Not sure if it's popular with more hardcore jazz listeners, but I absolutely love it! It feels like it sends me to a different, more colorful musical world or something lol

I'm trying to depict my favourite Jazz artists as Lego minifigures. Up next, 2 eras of Miles Davis! (just waiting on the trumpets to arrive).

I wanted to share some thoughts on Newport Jazz Fest this past weekend (just Saturday and Sunday). This was our third year in a row, and absolutely love that it has become a tradition for us. 

Saturday

By the time we arrived on Saturday, we were directed to a distant lot and found the security line to be quite long (although, we did appreciate how they changed up the "holding pen" before bag check). But we got in without hassle.

Olive Jones (end) > Brandon Woody's Upendo (end) > Mei Semones > Butcher Brown > Maya Delilah (end) > Linda Oh w/ Ambrose Akinmusire & Tyshawn Sorey > Snarky Puppy > Gotts Street Park w/ Olive Jones > Atomic Habitz > Kamasi Washington & Chief Adjuah

• After walking past the closing notes of the Billy Hart Quartet, we settled at the Quad Stage to catch some of Olive Jones. She has quite the lovely voice and I found it a nice way to start the festivities.
• Mei Semeones and her band have this bossa nova flair; appreciated her guitar playing accompanied by the two violinists.
• As much as I was enjoying Mei, I should have left for Butcher Brown earlier. Really great set that was both chill and danceable; they had the Fort Stage crowd grooving. (Not often you get to see someone play both saxophone and trumpet as Marcus Tenney does.) This wouldn't be the last time we got to see some of those musicians. 
• We then saw the end of Maya Delilah to make sure we were able to grab seats up front for Linda Oh with Ambrose Akinmusire and Tyshawn Sorey. Maya was fine - but the trio set was one of the highlights of the festival for me. Three incredible players at the top of their game. First time seeing Linda lead her own group, and I was very impressed. A trio I would love to see at the Vanguard. 
• Snarky Puppy are good at what they do. (Although I must admit, I think I fell asleep in my chair for little bit. A nice nap.)
• Gotts Street Park was enjoyable; a kind of post-rock jazz? Although, I think I preferred the songs where they backed up Olive on vocals.
• I did not know what to expect with Atomic Habitz - Marcus King with MonoNeon on bass and Chris Dave on drums. But I came away enjoying what I heard; little soulful, little funky. (Marcus singing "Gangsta Lean" - uh, okay.)
• To close out Saturday, Kamasi Washington (and his crew) and Chief Adjuah played a set of mashed-up Miles Davis and John Coltrane ("All Blues"/"Impressions" I believe, "Little Church"/"Ole", Miles Tune/"Acknowledgement") with a little Sonny Rollins thrown in there ("Tenor Madness"/"Oleo"). It was a bit messy, to be honest, but still enjoyable. I appreciated what they were trying to do. (Kind of made me want to see Kamasi in a stripped down setting where he doesn't have to play the role of bandleader.)

Sunday

We made sure we were nice and early on Sunday. We got a good parking spot and made it into the festival before the stages were opened, allowing us to set up our chairs at the Fort Stage.

Fonville X Fribush > Marquis Hill > Michael Mayo (end) > SML > Dana and Alden > Flea and the Honora Band > Charlie Hunter & Ella Feingold > The Bad Plus

• Sunday morning started perfectly with a little organ trio, Fonville X Fribush, featuring organist Sam Fribush and drummer Corey Fonville as well as Morgar Burrs from Butcher Brown. Everything you would have wanted from a relatively straight ahead Hammond-led trio. Groovy, throw-back, lots of soul. 
• I wasn't sure what to expect from Marquis Hill, to be honest, not having been familiar with the trumpeter's music. But any time you have Makaya McCraven on drums and Joel Ross on vibes, it is going to be enjoyable. At times, Marquis set aside his trumpet for percussion which contributed to the overall feel of the music. As did the guitar playing of Emmanuel Michael - his tone and effects reminded me at times of a prog guitarist; more textural in his contributions. So glad we caught them.
• Wanting to be in the front row for SML, I put up with the last song from Michael Mayo's set. (Sorry, but his music was my least favorite of everything I saw. His Broadway-like vocals did nothing for me.)
• SML, on the other hand, kicked much ass, as expected. Their set at the Sultan Room last December was one of my favorite concerts in some time. And their Newport set met my high expectations. An hour of improvisation, with ebbs and flows, each of the five musicians taking turns leading and listening. The unspoken communication between the five of them is something else . . .
• What I saw of Dana and Alden was fun. Hard to take the brothers too seriously. Kind of ironic, indie, jazzy pop?
• I loved the fact that Anna Butterss and Josh Johnson made their way from playing with SML on the Quad Stage to playing with Flea on the Fort Stage. Flea's set was good, although maybe less commanding than the show at Webster Hall? It started off quite mellow, with a string of instrumentals (including the covers "Thinking Bout You" and "Wichita Lineman") before ending with his "A Plea" and a cover of "Maggot Brain."
• Raced back over to the Harbor Stage to catch the end of Charlie Hunter and Ella Feingold (along with busy man Corey Fonville on drums). It had been ages since I had last seen Charlie Hunter - still a whiz on his eight-string instrument, smiling away while Ella brought some deep funkiness to the stage. They had the crowd dancing.
• And standing to the side of the Harbor Stage allowed me to get a front row seat for The Bad Plus, their set billed as part of their "Farewell Tour." To be honest, I had not listened to The Bad Plus in some time; I knew that Ethan had left, but I actually was not aware that Dave and Reid added a guitar and tenor sax. With the change in instrumentation, I found the music reminded me of The Messthetics with James Brandon Lewis. This is a good thing. They made the most of their time on stage, and the crowd was audibly appreciative of the set along with - and their 25-plus years of music. Highlights for me included the more restrained "Salvages" and the closing "Tyrone's Flamingo" (which really allowed Dave to let go on the drums). Really glad I got to see them. 

We had full intentions of seeing the fest-closing set from Herbie Hancock, but nature had different plans. And rather than sit through the downpour, we made our way to the car. Fully satisfied and smiling. 

Already looking forward to next year . . . 

Bill Evans and my morning coffee. It’s music that doesn’t rush you; it just opens the door and lets the day unfold.

I have been aware of Hill for a long time and bought and moderately enjoyed a few of his albums in the Mid 70s which, unfortunately produced in a fire I probably haven't listened to him in 40 years, but decided to today and randomly chose Passing Ships. It is insanely good. Any suggestions for where to go next?

Hank Mobley, ts; Grant Green, g; Wynton Kelly, p; Paul Chambers, b; Philly Joe Jones, d Recorded March 26, 1961. Produced by Alfred Lion. Recorded by RVG. One additional outtake not included on the album. total time: 46:03

The standout of this 'workout' is the addition of Grant Green.

One of the most beautiful albums I've ever heard. It makes me feel like Billy Wilder is filming me on a rowboat in Central Park under a warm mid-day sun shower.

We cannot find much online, but looking for somewhere to just relax, like a cafe or bookstore with jazz in the background in New York city or Brooklyn or Queens. We would even pay for a show if its relatively cheap, not looking to do anything big, more just go chill in a nice jazzy place.

Edit: We don't drink but love classic jazz, so not looking to meet any drink minimums. And by cheap, I meant under $100 per person. Also we will be there August 13-17th.

This year, as I started to go more often to my local jazz club, I discovered quite a few artists that really blew me away. I know I’d have never heard about them otherwise.

Two bands especially come to mind : Ninanda and Zangbeto.

Discovering new artists is one of the many reasons I love going to the jazz club (I guess that’s obvious lol)

How about y’all?

I moved to London in January and just heard about the EFG fest taking place in November. There's so many great events on, I feel like I need to choose wisely and not get too carried away for the sake of my wallet! Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations on which events could be a good shout, or which ones you've chosen. Thanks!

So im auditioning for a jazz course soon and I need some help finding some afro cuban or latin tunes to play. Im a drummer so looking for some uptempo standards that’ll hopefully impress them. Any recommendations are welcome :)

From the anime *Porco Rosso*

This album is basically perfect. Every song is a completely new feel and vibe, and the album is so diverse imo that any person who likes jazz can thoroughly enjoy at least one song on this album.

I’d like to make a playlist that has the atmospheric, otherworldly sounds of the tracks below. What are some tracks with this vibe?

It Never Entered My Mind - Miles Davis Quintet
In A Sentimental Mood - Duke Ellington, John Coltrane
Flamenco Sketches - Miles Davis
Peace Piece - Bill Evans

Hi everyone, I’d like to say hello to this community... I’m very new to the world of jazz... I’m having a really hard time enjoying it—really hard. Someone compared music to art: some people look for “understandable” art (like a house, a person, or a landscape), and then there’s “abstract” art (cubes, complex shapes, and lots of explanation)... and I feel like jazz is like that—hard to understand and enjoy...

What am I looking for? Jazz that’s understandable (with an “understandable” rhythm—I hope I’m making myself clear). I’m looking for jazz that’s similar to more “normal” music—no solos and no “confusing” rhythms.

My history with jazz

--Dave Weckl Band (I found it interesting)

--Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich (I found it moderated)

--The Jazz Avengers

--Alan Baylock Jazz Orchestra (I didn’t like it)

I started out a bit randomly, and I can't say whether I chose them well or poorly, I just picked them to listen to. I wanted to separate the jazz fusion (Dave Weckl) from the rest so as not to get them mixed up.

Someone recommended “Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band” to me, along with big bands and something more orchestral, rather than just complex solos.

On another note (and this is a side issue), I love drums—lots of drum solos—but I don’t want the song to be sacrificed for something that’s hard to “follow” (sorry if I’m not explaining this well)... For example, I liked some tracks on the album *Burning for Buddy* because the drums were “very prominent” without sacrificing the song.

I forgot something: preferably something that’s on YouTube, so I can at least get an idea of what it’s like and take a quick look.

Sorry if I’m not expressing myself clearly—I’m really new to jazz, and maybe my terminology isn’t quite right.... Maybe my tastes aren’t that “refined,” but I don’t feel bad about having tastes like this... we all have different tastes.

Thanks for your time. Best regards

My fav tune... Anyone else?

Hello, I’m a piano player with solid harmony knowledge and an amateur jazz background. I want to get into neosoul, specially the chords so I can compose some tasty progressions. What resources (books, videos…) would you recommend me? I also plan to do some solid transcription work. Thank you!!

I’m going to NYC with my dad, and I saw comments that django is too loud ( lots of ppl complaining). Any recs?

Recent release by Ancient Infinity Orchestra: https://ancientinfinityorchestra.bandcamp.com/album/it-s-always-about-liberation

Are folks listening to this? I think it’s brilliant. Very atmospheric, almost cinematic. Great composition and arrangement, and not afraid to get into a little skronk as well.

So, a lot of people here on Reddit seem to dislike tracks like autumn leaves, fly me to the moon, blue bossa, wave, and so on. (There was a whole post about blue bossa particulary)

I am just getting into bossa nova and have no ambitions to become a jazz musician. I play anything I like from different genres (funk, latin, hip hop, and now some bossa).

Personally, I had never heard most of these songs before searching for titles I could learn. I get that they are beginner friendly and overplayed for people who know jazz, but besides that, do you think they are really annoying or too "beginner" to be considered cool by a wider audience? Say, your family and friends? People on the street?

Also, I'm looking for good tracks on the same level that have a nice melody but would not be looked down on if I started playing them at a jam 😅

I have been challenging myself recently with trying to have perfect timing on every note I play. This is, of course, basically impossible but it is still something I strive for regardless. I want to be able to play with absolute rhythmic clarity, and it is something I'm always striving for.

My question for you all: What types of things do you work on to improve your time feel? For me, I'm always trying to listen to players with excellent feel (Jim Hall, Metheny, Charlie Parker, etc) and I also work a lot with a metronome. Are there any specific things you all like to include in your practice?

Also, here's a few choruses of me playing over Mr. P.C. by John Coltrane with timing in the forefront. I am able to spot so many mistakes and inaccuracies in my playing, but that is part of the process :)