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Comment by WilliamLP | Hacker News Reader

I was hoping this article would tell me more about why I don't like jazz. I don't know why! I've tried. I love all forms of classical music. I like rock and pop music. I know the opera repertoire really well and have sung several major tenor roles. But I just can't get to like jazz at all for some reason.

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If you like classical, try Miles Davis's "Sketches of Spain" as a stepping point. There's very little improv in it and to me it sounds more classical than jazz. If you enjoy it, (which I almost guarantee you will) you'll probably be able to appreciate other Miles Davis CDs better.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sketches_of_Spain

Have you tried listening to Shostakovich? He was moderately successful at blending jazz and classical elements, as well as at polarizing critics in the process.

Or that Jazz Flute Suite record by Bolling & Rampal.

One of my favorite records :-) I also like Bolling's Suite for Chamber Orchestra and Jazz Piano Trio.

Do you like Gershwin? Start with "Rhapsody in Blue." If you don't like that, there's no hope of building a bridge from your love of classical to jazz, you'll have to try a different way round. If you do like it, watch the movie "An American in Paris" and if you like any of the songs, look for instrumental versions of those jazz classics.

I kind of like Gershwin. I enjoyed playing a clarinet part for "An American in Paris" in an amateur concert band even. I like Dave Brubeck too actually. But those don't really seem like jazz to me, more like cheating:)

Well, Brubeck is to Rubalcaba as Mozart is to Mahler, and for many of the same reasons.

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