"Peanuts" jazz

Jhostetler

Senior Member
At least that's what I call it. I listen to Spotify while I'm in the office and have taken a liking to what I call "Peanuts" jazz. A la David Benoit and the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Who else would you all recommend that plays this kind of happy jazz?
 
At least that's what I call it. I listen to Spotify while I'm in the office and have taken a liking to what I call "Peanuts" jazz. A la David Benoit and the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Who else would you all recommend that plays this kind of happy jazz?

Some of Dave Brubeck's stuff comes to mind... If I had to pick an adjective, it would be, "Playful". I also like that their stuff is relatively accessible to non/aspiring jazz musicians.

Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAlVasHbipo

Nana Nana Nana Banana
Nana Nana Nana Banana
Nana Nana Nana Banana
Banana Banana Banana
Nana Nana Nana Banana
Nana Nana Nana Banana
Nana Nana Nana Banana
Banana Banana Banana
 
At least that's what I call it. I listen to Spotify while I'm in the office and have taken a liking to what I call "Peanuts" jazz. A la David Benoit and the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Who else would you all recommend that plays this kind of happy jazz?

I don't know what to recommend but I love the Charlie Brown Christmas sound track!
 
A lot of Oscar Peterson Trio stuff makes me smile, check out Gravy Waltz (or better yet, the whole Affinity album).
 
Use Pandora app and type in David Benoit and you will get that type of themed music.
 
Some of Dave Brubeck's stuff comes to mind... If I had to pick an adjective, it would be, "Playful". I also like that their stuff is relatively accessible to non/aspiring jazz musicians.

Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAlVasHbipo

Nana Nana Nana Banana
Nana Nana Nana Banana
Nana Nana Nana Banana
Banana Banana Banana
Nana Nana Nana Banana
Nana Nana Nana Banana
Nana Nana Nana Banana
Banana Banana Banana

Man! I loved that piece-thank you...

Anyone else hearing the band YES in that piece? Very reminiscent to me of Bruford type playing...
 
I use Sirius and they have a Watercolors they plays Benoit and similar, and a Real Jazz channel that runs the gamut of jazz. I've been playing along with those channels a few years now trying to "channel" jazz. LOL.
 
So the meandering 20+ minutes of Coltranes' "My Favorite Things" doesn't qualify?

;)
 
Oh, get that Jean Pierre Rampal/Claude Bolling record-- it's a classic of that kind of thing. Similar but more serious are George Shearing, Ahmad Jamal (try Live at the Pershing), Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, Jimmy Giuffre-- 50s to early 60s. Newer people might be Bill Charlap, Dave Frishberg.
 
Oh, get that Jean Pierre Rampal/Claude Bolling record-- it's a classic of that kind of thing. Similar but more serious are George Shearing, Ahmad Jamal (try Live at the Pershing), Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, Jimmy Giuffre-- 50s to early 60s. Newer people might be Bill Charlap, Dave Frishberg.

Love Frishberg! He's like Zappa in a lot of ways too - you'll get hooked on his lyrics before you hear the complexity of his music. He was also the guy who wrote "I'm just a bill" that was used for ABC's Schoolhouse Rock back in the 70s. Without that song I don't think I would've learned how we in the US make laws ;)
 
Not "Salt Peanuts", then?

Can't say I really understand the terms of this sub-genre.

Is it the piano or just stuff marketed as jazz that is easy to listen to?


Maybe get into Joe Sample a bit?
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys! Definitely giving them all a go today at work. Can't believe I never thought of Brubeck.
 
Not "Salt Peanuts", then?

Can't say I really understand the terms of this sub-genre.

Is it the piano or just stuff marketed as jazz that is easy to listen to?


Maybe get into Joe Sample a bit?

I tnink most of it falls under the title of "smooth jazz". I listened to a lot of it for a while but it got a little bit old. Too much of the same thing.
 
Those are pretty different styles of music! David Benoit is really in the Smooth Jazz sub-genre, while Vince Guaraldi is mostly associated with Cool Jazz (and some late Swing).


Dave Brubeck is probably a good place to start. Oscar Peterson is a little more advanced and jazzy than Brubeck, and doesn't have that west coast Cool Jazz vibe, but you might like his stuff as well.

Both Guaraldi and Brubeck worked with Cal Tjader (the Swedish-American who helped popularized the Latin Jazz genre). Which also links them to Paul Desmond, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, and Art Pepper, who all worked in the Cool Jazz genre.
 
Lots of stuff under the jazz unbrella that shouldn't be hard to listen to.

We have the classic jazz rock groups like Mezzoforte, Yellowjackets, Spyro Gyra, Koinonia....

If you like the what we term nordic sound or what the Swedes call "mountain jazz" my fellow countryman Jan Garbarek is worth checking out. Manu used to play with him a lot.
 
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