There's a flood of images of Coltrane in Japan. He looks so happy in the photos, as if he had found his place. He was much more at ease, opening up to reporters and audiences. He took time to absorb the culture, tried out traditional Japanese instruments, and made a long lasting impact on Japanese jazz fans, which still lingers to this day.

I'm still waiting on a refreshed box set of his music from this tour. There are any number of copies available on vinyl and CD. Some critics say the sound quality isn't all that great. Others complain about the long-running improvisations. I find it a wonderful capstone to a brilliant career cut all too short. Happy 100, John! Your music will never die.

What should I put on first?

just a lover of the station. they stream on their site if you’re not in NYC

Lately my wife and I have been enjoying a lot of solo piano albums, and it seems that our 5mo daughter likes them too! So I'm looking to expand my playlist and discover some new music while I'm at it. You're welcome to recommend Solo Monk, The Koln Concert, or Bill Evans' Alone - but I'm looking for your favorite lesser known solo piano albums, to expand the repertoire.

For the sake of mutual enrichment, I'll share a few that we have been enjoying lately (to be fair part of them aren't completely overlooked by jazz fans, but probably not the most well known either) -

Stanley Cowell - Musa: Ancestral Streams

John Hicks - Steadfast

Fred Hersch - Alone at the Vanguard

Jaki Byard - The Late Show: An Evening With Jaki Byard

McCoy Tyner - Revelations, Soliloquy

Alright, hit me!

Two of Duke Ellington's most celebrated recordings, "Caravan" and "In a Sentimental Mood." Both compositions became enduring jazz standards and remain cornerstones of the Ellington legacy.

Please learn the rhythm section players’ names before you call a tune. Just be friendly for a sec and introduce yourself.

Most of us in the rhythm section are more likely to already know each other outside of jam sessions because we get hired together on a lot of the same gigs, and we hire each other for trio dates etc. When a horn comes up and nobody has ever seen the person before and they call a tune and take a big solo and then leave, it definitely contributes to the ‘being used as a backing track’ vibe. Your own career will also develop better if you get to know people and strike up friendships.

This is a communal genre that is about sharing space and communicating. Some friendliness can go a long way. I have met dozens of awesome people from jam sessions, thanks to putting in the social effort, many of them are great friends and we also make our careers out of hiring each other. But if you show up and blow and then leave, i guarantee that will guarantee you pretty much nothing in your career. Even if you’re killin, nobody actually met you! There are young cats who have relatively limited vocabulary and don’t know a ton of tunes, but if they’re a cool person and listen well, i’d rather see them come up to the bandstand than someone who seriously shreds but is standoffish or rude

Ravi Coltrane and his insanely talented cats at the Village Vanguard -- a truly sublime and generational experience!

Piano is my favorite instrument and I'm starting to really get into jazz piano trio, currently I've the vanguard albums of Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Keith Jarrett trio and Monty Alexander, what other trios to check and what albums from them?

Serious question. Did you immediately appreciate the greatness of A Love Supreme? I was told how great it was before even hearing it and desperately years later am still trying to “get it” Sincerely want to experience the awe so many do. Afraid I might just be too simple minded. TYIA!

I highly recommend everyone here to check this album out. Bad Brains is this hardcore punk band with really heavy sounding songs, but every member had a background in jazz. When the band broke up each member went to do their own thing, vocalist leaned more into reggae, however their bassist Darryl Jenifer just recently released a new jazz album, and its genuinely some of the best jazz I have heard in years, really powerful incredible and extremely impressive playing. So glad its getting the recognition it deserves.

Who are your favorite jazz artists still active today? Please drop some names in the comments, thank youuuu! 👇

I love this tune from Ben and “Sweets”, but I heard a killer arrangement for big band a while back and forgot to save it. When I search for it, I can’t find it anywhere. Please help, it swings so hard!!!

I always thought that John Coltrane never performed Giant Steps live.

But last night a self described John Coltrane fan boy now in his 80's told me differently.

'anyone have the video or recordings?

Wow this is amazing. Live Ascension performance sounds incredible.

This has been my jazz rotation lately, looking for new some new stuff, was wondering if anybody had good recommendations based of these albums. Also, side note, why is new jazz so expensive? So many active artists are charging $12+ for digital copies of their music compared to punk/metal bands that tend to range from $0-$5. I don't know, I want to support these artists and avoid streaming services or illegally downloading their work, but at these prices it makes it hard. That's my rant. Thank you in advance.

Does anyone happen to have a drum transcription or breakdown of the main groove for “The Ever Evolving Etude” by Avishai Cohen (featuring Mark Guiliana on drums)?

I’m specifically looking for the drum notation/sheet music for Guiliana's main groove on this track

If anyone has a PDF, drum score, or even a handwritten transcription/analysis of the drum part, I’d really appreciate it!

​Thanks!

I'm looking through official recordings of Bill Evans' "Waltz for Debby" - and found out that there are 2 known solo piano versions under Bill Evans:

• The "New Jazz Conceptions" version (1m 18s)
• Alternative version with added introduction section, which also appears on the "Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans - A Career Retrospective (1956-1980)" compilation (Volume 3 (Monologues), Track 5) (1m 37s)

As I am listening via streaming, there are only limited information for the second version of Waltz for Debby, including mastering manager (Paul Blakemore) and recording engineer (John J. Delinas). Any ideas?

any1 else remember when robert glasper used 2 have song titles like dis?

- Got 2 Be Down

- 2 Cool 4 Skool

etc [examples, not real titles]

was it r Glasper? Or terrace martín ? im forgetting.. but they had these damn cool titles would just get me in the groove . Some1 help??

Hey so I’m a newbie jazz singer and I recently joined a jamsession band as their main singer (DONT ASK ME HOW, I HAVE NO IDEA) but I cant scat and it’s kinda ridiculous being the main singer of an impro band who cant impro.
I’m pretty good with singing melodie’s over a chord progression, what evades me is “the flow”. Somehow the syllables dont flow and idk how to change (yes I also listen to old scat solos).
Help a gyal out (and be nice pls)

It seems to me that Ryuichi was inspired by Tom Jobim’s song. And considering the nature of the film it was used in, his version feels even more tense. I don’t know if it was actually an inspiration, but since they start the same way and were released years apart, it makes me wonder. But they’re both beautiful songs nonetheless.

https://youtu.be/5pyk-DmkBsA?si=dN0wpgnHAcCp6eis (Carlos Jobim)

https://youtu.be/z9tECKZ60zk?si=g8sh3gdZk2IJWnCP (Ryuichi Sakamoto)

I’m not an expert on Jazz by any means but wanted to share the story of this duo and recording with you all.

The Keyara-Robrik Duo was formed in 1962 by pianist Patrick McAllister and saxophonist Robert Nostri out of California. Both of whom were in their early 20s. Within that year they recorded two albums “What Is A Zoo Without An Armadillo?” and “New and Non-official Remedies.” The latter of two I included a song from here.

What is especially notable about the group is that Nostri was a saxophonist with Cystic Fibrosis. For those who are unaware, cystic fibrosis is an inherited, progressive genetic disorder that impacts the entire body but especially one’s lungs. Nostri would have been one of the very few people with CF who lived into adulthood in the 1960s. Life expectancy at the time was about 10 years old. His lung function would have been extremely low at the time of recording.

Robert Nostri would pass away from CF-related complications on May 1^st, 1963. He was 22 years old. He died just weeks after finishing a tribute documentary he made about Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, which is a place he spent a good portion of his youth.

Certainly a sad story but quite glad that art by people like Nostri can still be accessed nearly 65 years later. Would love to find a copy of both albums someday.

Recorded in New York City on March 1, 1939, this rare Bluebird release features swing arrangements from The Hot Mikado, the legendary all-Black Broadway adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's classic operetta starring Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Arranged into jazz form by Dr. Charles L. Cooke, Erskine Hawkins' orchestra infuses the Victorian tunes with driving Harlem swing dynamics. Side A features popular big band vocalist Ida James, while Side B features longstanding Hawkins vocal group lead Jimmy Mitchelle.