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Kumar
January 12, 2015

Recommended music - other than classical and pop

  • January 12, 2015
  • 333 replies
  • 34357 views
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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    bkswain
    February 20, 2015
    I suspect it might be too close to pop for some of you, but I've recently come across First Aid Kit - kind of folk-ish.

    You guys should check out the NPR Tiny Desk Concerts available on Youtube. Lots of new artists I hadn't heard of before. A little bit of everything! Here's a playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1B627337ED6F55F0
    Evohass
    February 23, 2015
    Lots of wonderful suggestions for which thanks!. I have recently come across Cassandra Wilson who blew me away (like Chantal Chamberland, mentioned earlier).

    I am not huge fan anymore of Jan Garbarek but do like other Scandinavian jazz:

    Lars Danielson - "Pasodoble" and "The time"

    Bobo Stenson - "Serenity", "Indicum"

    Esbjørn Svensson - "Viaticum"

    Tord Gustavsen - "Being There", "Changing Places", "The Ground"

    If you like the clarinet try Gianluigi Trovesi - "In Cerca Di Cibo"

    Bordering on pop but very spirited and uplifting: Melissa Laveaux.

    For those who don't shy away from an interesting mixture of baroque and jazz you might want to try L'arpeggiata - "All'Improvviso" (esp. the tracks with Gianluigi Trovesi).
    KumarAuthor
    March 3, 2015
    An excellent new release in jazz - mostly trumpet, bass and drums - is Dark Nights/Avishai Cohen. He has earlier albums as well, but I preferred the mood on this one.
    KumarAuthor
    March 3, 2015

    Tord Gustavsen - "Being There", "Changing Places", "The Ground"


    Those are probably the best of Tord.
    Another great piano trio is the Marcin Wasilewksi led one. January, Faithful and Trio are excellent. Spark of Life is good too, as is their early music on Habanera, when they called themselves the Simple Acoustic Trio.
    They play in some Tomasz Stanko quartets as well, many of which are excellent.
    KumarAuthor
    March 13, 2015
    Excellent recent release led by drummer Wolfgang Haffner - Kind of Cool. Modern take on jazz standards like So What, Autumn Leaves, Summertime and some others and some original music. Clean fresh sound for a new spin to some classic jazz. I liked this one.
    KumarAuthor
    March 16, 2015
    What's it with the Scandinavian jazz scene that keeps turning up new approaches to jazz, particularly trio sets?
    I just found a new one to me, that ticks all the boxes - Norwegian this time, Hello Troll by the Helge Lien Trio. Piano/bass/drums, very well recorded/mastered too.
    KumarAuthor
    May 30, 2015
    Great music, mostly from the jazz genre, that I discovered recently:
    1. Clifford Brown - a recent discovery on my part. With Strings, A Study in Brown and Clifford Brown and Max Roach are all superb albums. The sound of his trumpet is still fresh and eminently listenable even now.
    2. Lynne Arriale piano trio - Come Together, Inspiration are excellent. Nuance has more of Randy Brecker's trumpet on it, but also very good.
    3. Another great sound on the trumpet is from Kenny Dorham. Afro Cuban for a party groove and Quiet Kenny for less noisy occasions.
    4. More party grooves on Funky Abba, by the Nils Landgren Funk Unit. Abba music is of one flavour, so this album also ends up like that and is best used in a shuffled playlist.
    5. I was looking for a good version of Harlem Nocturne and that turned up the Sonny Stitt version on his 37 minutes and 48 seconds album. Perhaps the best version of the tune, but the rest of the eighteen tracks are also very good.
    BCM
    BCM
    May 30, 2015
    Number 1 is intriguing to me because of the 'with strings' part. Thanks, K. Looking forward to sampling these for acquisition.
    KumarAuthor
    May 30, 2015
    Charlie Parker with Strings is also very good. As with the Clifford Brown album, the strings do not drown everything in sugar coating on this one as well.
    BCM
    BCM
    May 30, 2015
    The live album, Bird With Strings is one of those gems I found in a used CD shop years ago. Ben Webster, Chet Baker, Cannonball Adderley, and Lee Konitz all have great 'with strings' albums. Though I'm not that big a fan of Chet's vocals... His horn playing, though... man.

    I just downloaded Clifford Brown's album from Amazon. Really liking it...
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