Jazz and Big Band

Thank you everyone for your suggestions so far! I will check them out and get back to you soon.

youtu.be/hg9eOxhdxs8?si=AV_S8aUI7KpCJ2eX
youtu.be/-jVGShydu4s?si=VSfkHtbUDWi_1l1_
I like the performances.

#10
I also recommend 'My Favourite Things' it is very beautiful.
youtu.be/JQvc-Gkwhow?si=dK4kEOCJ4WAtxs75

@rachel8 said in #1:
> My son is just getting into jazz and big band music

Wonderful news ! - I've been a jazz fan since ages.

- Anything Charlie Parker (aka Bird. The Birdland jazz club in New York is named after him). Charlie Parker was a legend, the saxophone sound is almost heart breaking beautiful. A few months ago I read a quote from an interview with Miles Davis (who played with Bird) which was something like this : "Jazz history started with Louis Armstrong. Then there was Charlie Parker".

- If you search on Youtube for Oscar Petersson and Count Basie you may find live concerts, where they play as piano duo which are delightful and fun to watch and listen to.

- In a sentimental mood - John Coltrane and Duke Ellington

For big band music Count Basie and Duke Ellington I'd recommend but also the Evergreen :

- In the mood by Glenn Miller
Then this reminds me (not big band, but medium) of Ice cream by the Dutch Swing Collega Band, a kind of fun Dixieland tune

- Anything Sarah Vaughan for vocal jazz, including live performances, such a beautiful voice

- Also vocal jazz, Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass live, which features the jazz tune "Cry me a river"

For more modern jazz and similar I like among others Bobby McFerrin solo and with Chick Corea. Chick Corea (who also played with Miles Davis) has also played Duke Ellington pieces on piano, and some Thelonious Monk pieces (Straight, no chaser).

Enjoy all that jazz ! :)

I didn't see Mack the Knife mentioned. It should be.

@PTX187, “Caravan” has a lush, exotic sound- very cool!

I think of “The Entertainer” as being more ragtime, a precursor or influence on future jazz musicians, but I like it as well. Thanks for suggesting these!

@HerkyHawkeye , thanks for mentioning “My Funny Valentine”. Chet Baker gives a smooth, delicate performance of this lovely song. I had forgotten about it so I’m glad you posted it!

@Dukedog , Cab Calloway is also a great addition. His music has a lot of energy.

While we're on the subject of jazz and jazz instruction (sorta), I must say that the movie Whiplash deals with both, and I found it riveting. Indeed, it's one of my favorites now. But notice the word I chose: "riveting." Not "fun" or "uplifting." I DID find it oddly motivating, however.

I'd check the rating and would not show it to a young kid, or even to a sorta young kid -- it speaks of a sad death and the dialogue sometimes gets pretty raw. I don't just mean "oh, damn" or even a few F-bombs. More raw and explicit than that.

But it deals with jazz and the obsession to achieve mastery -- to become not just good, but great, even world-class. Indeed, the movie could serve as a metaphor for obsessively studying chess, perhaps.

One of my relatives (a kindly, very smart female) did not care for the movie after I recommended it to her. So I'm sure not everyone will love it or even like it. But I found the movie compelling, filled with really excellent music, and providing me with the motivation to spend the next 6 hours working on piano. I found the acting and the script both to be unusually good. I don't remember if the critics agreed, but I don't care, in any event.

I suspect that each watcher's reaction to the movie may be more individual and watcher-specific than is ordinarily the case with movies.

But again -- I would not have shown the movie to one of my kids until they were essentially adult. I think it's great ... but it's not kid's stuff, in my opinion.

Cat Empire from Melbourne. Great for young people as fun tunes.

thecatempire.com/

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cat_Empire