Not sure what kind of jazz you want to get interested in? Step right up! The latest reissue series from Avid covers just about anything you could desire, from swing to bebop to bop to free. Sure, there are other styles, but these are great places to whet your palate.
Ornette Coleman essentially single handedly 
started the whole genre of what we now call “Free” jazz with these four albums. Cutting to the chase of solos and forgetting about the whole idea of a referring melody, Coleman and his team of Don Cherry/tp, Billy Higgins/dr and Charlie Haden threw down the gauntlet in 1959 with the paradigm shifting Shape of Things to Come, which actually sounds fairly tame and lyrical in retrospect. The avalanche of 1960s Free Jazz with a double quartet that included Eric Dolphy and Freddie Hubbard is, in the classic sense, something you need to hear at least once just to say you’ve heard it. Ornette on Tenor from 1961 includes Ed Blackwell on the drums doing things people never imagined before, along with Scott LaFaro joining on bass with the leader , while Coleman switches to tenor sax in 1962 and comes off sounding impressive. Should have done it more often. Definitely an ear opening experience, and it shows how today’s “avant garde” sounds stale in comparison!
What can you say about the King of Swing? Here’s a guy that ALSO “started” a whole new style of music back in the 1930s, and, like Armstrong and Mozart, never strayed far from what he was rooted in. The 1958 Happy Session has Goodman returning from a highly successful tour of Belgium with an enthused set of big band as well as small group recordings that include Andre’ Previn on piano. Most enjoyable is the lack of standard Goodman fare. Compositions by Bobby Gutesha and Previn such as “Butuga Train” and “The King and Me” have fresh arrangements and Goodman himself sounds inspired. In 1962, Goodman took a completely different band to Russia, and it was even hotter! With a band that included not only John Bunch/p, but protoboppers Zoot Sims and Phil Woods, Goodman speaks a bit of bebop on compositions by Tadd Dameron (“Fountainbleu”) as well as some swinging stuff such as “Midgets” and Tommy Newsome’s “Titter Pipes.” Everyone sounds like they’re ready to roll here. And, if you think that Goodman was coasting at this stage, just get a load of his form on “Diga Diga Doo.”Swing was the thing!
Pianist Hampton Hawes was a fixture of the LA jazz scene in the 50s, but his career was sidelined by what was then called “personal” problems, which meant “drugs and arrests.” His 1955 trio with Red Mitchell/b and Chuck Thompson/dr is one of the best bop trio albums of all time, with incendiary readings of “I Got Rhythm” and a telepathic take of “All The Things You Are.” The centerpiece of the 2 cd set, though is a collection of quartet dates from an LA 1956 concert series with Jim Hall/g, Red Mitchell/b and Bruz Freeman/b. The material ranges from jam session styled blues to Ellingtonia such as “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me” to hot little boppers like “Two Bass Hit” and “Blue N Boogie.” This is bopping jazz at it the level you beg for.
People nowadays associate Quincy Jones as either a) the guy who married Peggy from Mod Squad b) the guy who did the music to Roots or c) the guy who produced Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. But, before he was a gazillionare, Quincy Jones was a hot trumpet player who also led a hot big band. These four albums have Jones leading some hot big bands as well as providing either the charts or songs during these musical halcyon days. In 1957, Jones released a cooking This Is How I Feel About Jazz session that included heavy hitters such as Lucky Thompson, Phil Woods and Art Farmer with some smoldering material such as “Walkin’” as well as a few tunes that feature the glorious 4 West Coast alto players Benny Carter, Art Pepper, Herb Geller and Charlie Mariano. 1958s Harry+…actually has Jones arranging for the Harry Arnold Swedish Radio Studio Orchestra, but besides the locals Art Farmer and Benny Bailey supply some American trumpet sounds with the band sounding pretty impressive on “Doodlin’” and “Sermonette.” The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones from 1959 has some smart charts by Ernie Wilkins, Ralph Burns and Al Cohn along with Woods, Farmer, Budd Johnson, Les Spann and a smoking Lee Morgan who tear apart “Lester Leaps In,” “Cherokee” and “Air Mail Special,” while a live 1961 date from Newport includes some of the above along with Joe Newman, Curtis Fuller and Melba Liston for a feisty display of swinging bop. This is the guy who also did the first rap session?!?
Oscar Peterson lead one of the swinginest trios of all time, being the backup band for everyone from Billie Holiday to Ben Webster. The classic trio of Peterson with Ray Brown/b and Herb Ellis/g is first caught here in a swinging ’55 session delving into the Count Basie songbook which at first glance might seem incongruous, but works amazingly well, particularly since Buddy Rich comes in with his drums and attitude. Their take of “9:20” special and “Broadway” definitely kick out the jams and the groove is gorgeous on an irresistible “Easy Does It.”. If you want to get a feel of what they could do live, the trio of Peterson /Brown/Ellis tear to shreds pieces such as “Sweet Georgia Brown” and Peterson throws musical ideas around like a Rainbird lawn sprayer on “Love is Here to Stay” and “Lights are Low.” The team changes a bit with Peterson with drummer Ed Thigpen replacing Ellis as the trio teams up in 1961 for a bluesy time with vibist Milt Jackson on “Work Song,” “On Green Dolphin Street” and particularly on an enjoyable “John Brown’s Body.” Many think the piano trio never got better than when Peterson was at the chair, and these discs give that point a lot of credence.
Avid Records
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