Does seem kind of wierd to me ... I listen to jazz because I love it.  So I listen when Im in the mood.

But if you are listening to learn and transcribe, Id just tack some time onto your regular practice schedule to specifically sit and focus etc.   Which it sounds like you have already done.  

I guess Im a "learn directly from listening" guy.   Im not looking to play just like anyone so its just a matter of hearing ideas and reinterpreting them on my own.  

i'm pretty sure i know what you mean.





i listen for the song first and foremost. jazz can get kind of ... suffocating, or maybe overwhelming, is a better word, especially when you are first starting to take it in. it's a different musical form than you might be used to hearing.


because it can get overwhelming, i try to just focus on the tune. then, once i know the tune, i listen for particulars. mostly with the drums, but really the whole band. i listen for lines in the sax and piano, and try to pay attention to how the players interact and respond to one another.  


i got into art blakey [night in tunisia] this way, and also joe henderson [in 'n out] and wayne shorter [soothsayer]. the latter two are great composers, so it's never work listening to their music.


also, people tend to suggest listening to jazz chronologically, so you can see how the music got to where it got. that's logical, but doesn't work for me. i came to jazz via fusion, so i worked backwards. the one area where i do like to go chronologically is if i'm listening to the drums only. it's good to hear early drum stuff and solos [like chick webb, philly jo jones, papa jo jones] and see how they evolved. there are also cool solo works, like max roach's stuff [i want to say the cd is called freedom now! i'm pretty sure this is the one with abbey lincoln, and max's famous 'drum also waltzes' number, but don't shoot me if i'm wrong].


i think you should take it piecemeal and listen to a few things at a time. 50 jazz cds is a lot of music to take in. absorb some of that material [like 2 or 3 cds], determine what you like or don't like and why, then move on from there. there's some stuff, like branford marsalis' 'crazy people music' that you have to listen to a zillion times before you get it. this is what i'm talking about when i say jazz can be overwhelming. it demands more of listeners than most music, and can become an intellectual pursuit. i did that for a little while, and it stops being fun and enjoyable when it's only an intellectual pursuit.



so just chill in a cozy space, crank up the tunes and enjoy. after a while, certain things will speak to you.


oh, the other thing that i really like about jazz is that you build an appreciation for other instruments. it sounds ridiculous, but i was always kind of 'anti-piano' until i listened to jazz. i have no idea why [maybe got tired of all the classical music i had to listen to growing up], but listening to stuff like 'evidence' or mccoy tyner's 'passion dance' really perked my ears up. it'd be great to get a little piano knowledge and play some of that stuff!





happy listening.

Thanks to u all, guys! Really good post about something that may not be as simple as many think.
I'm really getting into the music more now than before.... listening to everyones comping (a good way I think is to listen from the soloist perspective an try to listen to how the drummer is communicating and responding to what he/she plays).

I also borrowed this book from the libary written by great jazz pianist Johnny King (I think the english title maybe is "Jazz - listening and understanding" ,I read the swedish version so I don't know the exact english title). It's a very good book for people who haven't listened or my have listened but don't  understand the music, the language. So check it out those who want to know about how to listen to jazz!

I can't usually absorb jazz recordings without repeated listenings.  I just put a CD on several times over a period of weeks (or months) and the melodies and structures start to emerge for me.  Then, if I want to try to learn a particular piece, I start by using my hands for sticks, legs for drums and the floor for bass and hats and try to start following the phrases and transitions.  I don't usually try to learn a drum part note for note but instead try to reproduce the feel.