I was looking to compile a list of good jazz/blues/soul singers for a relaxing playlist since most of my music is heavy metal, thrash metal and scream. If anyone has any ideas please, send them in. If there's a particular song I would be delighted to get that as well.

 

Take Five by Dave Brubeck - once it starts playing you'll recognize it, but you'll let it play

Also recommended

Jazz:
Modern Jazz Quartet

Thelonius Monk

Soul:
Sam and Dave

Otis Redding

Fun for covers:
Commitments soundtrack

Blues Brothers soundtrack (the original, plus Belushi and Aykroyd did a disk before the movie called Briefcase Full of Blues)

Red White and Blue- Cole Porter redone by more modern artists


Barely a ice chunk off the tip of the iceberg, but you have to start somewhere.

 

Jazz: Branford Marsalis, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, Joshua Redman, Miles Davis, Roy Hargrove, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, to name a few.

Blues: Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the list goes on...

Some albums you need in your collection if you're serious about jazz: Time Out by Brubeck Quartet, Blue Train by Coltrane, Love Supreme by Coltrane, Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.

 

The fourth part of Love Supreme will blow your brains out of your head. So, get that one first; you won't need the other ones after your brains are blown.

 

Thank you for this thread. Makes me want to learn saxophone so badly.

 

Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Eldar Djangirov.

 

QFT. These music threads always make me forget how much quality stuff there is in different genres (as opposed the the stuff that gets constant reply on various running/exercise playlists). Anyways:

Jazz: Joe Sample, Diana Krall, Harry Connick, Jr., Jamie Cullum, Vince Guaraldi Trio, Etta James, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Julie London

Soul: Sam Cooke, early Stevie Wonder, Michael McDonald's "Motown" albums, Aretha Franklin, Sharon Jones & the Dapp Kings, Anthony Williams songs (those on the "American Gangster" soundtrack, in particular), Mayer Hawthorne, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Joss Stone's "Introducing Joss Stone" album, Eva Cassidy, some cripple named Ray Charles...

Blues: Dr. John, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Norah Jones

Some stand-out songs:
- Julie London's "Am I Blue"
- Miles Davis "It Never Entered My Mind"
- Vince Guaraldi Trio "Linus & Lucy" and the instrumental of "Christmastime Is Here" (I listen to it year-round)
- Etta James "Sunday Kind of Love"
- Ray Charles "Hard Times"
- Sam Cooke "You Send Me"
- Sharon Jones & the Dapp Kings "You're Gonna Get It"
- Mayer Hawthorne "Strange Arrangement" and "Maybe So, Maybe No"
- Norah Jones "Are You Lonesome Tonight"
- Eva Cassidy "Natural Woman"