So are there any jazz critics actually worth listening to or reading?
When you want to know which albums of a jazz artist are worth hearing out of a large discography whose opinions do you respect?
Pic not related obviously- just there to get your attention.
>>61415872
Kamasi Washington is literally the worst thing ever. Kill yourself.
>When you want to know which albums of a jazz artist are worth hearing out of a large discography whose opinions do you respect?
myself.
I mean there are great classical critics but I frequently find that I personally prefer different composers and recordings than even the most respected critics.
go by your ear and your own understanding of the music
>>61415966
Actually he's a decent sax player who made a nice jazz album for non-jazz listeners you piece of toast
>>61416029
I think you miss my point. Sometimes I'm listening to a jazz album and one of the players grabs my attention who I've never really heard of before and I decide to listen to more of their stuff. If the player has more than 30 albums, I know that realistically I'm probably not going to get around to listening to all of them any time soon but say I want to just find out what would be their five best?
Scott Tania from allmusic is pretty on point. Scaruffi's list is actually pretty good, it's mostly the free-er Jazz stuff so if that's not your thing just don't use it. Downbeat is also great especially since they keep up with the contemporary artists and their old reviews are nice. RYM not bad for checking some older artists discogs. Finally, check Amazon, for some of the earlier musicians their are amazing deals on literal boxes of their best albums. I remember there was a sonny Rollin one for 13 dollars with 10 or so albums. I can rec some stuff, if you give me an idea of what you like.
>>61416110
just check out RYM
Allmusic, Penguin Guide to Jazz
>>61416158
Yanow not Tania
>>61416158
downbeat is who I would recommend if any resource
>>61415872
In terms of current jazz criticism, the reviewers in Downbeat are decent but they tend to inflate their star ratings (then again, they don't really review a lot of bad music in the first place). The JazzTimes writers aren't bad either. Allaboutjazz.com usually has well-written reviews but also naturally tends toward inflated ratings because their writers review whatever albums they choose.
As far as sorting through the vast discographies of "classic" jazz artists I usually find that the allmusic.com reviewers are pretty solid.
There are some other older critics whose writings can be harder to find now but are pretty good. Leonard Feather wrote for Downbeat and other publications in the 50's and 60's and his writings are usually fun to read but also well-thought-out and thought-provoking. Some of the other classic Downbeat contributors are pretty good too, though most have some flaws. I usually tend to agree with Bill Matthieu but sometimes he can be really inconsistent with what avant-garde music he likes and what he doesn't like. Same with Kenny Dorham. Marian McPartland was a good jazz writer about music she liked but I think she could be kind of closed-minded sometimes. Stanley Crouch is another well-known critic and writer. I tend to strongly disagree with his views, but at least he has strongly stated views. I think that's what makes him a good critic.
Anyway, there are a lot of different resources out there that are worth reading, you just have to pick and choose.
>>61416158
Not that guy, but a rec would be cool. I like a lot of different styles and time periods but I'm not a huge jazz guy. I actually like older guys like coltrane and art blakey alot. But I also like the energy and style of new jazz. Hit me senpai.
>>61415872
Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio 6
That's about it.
>>61416430
Love Blakey and Coltrane also. If you haven't'the yet try Mingus and Pharoah Sanders. Mingus plays kind of similarly to Blakey, in style that is, but with more influence from Ellington. Sanders played with Coltrane multiple times and it shows in his sax style. If you enjoyed meditations at all sanders is your guy. Also try roach for drumming, very skilled.
>>61416552
I was on mobile sorry, here's some specific albums
Mingus
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus - a redoing of a lot of his older pieces, great entry point
Philantropus Erectus - Doubt I spelled it right, but this is a fun one also
Black Saint and the Sinner Lady - Not like the other too, but considered one of his best
Sanders
Karma - Personal favorite
Deaf, Dumb and Blind - Similar to Karma
Black Unity - If you like the other two this is in a similar vein
Roach
Max Roach and the Legendary Hasaan - this is Ibn Hasaan's only recording for an album so definitely listen to it
Clifford Brown and Max Roach - Clifford is a great musician and so is Roach, well worth it
Money Jungle - Roach, Ellington and Mingus all get back together and make an album. Great stuff, the bass playing on the first track is really cool not gonna lie.
>>61416348
I never knew that Kenny Dorham wrote for downbeat
>>61416078
Kill yourself.
>>61416078
He may be a good sax player in other contexts but he definitely did not shine as a soloist
All the respect to him is deserved, though. It's not easy to make a record that big and ambitious, and although we can argue about whether he bit off more than he could chew, in the end he did what he wanted to do
>>61416348
Basically took the words out of my mouth
>>61416430
Joe Henderson
Sonny Rollins
Dizzy and Bird
Cannoball Adderly
Wayne Shorter
>no mention of freejazzblog.com
plebs
>>61418716
>liking free jazz
pleb
>>61418021
*adderley
ftfy
>>61418716
its dot org ya fuckmuffin
>>61417829
Yes, his writings are interesting. He tends to be very critical of "the new thing" as they called it then, but then there are a few of those types of albums that he actually praises very highly and of course he plays on a few albums that are fairly "out".
>>61418716
That site is decent and they cover music that nobody else really seems to but a lot of the times I find their reviews to be very vague and they don't often make me want to seek out the albums, even the ones they praise.
