No Accreditation? No Problem! 10 Potential Routes To Get Into Jazz As A Beginner

The search query "How do I get into jazz?" may elicit almost three billion results on Google, but here's what virtually none of the articles will tell you: the negative associations have a lot of truth to them.

Despite scores of wonderful participants, this community can look more like a bloodbath to an outsider. From finger-tenting critics and homicidal Discogs commenters to the hyper-competitive New York jazz scene, the impossibly complicated and diverse arena of jazz can seem impossible to perforate, much less enjoy. Throw in the politics, the pedagogy, and how it's all encased in academia, and other niche interests start to look mighty attractive — maybe building model airplanes.

But this is also true: you should forget all that and keep going. Because this is music, and the rest is noise. Approach it without reservations, and jazz might reveal itself as a fount of pleasure in your life. Any music blog or record-store clerk will tell you to check out the desert-island discs — Time Out, A Love Supreme, Kind of Blue — yet there's no playbook you're required to follow or mandate from the Jazz Police. If you want to kindle a relationship with jazz, the only boundaries involve what you enjoy and what you don't.

So, do you want to take the Wikipedia route and follow the history chronologically over the last century and change? You can certainly do that, although it might put you to sleep. Watch "Ken Burns Jazz" front to back and take notes? That's a classic docuseries, but it sure leaves a lot out. Take a music-appreciation course? It might be interesting, but you can also just open a streaming service and go nuts — especially if you don't feel like learning what a flatted fifth is.

The question remains: How do you get into jazz? Simple: whatever route makes you happiest.

At its core, this music is about the magic of extemporaneous human expression — which involves a spectrum of emotions, chief among them joy. So if your jazz journey feels more like a slog than a skip or a saunter, it's best to recalibrate and try again. Identify whatever makes you hate the process and dispose of it. Being lectured might be a mainstay of the jazz experience these days, but it's ultimately antithetical to the mathematical-yet-freewheeling soul of the music.

There are thousands of musical styles to enjoy in this life, but none of them will have the particular patina of Sonny Rollins at the Village Vanguard. Or Dave Brubeck at Carnegie Hall. Or Lee Morgan at Van Gelder Studio. A life without Louis Armstrong, Mary Lou Williams, Duke Ellington, Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery, Herbie Hancock, Benny Golson, Geri Allen, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ambrose Akinmusire, Joel Ross, and everyone else — past, present, and future — is missing something significant from the garden of earthly delights.

One can't comprehensively discuss it in a hundred books — much less a single article online — and there's no perfect way to digest the canon in its entirety. So you'll never reach the bottom because no one has. And that's one of the best parts.

With that in mind, here are ten possible routes to appreciating and understanding jazz — and for heaven's sake, enjoying it — as part of your day-to-day listening.

Ask Yourself What You Want From Jazz

First, it's worth examining why you've read this article thus far and what compels you to want to get into this world. Are you looking for sheer athleticism or pure feeling? The wildest, craziest technique, or the most tasteful and soothing? Are you looking for melodies? Anti-melodies? Brazen experimentation? Adherence to tradition?

One could list artists all day in response, but let's throw out a few basic names regarding the first two qualities.

Chances are, you'll want to enjoy athleticism and emotional communication in tandem. So who had both? For the sake of argument: Charlie Parker did. So did John Coltrane. And drummer Art Blakey. Where do you start with those artists? Type "best recordings" or "best albums" into Google, plus their names. Easy. You could spend months or years checking out their work.

What of artists who leaned more on feeling than technical display? Let's talk trumpeters. Chet Baker is a perfect example — while technically limited, he could strip melodies to their essences. While Baker mostly stayed in one lane for his entire career, Miles Davis famously reinvented himself several times. Right there, you've got hundreds of albums to check out. (Though you'll probably want to head for Chet and Kind of Blue first.)

You've got numerous online resources at your disposal for those other qualities — if you haven't used Bandcamp, it's an incredible tool for jazz discovery. So the point is: first, ask what you want from this music. Because if you go looking, the chances are that you'll receive it.

Follow The Cover Art

A spectacular record is like another world you get to live in for a while, and ideally, a record cover should be a window into that space. And when it comes to jazz, it's often a hipper, more sophisticated plane of expression. And classic jazz labels — especially Blue Note Records — deliver on the album-art front.

Almost all jazz labels offer great covers, but it's worth zeroing in on Blue Note — especially since they provide some of the building blocks of the music. Go through their database and find something that catches your eye. Chances are, the contents will be worth hearing at least once.

Hank Mobley, looking relaxed, with his tenor sax hanging behind his shoulder? That's Soul Station, one of the most effortlessly elegant post-bop records ever. The monumental typography of Larry Young's Unity will lead you to one of the most majestic organ-jazz albums ever recorded. And the otherworldly cover of Melissa Aldana's 12 Stars showcases one of today's most celebrated young tenor saxophonists.

Just use the visual cues, and follow your instincts. If something doesn't click, keep looking. You'll find something captivating before you know it.

Pick An Instrument And Go

Tenor, alto, soprano and baritone saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, drums, vocals synthesizer, et cetera — which one do you gravitate to the most? Why not use that as a prompt for where to begin with jazz?

Then, think of the emotions you'd like that instrument to communicate. Want some fiery tenor saxophone? Coleman Hawkins is your man. Some soothing tenor? Check out Lester "Prez" Young.

And did you know both those players were at the helm of entire schools of thinking about the instrument? (Respectively, those are the "Hawk school" and the "Prez school.") Use the magic Google button and follow those lineages through the 20th century into today.

Follow Any Thread To Its Logical Limit

Jazz is a particularly fitting interest for completists and collectors — those with a nerdy streak. So once you digest the essential Herbie Hancock records, like Empyrean Isles, Head Hunters and Thrust, you can go down a rabbit hole of everything he played on, past and present. Even if something doesn't live up to the classics, it'll be fun to hear at least once.

Another fun mental game: find a goalpost and see if you can leap it in your research. Sure, you love Hank Mobley — but is there an even mellower saxophonist? Roy Brooks was a monster, but is there an even fierier drummer? Have two musicians more audibly hated each other on a joint recording than Chet Baker and Stan Getz on Stan Meets Chet?

Find what inspires, astonishes or tickles you, and keep ratcheting it up. Jazz will always deliver.

Take Critics With A Grain Of Salt

It's tempting to begin with just the masterpieces when it comes to jazz. But remember: the most vaunted selections were chosen by people just like you and us.

Case in point: if you disregard everything on Allmusic that got three stars or less, you've missed out on unrevolutionary yet totally worthwhile gems like Lou Donaldson's Hot Dog, Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams' Motor City Scene and Kenny Burrell's Soul Call.

This also applies to musicians themselves. Just because they're not venerated as once-in-a-lifetime innovators doesn't mean you shouldn't spend a lot of time with them.

"Jazz has its geniuses, but not everybody can be a total original. You need really good musicians who can do their thing in a way that is accessible to people and of a high quality," GRAMMY-winning jazz historian Dan Morgenstern said in the 2022 GRAMMYs program book, while discussing the saxophonist and composer Benny Golson.

"If everybody was a total original," he continued, "music would be very difficult to digest." As usual, it's wise to go with Morgenstern on this one. Seek out the slightly undersung players.

Begin At The Threshold Of The 1960s

For myriad reasons that can't be contained in this article, the period loosely spanning between 1958 and 1962 is a particularly sweet spot for recorded jazz.

From Sonny Clark's Cool Struttin' to Stanley Turrentine's Look Out! to Wynton Kelly's Kelly Blue, there are so many rewarding and listenable entries from this nexus point in the music — between producer extraordinaire Rudy Van Gelder's two studios, between the hard-bop and modal eras.

If you want a few particular years to dig around in, perhaps go with the end of the 1950s and beginning of the '60s — before you head backward and forward from there.

Find A Storied Club & Drop In

There are great jazz clubs all over the world — but if you're in or near New York City, you're particularly lucky. Any night of the week, there's bound to be something cutting-edge and captivating at the Village Vanguard, Smalls, Blue Note, Birdland and other venues. Drop in blind, and you probably won't be disappointed.

But if NYC isn't accessible to you, simply find the most talked-about spot near you. Because even if you don't care for what you find, identifying what you don't like is similarly important for forming your tastes.

Find Holes In Your Knowledge & Fill Them

Before we continue, did you notice that virtually all the performers in this article have been small-group jazz? Wait — what about big bands? What about crossover jazz performers? What about singers?

Realizing something's missing from your knowledge bank isn't a bad thing — those voids are where understanding grows.

For instance: if you want to know more about '90s jazz, find an artist like trumpeter Brian Lynch, or pianist Brad Mehldau, then look up who they played with. Then who they played with, and so on.

If you don't know much about big band performers, find the essential Count Basie and Duke Ellington recordings. Then look up who played in their bands. Again, who else did they play with? Then find the other major big-band arrangers and players and ask the same questions.

Just stay curious and diligent, and you'll get where you need to be.

Unthaw The Icons

This brings us to the handful of progenitors that tend to be talked about more than listened to — at least by average listeners. Why is this? It could be recording quality, or just tastes changing with time — but certain genius artists from the early- to mid-20th century can get a little frozen in time.

Do your best to hear them as human beings and not encyclopedia entries — and seek out the recordings that sound the most vital to you.

Louis Armstrong's version of "Hello Dolly!" might not be your bag, but Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy is a bluesy, burning gem that remains powerful today. You may not think you like "jazz with strings" albums, but Charlie Parker With Strings contains some of his most exquisite and lyrical soloing in an accessible setting. Lionel Hampton's explosive vibraphone playing on Benny Goodman's The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert shows how he was jazz's consummate rock 'n' roller.

Becoming an "icon" over the course of decades can be a double-edged sword for pioneering musicians — so do your best to approach the greats with fresh ears.

Above All, Enjoy Yourself

Is something not clicking for you, even though you "should" like it? Quit banging your head against the wall, wondering why your tastes aren't refined enough. (There are innumerable classics that this jazz writer never puts on around the house.)

Too many times, jazz becomes a chore for people when it should be a source of pleasure. The dip and sway of an exquisite saxophone solo, a ride cymbal skipping like a stone, and a commanding vocalist at full tilt engage the heart and body even more than the head.

And if you keep trying and jazz doesn't speak to you — great! There are so many other styles of music to cherish in this life, and nobody can make you feel less-than for not feeling it.

But at the risk of pulling the "you just haven't heard the right jazz!" card, you're encouraged to try all the doors before you give up for good. There might be some you didn't even know existed. And as soon as one swings open, you're welcome inside for life.

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