Ask Damian: More Album Recommendations

Q: I really dug the last column about albums to check out, if you want to get into jazz. I found a ton of great stuff that I actually liked in there! Do you have any more suggestions that extend beyond the jazz genre?

A: Thanks! I’m glad that you discovered some new music. That’s great to hear. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback as well as some great suggestions in the conversations that followed on social media.

I went digging through my recently played on iTunes, looked at the music that I keep downloaded on my phone for quick access and, filtering out the stuff that is strictly for rehearsal or reference purposes, of course, came up with a nice pile of music.

These are albums that are currently in my typical rotation. Some are older and still in rotation or recently re-discovered, some are newer discoveries, and some are jazz. But there are albums from all over the map. I haven’t been cycling some of my weirder fare lately, so this list is a little more “inside.” Maybe my listening is getting a little conservative as I mature, but I can almost guarantee that there is something in here that you haven’t heard before. It’s mostly instrumental stuff but there are quite a few selections with a vocalist, although most will be in another language. I think the only vocals in English in there is D’Angelo and a few odd cuts in English on an album here and there.

I hope you all find some new and inspiring music in here and, much like the last post, I would LOVE to hear what you are all checking out and have on constant rotation throughout your day. (Please share in the comments).

I’ll list things alphabetically here (by artist first name):

• Avishai Cohen: Aurora
• Chris Tarry: Almost Certainly Dreaming
• Christian McBride: Live at Tonic
• D’Angelo: Black Messiah
• Dafnis Prieto: Si o Si Quartet: Live at the Jazz Standard NYC
• Jack DeJohnette: New Directions
• John Scofield & Pat Metheny: I Can See Your House From Here
• Karim Ziad: Ifrikya
• Keith Jarrett Quartet: Personal Mountains
• Marc Johnson: Magic Labyrinth
• Marvin Diz: Habla El Tambor
• Michel Camilo: Triangulo
• Miguel Zenon: Esta Plena
• Munir Hossn: Made in Nordeste
• Pedrito Martinez Group: The Pedrito Martinez Group
• Steve Swallow: Real Book
• Tatiana Parra/Vardan Ovsepian: Lighthouse
• Triphasic: Shaman
• Vicente Amigo: Un Momento En El Sonido
• Vincent Bidal: Car de Siècle
• Wayne Krantz: Greenwich Mean
• Weather Report: The Legenedary Live Tapes 1978-1981

Happy listening!