Good Jazz CD's?

[Fletch]

If you're a Trane fan you gotta pick up The Last Giant- Anthology.

Other lesser known guys you might wanna check out that have not been named yet:
Ornette Coleman
Sonny Rollins

Recent artists:
Donald Byrd
Bobbi Humphrey (yazz flute)
and of course Herbie Hancock

If you wanna get crazy there is a book on Coltrane called Ascension. Which is an excellent read because it goes through not only his life but the whole jazz culture and its evolution.

Amazon.com: Ascension: John Coltrane And His Quest: Eric Nisenson: Books

[dmclone]

You're admitting that you're old now?

Believe me, I won't be playing it at the tailgate.

[Carl1977]

Jimmy Smith (Hammond B4 Organ)
Back at the Chicken Shack
Midnight Special
The Cat
many others

I would also recommend.

Miles Davis is an acquired taste, but I like him.
*****'s Brew

Thelonious Monk At Carnegie Hall

Wes Montgomery
A Day in The Life
Greatest Hits
Herbie Hancock
Dave Brubeck Time Out is a classic

Stanley Turentine-- great sax player (On several Jimmy Smith CDs)
Kenney Burrell -- Jazz guitar (On several Jimmy Smith CDs)

Hard to say depending on taste and what you consider Jazz.
I personally enjoy Count Basie and Duke Ellington's jazz and their big band stuff.

There's Dizzy Gillespie -- Great Be-Bop jazz

Charlie (Bird) Parker
Dexter Gordon

The soundtrack from 'Round Midnight showcases Gordon's talents.
Eastwood's Bird is also an excellent soundtrack.

Like any genre of music there is good jazz and bad jazz and it is up to the listener to determine which is which.

Check out Ken Burn's Jazz sampler CD's based on this PBS series. Find what you like...

Good Luck

[cydonn]

For a start I'd get Miles Davis - B****** Brew and John Coltrane - My Favorite Things. I saw Coltrane's son Ravi last spring. You might try some of his cd's. Other artists to check - Thelonius Monk, Charles Mingus, Chick Corea, Dave Brubeck. For fusion I really like Return to Forever(Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke), Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra.