I've thought about this a lot. Quite a few people have asked me where to start with classical music. First of all, if something catches your attention, start there. But if you want to start listening cold, I've begun recommending this recording:



It's called A State of Wonder, an apt title. It contains Glenn Gould's 1955 and 1981 versions of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Along with outtakes and a very revealing interview. The 1955 version is often considered one of the greatest classical recordings ever made. It's technically dazzling, full of brio. The 1981 version is very different, both in execution and interpretation. I'm listening to them now. And I'm still amazed, listening to them side-by-side. I'm still waiting to hear a version of the GV that eclipses these. I can't remember if you are a fan of Oscar Peterson, but he considered Bach essential to the the jazz artist, especially the Goldberg Variations. He often said that everything done in jazz was done first by Bach.

Here's piece from npr on Glenn Gould and his work:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... d=19195911

But actually the reason that I asked you about classical music was that your post was about piano-less quartets. I've been listening, for the first time, to the six string quartets that Mozart wrote as a homage to his teacher, Haydn. The version that I have is by the Guarneri Quartet. And they are brilliant and progressive. I can't imagine most jazz fans not being at least fascinated by them.

These are the six in case you want to take a listen:

String Quartet No. 14 in G major, K. 387 (1782)
String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421 (1783)
String Quartet No. 16 in E-flat major, K. 428 (1783)
String Quartet No. 17 in B flat major ("Hunt"), K. 458 (1784)
String Quartet No. 18 in A major, K. 464 (1785)
String Quartet No. 19 in C major ("Dissonance"), K. 465 (1785)


I'm not a big fan of the original instruments movement. I like more modern interpretations. But Christopher Hogwood has been involved in something that I've found really fascinating. You might be familiar with it. It's called the Wranitzky Project.

http://www.wranitzky.com/

I always wonder how many great artists have been lost through time. We've all heard of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, but who fell through the cracks?

i'm definitely gonna check this out

Anyone know where I can go beyond Ornette Coleman for some Free Jazz? Sun Ra? Where to start?

Check out Eric Dolphy. More post-bop than free jazz but very good shit. Out There and Out To Lunch.

Thanks, I'll try it out. When did he record?

also check out Jackie Mclean, one step beyond

Dolphy would have been the greatest musician in the history of the recorded music if he hadn't of died so young, and I honestly do not think that is hyperbole. The guy was such a unique talent it is nuts and you could see it all coming together right before he passed. Also check him out on Andrew Hill's Point of Departure, a classic right up there with Out to Lunch and check out any and all Hill, similar to Dolphy in the post-bop category but will suit your needs with very unique and well written melodies and generally freer solos and arrangements.

William Parker is a great one to check out for free jazz, he's got some more inside stuff too so you can't just pick anything but if you can find the album Never Too Late But Always Too Early by Peter Brotzmann with Parker and Hamid Drake as the rythym section that album is monstrous. Also The All Star Game with Marshall Allen, Kidd Jordan, Alan Silva, Parker and Drake is another epic live performance. This stuff is really dense and won't click the first listen but once you kind of get accustomed to it it will become sort of hypnotic and just elevate you to this crazy chaotic place of catharsis you were never aware existed.

Never listened to any jazz. Someone get me started.

I'm sure you'd heard some jazz. What kind of thing do you want?

Yeah unless you've never been in an elevator, you have to have heard some jazz.

I've never consciously consumed jazz music.

Well, alright. A few that are very accessible and good:

Kind of Blue-Miles Davis
Time Out-Dave Brubeck Quartet
Mingus Ah Um-Charles Mingus

Thanks friend, I'll get on that. I literally have no idea where to start.

Those are all pretty catchy for jazz.

i also love 'black saint and the sinner lady' by mingus, but i'm not as into jazz as i would probably like.

Nate recommended Mingus Ah Um and I would without a doubt start with that.

Art Blakey.

I've been listening to Art Blakey, Miles Davis, and Louis Armstrong today.

Okay jazz heads, help me out here:

I play the hell out of this one Ornette Coleman record I have called Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation. there are two quartets playing simultaneously, one on each channel. The music is free flowing and expressive. I really enjoy it, but I want more. I'm interested in traditional jazz instruments playing non-traditional styles, so don't recommend any Fusion-era Miles Davis or anything like that. I like that stuff too, but I need more records like Ornette Coleman.

What should I look for in used bins? Also, what is Sun Ra all about? Based on this post, would I enjoy him?

You might like some Sun Ra, he's done a lot of different stuff from traditional big band to Coleman-esque stuff to more out-there sort of fusion-y type stuff. You may want to check out Heliocentric Worlds Vol. 1, The Magic City, and Nothing Is. Definitely check out the Black Saint and the Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus, a great piece that is both thoroughly composed but also free flowing and expressive in a way you should like.

To dig a little deeper check out Live at Greenwich Village by Albert Ayler, Unit Structures by Cecil Taylor, Machine Gun by Peter Brotzmann, and the self titled Naked City album. If you can get into those then we have lots more to talk about.

Can't recommend Mingus's "Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" enough, Reid. It's wonderful.

I've only got "Lanquidity" by Sun Ra, which I love beyond words, but I've also heard it's not really representative of his whole catalogue. It's got some groovier, funkier influences that mesh really nicely with the more free-form stuff flowing around it; a very spacey album.