Well, I have to listen to some good jazz stuff to improve my solos and understanding, so if you had the choice of what I listen to, what would it be?

Thanks,

Alice x

aargh - hate these questions, it's so difficult to answer. If it's to improve your solos then is this for piano? Piano isn't my instrument, so this reply is more general, some of my favourite, classic, must have jazz recordings.

1. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
2. John Coltrane - Giant Steps
3. Dave Brubeck - Time Out
4. Charles Mingus - Ah Um
5. Thelonious Monk - Straight, No Chaser
6. Dexter Gordon - Go
7. Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
8. Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt - Sonny Side Up
9. Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain

and lots more. Kind of Blue is feted as the most influential jazz recording ever made. Although it's kind of predictable that it's always at the top of "Best Ever" lists it's hard to argue that it shouldn't be there. In fact, from the 50s onwards, Miles Davis must have been the most influential jazz musician - you could do worse than listen to a lot of his stuff. There are a series of Miles Davis Quintet recordings with names like Relaxin', Walkin' etc that are really good stuff (John Coltrane on tenor). If it's pianists you're particularly interested in then 4 you should listen to are Thelonious Monk (I love the recording of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, live at Carnegie Hall), Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock and Oscar Peterson. For getting a good feel for jazz phrasing, listening to singers is a good idea, especially for ballads. Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone are all good. My listening is very much biased towards 1950s and onwards, so I've missed out a lot of stuff such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong etc that I know others will have high on their must listen to list.

I know that I, and some others, have been getting quite a lot out of listening to the new radio station theJazz. You could try listening to that and noting down the things that really appeal to you then follow up your choice of music and create your own path. Just like classical music, and popular music, there are a myriad of different styles that make up jazz and one person's choice may not be yours. The good news is that many classic jazz CDs are cheap, so start doing some listening, a bit of research and work out what you like.

Thank you soooo much!

Superb suggestions in the previous reply. Oscar Petersen playing a Blues or any of the Standards might be good. Get the chord sequence and try and work out what he's playing over it.

I say Oscar P because he plays such clean runs, Hampton Hawes is another good one for Blues Jazz. I find it quite hard doing this for piano because it's not my first instrument but I transferred some of Oscars line to Guitar some years ago and they worked very well.

You might try Bill Evans with his trio as well, lovely chords and delicate single lines.

thanks