Recommended music - other than classical and pop


I am not sure there is a thread on what Sonos is truly about - the music, so this might be an interesting thread. I have left out classical because that deserves a thread of its own and modern pop because it all sounds the same to me.
I have Phil Keaggy strumming Solitude from his Acoustic Sketches album right now in the bedroom on a play 1 pair and sounding very good indeed.
Recently heard and equally good music and mastering:
1. Michel Petrucciani and NHOP
2. Beyond the Missouri Sky - Metheny and Haden
3. Chiaroscuro - Fresu and Towner
4. Jan Johannsen - Jazz pa Svenska
5. The Astounding Eyes of Rita - Anouar Brahem
6. Last Dance/Jasmine - Jarrett and Haden
7. Saturday Morning - Ahmad Jamal
8. Melos - Paolo Fresu
All but the last are ITunes 256kbps purchases, the last a lossless CD rip.
Very little lost in translation for the lossy thing and Sonos convenience.
Any recommendations on similar music that uses the silence between the notes effectively?

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Yes, I think you have mentioned her earlier:-). I know, I bought that album.

Have I mentioned Roberta Gambarini? Easy to Love is not just the name of her debut album. And So in Love is the outcome...
Both albums with excellent backup musicians - Hank Jones, James Moody and more - but she still gets to remain front and center all the time. Highly recommended.
Love Roberta. How is it that one of the best Great American songbook interpreters is Italian? She's also very easy on the eyes, lol.
Protest songs used to be very common back in the sixties. Here is a current, highly topical, list of new protest songs.

Lila Downs is always worth listening to. U.S. Elevator uses words written by Woody Guthrie over 50 years ago, just recently rediscovered, and highly relevant to the current situation. So embarrassing that our great democracy is being endangered by a demagogue.

http://www.30days30songs.com
I love Aimee Mann's Christmas album - One More Drifter in the Snow. Mostly classics and contemporaries done in Aimee's own inimitable style, flanked by two great originals. My favorite newer Holiday album, by one of my favorite artists. I've been following her since the days she was hitting patrons with her bass at The Rat in Kenmore Square. She's mellowed since then. :)

Jewel's Christmas album is really good too.

Again in play the double album, Now's the time/Something in Common: Houston Person and Ron Carter. Some stolen sentences say it all:
"Some of the best jazz I've heard--just bass and saxophone by two masters. It's simple but beautiful and each song sends happy chills up your spine. Just listen to the amazing minor melody in "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," the soulfulness of "Since I Fell for You," and the great interplay and humor of "Mack the Knife."
Both are together on Just between Friends, and the 2016 recording Chemistry as well, but this double album captures them at their best together.
Interesting, thank you. Somehow I have never developed an attachment for the ready made playlists available in their hundreds on Apple Music, preferring instead to build my own from albums available there.

Good thread. I listen to everything, here's some picks, hopefully not too pop.
Holy Vacants: Trophy Scars
Xavier Rudd: Solace
Levon Helm: Dirt Farmer
Robert Plant and Alison Kraus: Raising Sand
Harry Manx
Ali Farka Toure: Savane
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Very good thread cheers Kumar! Discovering great new music worth your ear is time consuming and this thread just cuts to the chase. I hope Sonos makes a way to share/ export playlist from its app, meanwhile here's a playlist:

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OK. Now that all the excitement/disappointment (delete as applicable) re the latest Sonos developments has been announced can we get back to what the system is designed for - the music? Any new recommendations/discoveries out there?
Kenny G I can only abide in elevators of buildings that aren't too tall.

As to JJ it took me a while to discover his work and thus how good trombone can be in the jazz idiom. There are some good John Allred albums as well - a good introduction is In the Beginning.
This kid never ceases to amaze.

Some of Tom Waits, if you can handle his whiskey-soaked voice, lol. This album is essentially jazz; Waits is backed by a jazz trio including the great Shelly Manne.

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Nice picture again Chicks. Man that Kenwood has a lot of knobs and switches.

Of course the thing looks bullet proof but I always had trouble with old receivers and the buttons/switches getting staticy etc. and messing things up.
Ali Akbar Khan is a nice turn for this thread; I prefer the sarod that he plays over the better known sitar for its sweeter sound. Another sarod great is Amjad Ali Khan: if you can find him playing Raga Durga, it is a must listen. 30 minutes or so of musical heaven building up slowly to its climax.
Diahann Carroll (RIP) with The Andre Previn Trio. Didn't follow her career, but this early album with the always excellent Previn is a delight for vocal jazz fans.

The 1958 Newport Jazz Festival on film. Anita O’Day’s performance, starting about 17 minutes in, is some of her best on film.

Dozens of great jazz performers at their finest. Woodstock schmoodstock. This is far more musically significant, IMO.

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Thanks for setting up this thread Kumar. Whilst 'lurking' as the say, in the background, I've investigated most of the recommendation s. In particular ' The astounding eyes of Rita' was a just wonderful discovery. One of those recordings you can just settle down with and lose yourself in the music.

Here's some favourites of mine:

Welcome to the Cruel World by Ben Harper and in particular the track 'Whipping Boy.

Hans Theesink - Johnny and the Devil. Standout track Mississippi.

Max Richter - Recomposed: The Four Seasons.

Dave Grisman - Tone Poems

Trio da Kali - Ladilakan

Phat Phunction - Real Life Hi Fidelity

Aziza Brahim - Soutak

Judy Henske - Judy Henske

And finally, possibly the most stunning of all:

The Fairfield Four - Wreckin' the House.

With the last one be warned that the editing of this live album is done with a butcher's axe! However the quality of the music and the atmosphere they achieve with the audience is extraordinary.

One final point regarding quality: I recently discovered that changing the volume level in Spotify settings to 'quiet' produces a far more dynamic and enjoyable output. Listening to 'Whipping Boy' for example at just off maximum volume on 2 X Play5 2 gen now gives playback the brutal crack and thwack on the drums that it was presumably engineered to produce.
I just got around to listening to the only Miles Davis from the 1950s that I had not heard till now, and it is brilliant, moody and evocative music. Soundtrack from the Louis Malle movie Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud, improvised by Miles and company while watching relevant parts of the movie in the recording studio, with little advance prep. No one but Miles could have pulled this off, capturing the dark themes, and it makes for great late night listening to a master of the trumpet. Recording quality is as good as from today's best studios.
Speaking of Previn, here's a seemingly odd pairing that actually produced a pretty decent jazz date. Both were such pros, they were able to complete the entire album in a day, mostly single takes. They had never played together previously.

My old OmniFi DMS-1 streamer, with the OpenFi firmware, seems so antiquated now compared to the Sonos! 😉 Got the job done, though.

Never heard of Kurt before. Interesting stuff. Very reminiscent of Johnny Hartman.
I could just as easily say that people that like classical music like a regimented life decided by someone that lived decades or even hundreds of years ago, compared to jazz lovers that are a lot more open to new ideas.

And I would be completely wrong in saying so.
Found a couple of gems in the used CD store earlier this week... Sue Raney's 'When Your Lover Has Gone,' and Dinah Washington's 'What A Diff'rence A Day Makes.' Yeah, K, they are string heavy, but oh so sweet!