The Quixotic Engineer

Jazz is a fascinating genre of music. Born out of slavery in the Mississippi Delta along with its sister the blues and defined by complex melodies and improvisation, it became the framework for some of the greatest musical minds of the 20th century.

To those of us raised on three chord rock and 2:50 pop songs, however, jazz can seem a tad impenetrable. The songs often lack a traditional structure, and change rhythm and melody on the fly. Lacking a paradigm within which to understand the music, it can be difficult to pursue the active, focused listening required to properly grok it.

I don’t pretend to have any kind of jazz credentials; I wouldn’t even call myself a serious enthusiast. However, if you’re a rock music fan interested in exploring jazz but unsure of where to begin, I may have a few suggestions. By finding parallels between rock and jazz artists, I hope to make bridging the gap a little easier.

If you listen to Frank Zappa, you might be interested in…

Charles Mingus – Better Git It In Your Soul

If you’re a fan of Frank Zappa, you’re probably already comfortable with strange melodies, large horn sections and improvisation. While he experimented with jazz fusion on many of his successful mid-70’s solo albums (such as Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo) the influences in his music can be heard as early as 1969’s Hot Rats. Conversely, it’s not uncommon to hear a modern jazz band perform their own interpretation of “Inca Roads” or “Peaches en Regalia.”

Charles Mingus’ music greatly influenced Zappa’s sound. Indeed, he’s one of the few jazz composers name checked in the liner notes of Freak Out!, listed under “These People Have Contributed Materially In Many Ways To Make Our Music What It Is. Please Do Not Hold It Against Them.” Mingus shares Zappa’s affinity for punchy, energetic and strongly emotional music. I would highly recommend his seminal recording Mingus Ah Um, widely considered to be one of the greatest jazz albums of all time.

If you listen to Van Halen, you might be interested in…

Oscar Peterson Trio – Tristeza

This is a bit more of a stretch than my last recommendation. One of the signature elements of Van Halen’s sound is Eddie Van Halen’s virtuoso guitar work. Famous for popularizing tapping (using both hands on the guitar’s neck to play notes extremely quickly), Eddie is considered one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time. In that respect, he has quite a bit in common with Oscar Peterson, a man once named the “Maharaja of the keyboard.”

The late Oscar Peterson grew up in the Afro-Caribbean district of Little Burgundy in Montreal. His prolific career spanned over 50 years, in which time he produced literally hundreds (!) of albums. It’s difficult to know where to start exploring his music; unlike many jazz artists he didn’t have a single magnum opus that defined his career. However, the Oscar Peterson Trio’s 1970 release Tristeza on Piano is a definite highlight.

If you enjoy Animal Collective, you might be interested in…

Thelonious Monk – Straight, No Chaser

Not necessarily Animal Collective per se, but any band that’s actively involved in pushing the boundaries of music and sound. I’m talking about experimental bands such as Battles, The Fiery Furnaces and The Mars Volta. If you enjoy artists who explore new ways of thinking about rhythm and melody, then Thelonious Monk’s innovative sound might appeal to you as well.

Wikipedia had a surprisingly insightful description of what exactly made Thelonious Monk’s music so revolutionary: “His compositions and improvisations are full of dissonant harmonies and angular melodic twists, and are impossible to separate from Monk’s unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of silences and hesitations.” I particularly enjoy his exploration of dissonance, you can hear it used to great effect in the audio sample embedded above. His fast tempos and jumpy piano playing set the foundation for the subset of jazz known as bebop. If you’re interested in exploring his music, I would begin with the 1957 collaboration Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane.

I hope these three recommendations have given you a potential starting point for exploring the genre. Of course I’m still green when it comes to jazz, so please educate me by leaving your artist and song suggestions in the comments below.