just to offer another suggestion to someone who has no jazz background...i initially came to like jazz a lot from listening to a jazzish/funk/rock group called soulive - in the past i had not been exposed to a lot of the harmonic complexities of jazz music, only the simple harmony of rock and pop. but soulive introduced these sounds to me in a fun, rock-like context. soon i found myself digging through my parents' jazz records and a couple years later i consider jazz my favorite music. I respect, enjoy and study older jazz - particularly coltrane, miles...but i find that i am much more partial to players like kurt rosenwinkel, brad mehldau, john scofield, etc..i really like that more modern type of sound. so along with checking out the classics like parker and miles, definitely also check out some of those modern guys, because you may end up liking them more
i guess to add to that, i dont think you have to play to enjoy jazz (though i do)...you just have to train your ear to become familiar with its harmonic language...listen to a lot of jazz music, and whether you can say what different sounds are called, try and recognize harmonic and rhythmic ideas that you may have heard before. then you will come to appreciate the unique qualities of certain players.
Last edited by erlee; 08-07-2006 at 05:06 PM..
Reason: Automerged Doublepost
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