{"id":97731,"date":"2016-06-13T11:42:07","date_gmt":"2016-06-13T11:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/6toplists.com\/?p=97731"},"modified":"2017-12-12T14:26:47","modified_gmt":"2017-12-12T14:26:47","slug":"the-top-6-jazz-albums-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/6toplists.com\/?p=97731","title":{"rendered":"The Top 6 Jazz Albums of all time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t Order Now from Amazon\n\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nTraveler<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nMaidens Voyage<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nStudy in Brown<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nOur Man in Paris<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nKind of Blue<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nAh Um<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

After all, how can we associate vocal songs like Louis Armstrong<\/a>\u2019s \u2018What a wonderful world\u2019 with the same music from Miles Davis<\/a>\u2019 \u2018Bitches Brew\u2019? Aren\u2019t they two totally different genres of music? The short answer is no.<\/p>\n

Jazz is a very broad genre that encompasses a wide range of sub genres as well as something called fusion genres. If that wasn\u2019t difficult enough to wrap your head around, jazz music also varies considerably based on regions which can consist of different countries or even just different regions within a single country.<\/p>\n

There is vocal jazz and instrumental, both of which feature a fairly large variety of musical instruments from the quintessential trumpets and saxophones to electric guitar, organ and drums. There\u2019s jazz intended to soothe your soul and transport you into a state of utter bliss, and there\u2019s jazz intended to remind you of the really weird\u00a0trips that some of you probably experienced back in the \u201860s and \u201870s.<\/p>\n

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You can read more about all the different types of jazz music in this article by A Passion For Jazz<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

During the 1950s and 1960s modern jazz became a widely recognized part of American culture. As a musical form, it was radically changed in the 1940s by the bebop experiments of Charlie Parker<\/a>, Dizzy Gillespie<\/a>, and other musicians who were playing at clubs in New York. By the 1950s, their music began to reach a wider audience through recordings, which introduced many other musicians to the new style.<\/p>\n

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Read article: <\/span>
The Top 6 Jazz Singers of All Time<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Since the nineteen-seventies, jazz has been branching out in so many directions that you would need to list at least another hundred recordings, by the likes of Steve Coleman, Stanley Jordan, Joe Lovano, Jacky Terrasson, John Zorn, David Murray, Avishai Cohen, B\u00e9la Fleck, Eliane Elias, Roy Hargrove, Dave Douglas, Matthew Shipp, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Fat Kid Wednesdays, and many, many others.<\/p>\n

There is a suggestion below of the dazzling scope of contemporary jazz, but the focus is on the classic jazz that is Schaap<\/a>\u2019s specialty.\u00a0Jazz has had a major influence on most popular music genres in the 20thcentury \u2014 rock, hip-hop, Latin\u2026 Having an understanding of jazz will give a music connoisseur a deeper appreciation of whatever their favorite genre happens to be.<\/p>\n

Jazz music perfectly encapsulates the American ideal of collaboration mixed with individuality, and its history is really the history of the country. Born from the music of African-American slaves, it intertwines with so many different facets of modern American life \u2013 movies, dance, art, literature, and of course, race. Thus, an understanding of jazz will provide the student of history a fascinating window into 20th<\/sup> century America.<\/p>\n

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For a comprehensive list of all the big names in American jazz, you can always check out this Wiki page<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

There\u2019s definitely a masculine ethos that underlies jazz. Its emphasis on the solo and improvisation requires a performer to embrace risk, and adds an element of palatable bravado to the music. What\u2019s more, while jazz is certainly collaborative, it\u2019s imbued with a competitive spirit as well.<\/p>\n

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Read article: <\/span>
The Top 6 Jazz Pianists of all time<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Jazz musicians of the past often tried to one-up each other in virtuosity and in moving the music in brand new directions. Piano players in 1920\u2019s New York would often muster for rousing back-and-forth \u201cbattles,\u201d each man trotting out his best stuff during late night cutting sessions. These kinds of competitions in musical mastery continue today, even taking the popular form of the piano bar that has become so trendy in the last few years.<\/p>\n

Columbia was the first record label to introduce album covers, which were invented by Alex Steinweiss<\/a> who joined the newly formed label as an art director in 1939. Steinweiss designed several hundreds of covers before he left in the early 1950s. Columbia was recording both classical and jazz musicians, the latter playing in traditional genres such as Dixieland, boogie- woogie, and swing.<\/p>\n

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Go ahead and check out the most artistic album covers of Columbia Records on BirkaJazz.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Now let’s see the 6 best jazz albums from last to first:<\/p>\n

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6. Charles Mingus: Ah Um<\/h2>\n

Charles Mingus is the godfather of the upright bass, and in 1959, he put out Ah Um<\/em>, which many consider to be a masterpiece and cemented his status as a legendary composer. Charles\u00a0combined elements of gospel and blues<\/p>\n

The opening track, “Better Get It Into Your Soul,” is not just a ruckus jubilation; it’s a command — the driving brass, the dixie-land rapture and the voice calling out in joy — to stop doing whatever you’re doing and take into your heart and body this music. It’s a roller coaster ride through fast and slow tempos, cacophony and perfect harmony, and a touch of madness.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iGQEVY8eFRU<\/p>\n

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5. Miles Davis: Kind of Blue<\/h2>\n

I can still remember the first time I heard Kind of Blue. I was 17, and I was driving my Subaru Legacy Wagon in the rain. I drove the car to my grandparent’s house, and put it on. It was only about a five-minute drive, but I ended parked outside of their house, the windshield wipers swatting away rain — the album blaring. I sat in the driveway until the album ended, and, well, music was never the same for me.<\/p>\n

It’s a composition, released in 1959, that is often considered the definitive jazz album. Honestly, there are some jazz purists who probably would die if they found out our generation was unfamiliar with it.<\/p>\n

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If you want to learn more about Miles Davis, read this long interview by The Guardian<\/a> where he talks about a lot of interesting stuff in his life<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Just pay attention\u00a0who was featured: Coltrane, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb. If you’re about to go sky diving, and you’re not sure if you’re going to survive, play this album on the car ride over. Why is it so great? Let’s not try to put it into words. It might be something unspeakable.<\/p>\n