Hello, my 16-year-old son has recently declared that he loves jazz (of
all things!) ? both playing saxophone and listening to classic ?bop?
songs. I have to admit ? I don?t know anything about jazz, and I
didn?t even know what bop was until I looked it up, but I would love
to get him some jazz CDs for his birthday. If I were to purchase the 5
best ?bop? CDs of all time, what should I get? My search for bop
artists turned up John Coltrane and Miles Davis ? does that sound like
a good way to go? I?m excited that my son is into this, and who knows,
maybe I can learn to like Jazz too! Thanks!

Hello howen~

Thanks for the interesting question!

John Coltrane and Miles Davis are both excellent choices; they are
considered "kings" in the jazz world.

To offer you more than just my own personal opinion, I also searched
for jazz websites that listed the top jazz CDs in their opinion. A
very comprehensive list can be found at Jazz 100:
http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/jazz100/top100.html  This site
also has a top CD list for "new breed" jazz artists:
http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/jazz100/new_breed.html  They
also show a great graph of their readerships views on the best classic
jazz CDs: http://www.internationalvoting.com/int3/poll.cgi?pid=27-585&popup=1&novote=1&w=600

Bearing in mind these lists, along with my own personal opinion, here
are the CDs I would buy for my own child:

Miles Davis, Kind of Blue
John Coltrane, A Love Supreme
Louis Armstrong, 25 Greatest Hot Fives & Sevens
Charlie Parker, The Savoy & Dial Studio Sessions
Chet Baker, My Funny Valentine

If your son is also interested in jazz vocalists, you should also consider

Ella Fitzgerald, any of her live (non-studio) recordings
Dianna Krall, Love Scenes
Blossom Dearie, Blossom Dearie

Have fun!

Kriswrite

RESEARCH STRATEGY:

top jazz CDs

Diane Schuur. I ran into her at a Sade concert in Marbella in 1987 and
had no idea who she was. We stayed out until 5AM roaming the town,
hitting the punk clubs (her idea) and then went our separate ways. It
was three weeks before I found out who she was. I just thought she was
a cool blind chick touring Europe.

I was right.

"maybe I can learn to like Jazz too"


Only if it is played loud enough ;-)

Oh, sheesh, I just realized I admitted to going to a Sade concert.

Hello howen_77-ga,

Glad to hear your son is enjoying jazz.

I'd like to add some comments to your question and the answer.

I don't really think of Louis Armstrong as bop. While he was certainly
a large influence, he was more swing. I?m not trying to discredit Mr.
Armstrong, quite the contrary ? he's my all time favorite out of any
style of music. (The Armstrong suggestion in the answer is excellent.)

If your son likes bop then Charlie Parker is a must. Here's a link to
what the Google Researcher recommended:
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:zx6ibks9aakv

(www.allmusic.com is a great music resource, btw.)

I'd recommend some Thelonius Monk. A great album with his that was
just recently discovered is:
Thelonius Monk Quartet with John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall:
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:shd7yl25xp9b

Also, I'd recommend Birth of the Cool as another great bop album from Davis.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:m7lvadokt8wo

Coleman Hawkins must be mentioned too! A great introduction to his career is:
Ken Burns Jazz: Coleman Hawkins
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3gjweau54x87
(The song Picasso is one of my favorites by him)

Definitely pick up A Love Supreme. Definitely.

There's my five (all in the bop syle or containing bop along with other styles).

Also, if he gets good grades, as a bonus, I'd pick him up Jazz: A Film
by Ken Burns. It gets a little criticism or some of the people it
leaves out or heaps too much praise on, but, overall, a fantastic film
for someone just getting into Jazz (10 DVDs!). He'll have tons to
explore after watching:
http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Film-Ken-Burns/dp/B0002KPI2I/sr=8-2/qid=1160669870/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-7747408-8101547?ie=UTF8

Enjoy.