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Originally Posted by noodlebee
I see. What other sort of "classical" composers do you think are good for a beginner in jazz? Some of the chords I heard from the background music in Starbucks are uncomfortable to listen to. I tried listening to people like Schoenberg and his student, Berg too but they are confusing and strange.
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I suggest you force yourself to get used to these "chords." I question your motives. If you find them uncomfortable, why do you want to learn jazz? It is a music rife with "uncomfortable" dissonance. Don't torture yourself.
In Toronto I'm surrounded by students of "jazz" who pretty much listen to all white artists. Now, I can't dismiss the achievements of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, etc., but in my not so subjective opinion, jazz is black music. A deeper - and dare I say "proper" - understanding of it can only come from investigating black artists. Don't misread me here. Miles Davis and John Coltrane have been responsible for some of the most wonderfully consonant music (whatever that means), and there's nothing that prevents a black or a white artist from expressing from all sides of the consonance/dissonance spectrum. What I've found, though, is that the vast majority of the ground breaking artists in this tradition are black, and they didn't get where they were going by just playing pretty. My understanding of emotional expression through music is that you express yourself fully - that means the light
and the darkness. So if you're truly interested in exploring jazz, be prepared to face a lot of discomfort.
It's like making friends: the most interesting people aren't happy all the time - sometimes you learn the most from someone when they're angry or sad.
I have more to say on this but I want to see if I'm understood.