This article is written by Toru Hoshino, a jazz bassist and instructor based in Japan who teaches online lessons to students worldwide. In this article, he answers a question he hears constantly: where do you even start listening to jazz?
Contents
New to Jazz and Not Sure What to Listen To?
At Line on Bass, I run a monthly seminar for students.
This month, students brought in their own favorite jazz recordings, and we spent the time talking about what we loved about each one — “I love this part of the tune,” “this player’s playing here is incredible,” “this one means a lot to me.” It felt less like a seminar and more like a casual hangout, but it turned into genuinely valuable time.
On a related note, I get asked a lot: “I want to start listening to jazz, but I have no idea where to begin.” With search engines and AI giving you endless answers these days, it might honestly be making the problem worse, not better.
So here’s one piece of guidance on what to listen to. First, it helps to know that jazz has a huge number of “____ jazz” subgenres:
Modern Jazz / Bebop / Hard Bop
Cool Jazz / Swing Jazz / Free Jazz
Acid Jazz / Club Jazz / Smooth Jazz
And by region, you’ve also got things like:
New Orleans Jazz / Chicago Jazz / West Coast Jazz / European Jazz
Even Miles Davis, the so-called “king of jazz,” sounds completely different depending on which era of his career you’re listening to.
Some periods are straight-up 4/4 swing jazz; others are closer to free jazz, funk, electric, or rock fusion.
So if a more experienced player tells a beginner “just listen to Miles” and that beginner grabs a random album, they might end up with something totally different from what they pictured “jazz” sounding like. In other words, which jazz you happen to encounter first shapes your whole impression of the word “jazz.”
That said, the walking bass lines and ii–V–I-based phrases I teach in my lessons are mostly drawn from bebop, hard bop, and modern jazz from the 1940s through the 1960s. In fact, a huge number of my students specifically want to play jazz from that era.
If you’re not sure where to start, I’d recommend starting there. Of course, plenty of people end up loving club jazz or acid jazz instead — it really comes down to personal taste 🙂
A Recommended Track
Here’s one recording a student shared at this month’s seminar.
“Sam Sack” — Milt Jackson and Wes Montgomery
This is a track from the 1962 album “Bags Meets Wes!” Bassist Sam Jones’s phrasing and walking bass lines from the very first bar are fantastic — it’s a great example of that classic ’60s jazz feel. It’s genuinely cool — give it a listen.
Finding the right entry point into jazz is a lot like finding the right entry point into playing it — having someone point you in the right direction saves a lot of wasted time.
Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?
This is exactly the kind of thing that’s hard to fix alone — and where having a teacher makes all the difference.
At Line on Bass, I offer an online lesson service where you send me a video of your playing, and I give you specific, detailed feedback — every single day if you want.
Students from around the world are using this to fix exactly these kinds of issues and steadily improve their jazz bass skills.