raph
I just bought that one (based on your post) and the mood reminds me of
Arkhangelsk by Eric Truffaz. Good stuff, thanks :thumb:
Wow, glad my post influenced someone. :) Definitely get Perdition City as well, it's a little more electronic-based, but equally haunting. I will have to check out Arkhangelsk, I've never heard of that! Amazon, here I come!
Quote Posted by dethtoll
Perdition City is one of my favourite albums of all time. Have you heard Teachings in Silence? It's a combination of two earlier EPs, Silence Teaches You How to Sing and Silencing the Singing. The first song on it is composed of a lot of stuff that was cut from Perdition City and it's pretty haunting.
Man, I would love to hear Teachings in Silence! No, I haven't actually heard it... I have the movie soundtrack they did, but that's about it for EPs. I'm surprised you've heard of them. Amazing band, eh? :) This whole chat makes me want to start up an experimental music thread...lotsa good stuff out there that I haven't discovered yet. Any other recommendations?
june gloom on 9/11/2008 at 22:24
As a metal fan how could I not have heard them? I love their Black Metal Trilogie and I love their newer stuff too. If you haven't heard Shadows of the Sun yet you don't know what you're missing.
As for experimental... try Axis of Perdition. It's a "cinematic" black metal band heavily influenced by Silent Hill- their album Deleted Scenes from the Transition Hospital is flat-out terrifying.
scumble on 11/11/2008 at 09:21
Quote Posted by fett
Can I piggyback onto this thread to ask for recommendations for more upbeat 'happy' jazz, vocal or non? Piano and sax focused is preferred, though I can tolerate some guitar fronted jazz.
You might find Koop engaging, although I only like (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltz_for_Koop) Waltz for Koop really.
In the world of Smooth Jazz I might recommend Acoustic Alchemy (acoustic guitar), or Spiro Gyra (saxophone mainly - Jay Beckenstein). Dave Grusin's albums are good for piano/keyboard based Jazz with a bit of a classical influence. I tend to prefer some old favourites because smooth jazz can seem a bit lacking in variety after listening to it for years.
These days though, it might just be worth dialling up a decent internet radio stream and see what grabs you. A few good ones here: (
http://www.filtermusic.net/#Jazz) - Dinner Jazz Excursion is a good one for chilled stuff. I've certainly found that it helps to push you in the direction of more things that you like.
