From my iPod 2/28/15: Jazz/ Classic Singers

      Amy Winehouse – mermaid junkie jazz time bomb [Back To Black (2006), Frank (2007), Lioness: Hidden Treasures (2011)]

·         Billie Holiday – Voice, classic, beautiful for a quiet night, to an afternoon of blues, one of the true angels of the divine voices: Billie, Ella, Etta, Nina, Antony, Sarah, and Dinah.  Icon [God Bless The Blues (1940), The Complete Billie Holiday (2009), The Best of Billie Holiday (2014)]

·         Cannonball Adderley – rhythm saxophone with a jive and a waltz [Greatest Hits (2006)]

·         Charles Mingus – the master artist of beyond the mind jazz, Icon [Pithecanthropus Erectus (1956), Ah Um (1959), Mingus at Antibes (1960), Oh Yeah (1962), The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963),  Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus (1963)]

·         Charlie “Bird” Parker – upbeat jazz master [Dean Benedetti Recordings (1947), The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes (2009)]

·         Count Basie – orchestra conductor of jazz, swinging blues backing the likes of Sinatra [The Best of Count Basie (2014)]

·         Dean Martin – Italian crooner, nobody is Frank but setting love’s stare [Dino: The Essential Dean Martin (2004)]

·         Dinah Washington – trail blazing songstress who doesn’t give a damn what you think, one of the angels.  There is a playfulness in the give and take of Dinah’s voice that is independently powerful and divine unlike any other.  Icon [Dinah Jams (1954), For Those In Love (1955), In the Land of Hi-Fi (1956), The Swinging Miss D (1956), What a Difference A Day Makes (1959), The Two of Us (w/Brook Benton) (1960), I Concentrate On You (1960), September in the Rain (1961), The Very Best of Dinah Washington (2009)]

·         Dizzy Gillespie – jumping jazz trumpet grooving and stomping [Career 1937-1992 (1992), Sittin’ In (2009)]

·          Duke Ellington – jazz, straight up horn compositions,  Icon [Best of Duke Ellington (2008)]

·         Edith Piaf – The French Ella a global treasure [100 Hits! (2011)]

·         Ella Fitzgerald – command the room female jazz voice of love, unique style, and the pinnacle of class, master of the skat-singing genius.  One of the angels. Icon [Pure Ella (1998), Essential Ella Fitzgerald (2010)]

·         Esperenza Spalding – new school bass playing jazz artist [Radio Music Society (2012)]

·         Frank Sinatra – The guy could belt it, any song, any generation, a blueprint for the genre, In the Wee Small Hours is a classic album that everyone should consider before attempting to understanding the guy.  Icon [In The Wee Small Hours (1954), The Capitol Years Discs 1 to 3 (1990), Sinatra at the Sands (1998), Classic Sinatra – His Great Performances 1953-1960 (2000), The 20 Greatest Hits (2012)]

·         Gene Austin – I bought this for my grandmother and got into it of what her and my grandfather use to dance to back in the day [The Voice of the Southland – Greatest Hits (2010)]

·         Gregory Porter – California musician, vocalist with blues, soul, gospel in jazz [Liquid Spirit (2013)]

·         Herbie Hancock – modern jazz scientist  [A Jazz Collection (1991)]

·         John Coltrane – The definition of saxophone player in a cocaine darkness. The sax Icon [Giant Steps (1959), My Favorite Things (1960), The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records Discs 1 to 4 (1960-1966), Ole Coltrane (1961), Ballads (1962), Coltrane’s Sound (1964), A Love Supreme (1965), Kulu Se Mama (1965), Sun Ship (1965), The Olatunji Concert – The Last Live Recording (1967), The Greatest Hits (2010)]

·         Madeleine Peyroux – classic songs done well with a sometimes French and southern American twinkles in the moonlight [Dreamland (1996), The Blue Room (2013)]

·         Miles Davis – The trumpet player icon of modern jazz, inspired creative genius. Icon [The Definitive Miles Davis on Prestige (1951), ‘Round About Midnight (1956), Kind of Blue (1959), Sketches of Spain (1959), Sorcerer (1967), Nefertiti (1967), Bitches Brew (1969), In a Silent Way (1969), Miles Smiles (1966), On the Corner (1972), Quintet/Sextet (1956),  The Complete Birth of Cool (1998), Panthalassa: The Remixes (1999), Miles Davis Plays For Lovers (2006), 10 Greatest Hits (2009)]

·         Moon Hooch – two New York sax players slamming horns in a dance groove [Moon Hooch (2013)]

·         Nat King Cole – A world class voice a la Sinatra [The World of Nat King Cole: His Very Best (2005)]

·         Nina Simone – jazz vocalist with punk rebellion fire peering into the darkness of this world and blaring heaven’s voice onto it, one of the angels Icon [Anthology: The Colpix Years (1959), The Definitive Collection (2006), Nina Simone’s Finest Hour (2000)]

·         Norah Jones – Her first album is classic of sweet intimate quiet firelight voice [Come Away With Me (2002), ..Featuring (2010)]

·         Ornette Coleman – saxophone madness [The Shape of Jazz To Come (1959)]

·         Sarah Vaughn – the definition of a lady commanding heart strings and star light, one of the angels, Icon [Misty (), The Best of Sarah Vaughn ()] late 1940’s to early 1950’s

·         Sonny Clark – jazz on the piano  [The Best of the Blue Note Years (1957)]

·         Thelonious Monk – The jazz pianist Icon. [‘Round Midnight: The Complete Blue Note Singles 1947-1952 (2014), Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane (1957), Monk’s Dream (1962), Paris 1969 (1969), The Complete Blue Note Recordings (1994), Genius of Modern Music: Vol 1 (2001)] 

·         Tony Bennett – classic crooner commanding the room with style [The Essential Tony Bennett (1964)]

Compilations

·         Idiot’s Guide to Classical Music (2002)

·         Divas of Jazz – Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald

The classical music one is great because it is 30 second excerpts to give you a rotating taste of some of the best compositions without having to listen to ten minutes.  It’s like classical music for punks.

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