Jazz...where to start?

I have this problem and I hope some of you can help me out.

I really want to start listening jazz but I have absolutely no idea where to start. There's just so much, and it's all different and everything, so I'm kind of lost here. What would you advise me to begin with? I would like to listen to something that's defenitely jazz, but not too difficult.

So if you know anything about jazz, please post

 

Thelonious Monk
John Coltrane
Sonny Rollins
Billie Holiday
Louis Armstrong

Just to name a few.

 

Thanks I'll check them out!

 

Steely Dan

 

damn it, steely dan is NOT jazz, it's fusion, and shitty fusion at that.


herbie hancock is a name i'd add to the lists above.

 

Definately check out Miles Davis.

I also reccomend Horace Siver, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gilespie, Dave Brubek, Modern Jazz Quartet is really smooth and nice, Vince Geraldi did the music from the Peanuts movies.

 

Dude, stfu... m'kay?

As for Steely Dan, never cared for them much, but I freaking love Larry Carlton... Josie and whatnot.

John Scofield (Holy shit I love Scofield... he's one of those guys I don't really need to speak for... he is the epitome of modern jazz guitar, has his own Ibanez sig model)
Scott Henderson (One of few people who play strats for jazz stuff... He makes awesome use of his tremolo)
Cab Calloway (Was in the original blues brothers movie... amazing stuff... I love minnie the moocher)
Mahavishnu Orchestra/John McLaughlin (don't really know if I need to speak for John McLaughlin... buy the Crossroads Guitar Fest DVD to see what I mean)
Sun Ra (Haha, he's like the Billy Gibbons of Jazz Piano... meaning flash)
Tommy Emmanuel D C.G.P... I took a workshop with Tommy last year and was the youngest person there. Most guys where in their 50s... Learned a lot of stuff about Chet Atkins through him. I hope to meet him again this August)
Jelly Roll Morton (Started out in Storyville Whorehouses)
Derek Trucks Band (Derek is the nephew of Butch Trucks, drummer for the allman brothers band, he came in when Dickey Betts retired, then Warren came back, also has had his own band for over a decade, opened for the allmans and played with Buddy Guy by the time he was 13, started playing when he was nine... John Scofield on acid.. totally. I've been to three or four of his concerts. I believe we have another Duane on our hands at this point...)
Django Reinhardt (I don't really think I need to say much for him... okay, Dickey Betts is like Django on acid, but Django only played with two fingers after he was injured in a fire... the king of gypsy Jazz. Dickey came up with In Memory of Elizabeth Reed with Django's style in his head. You can actually play the solos with two fingers, though he never intended it to be that way)
Pat Methany (He looks a lot like Dave Amato of REO Speedwagon to me... wild hair, man... Amazing guitarist, also played at Crossroads, but he's not on the DVD)
John Pizarelli
Hiram Bullock
DJ Williams Projekt
Medeski, Martin, and Wood (Wow... an extremely good jazz/jam band that doesn't have guitar overshadowing it... unless they're playing with Scofield or something, but I can make an exception )
Charlie Parker (I think someone mentioned him above... not sure exactly, anyway)
Joe Pass (I suppose I should note both Joe Pass and Wes have signature models from Gibson, I believe... Al DiMeola has a signature humbucker, I can't remember for sure... I need to quit adding these little notes)
George Benson
Charlie Christian (Mmm... the Charlie Christian pickup)
Al DiMeola
Mike Stern
Marc Ribot
Wes Montgomery (I don't know how the man did it, sometimes. He was a welder by trade... worked 10-12 hour days and found time to become one of the world's best jazz musicians... only played guitar with his thumb)
John Abercrombie

Last but not least, Les Paul. I can't belive he's still alive... You should pay thanks to this man or at least listen to his music. He's the reason any of these other bands are around these days... and he's just not a guitar. I'd have to say Les Paul and Chet Atkins did more for modern music than almost anyone... Chet was of course VP of RCA records and got Nashville really moving back in the day. He did it all...

Shit... now I have My Favorite Things stuck in my head. I love trane...

 

Oh yeah... and... Robben Ford.

 

ok first if jazz is new to you, i guess you have to hear different styles to know what you like the sound of. so therefore try cheap compilations or "best of" albums of the following people

Louie Armstrong
Duke Ellington
Charlie Parker
Miles Davis
John Coltrane

 

uh...good one. so are you a steely dan fan, or just a complete idiot?


orsino did pretty much cover all the great jazz guitarists i could ever think of. wes montgomery, trucks, these guys define dynamics. scofield i love when he puts down his god damned looping devices and such, that stuff gets old.

 

Hey, you're the one who considers Steely Dan as jazz.

 

http://www.ebene.hyspex.com/orsino/Derek Trucks Band - Young Funk.mp3

Derek Trucks Band - Young Funk.

 

Steely dan sucks.

anyway, start with miles davis, billie holiday, charlie parker, django reinhardt (orsino knew that was coming)

 

Check out the album 'Bitches Brew' by Miles Davis.

 

http://www.akbankcaz.com/mp3/John_Scofield-Works_For_Me-Not_You_Again.mp3

John Scofield Trio.

 

I'm not the one who has a problem with it. I do believe I don't use the word "H4XOR" or whatever the hell you said... You kind of remind me of that Viking dude if he were on crack.

 

Listen to Soulive:

http://www.archive.org/audio/etreelisting-browse.php?collection=etree&mode=mp3&cat=Soulive


They're really good jazz funk.

 

I've always wanted to see soullive... I'm seeing Derek Trucks with the allman bros/moe. tomorrow. Just got my tickets this evening. I'm addicted to his playing.

 

They're sick, I've seen them a few times. Probably my favorite act to see, but they need some setlist variation. They're still pretty young as a band, (they started in 99) and their new songs are amazingly written. They're only going to get better.

 

whoever banned Lemmiwinks is an awfully nasty and mean-spirited person

Im sure the little rodent was only trying to contribute some lively conversation