Jazz fans - I love Thelonious Monk, I like late period ("sheets of sound") Coltrane, I really like that Freddie Hubbard/Ilhan Mimaroglu record, I like Mingus but haven't really heard anything worth owning, didn't get into Bill Evans 'Conversations With Myself', love Peter Brotzmann, really like 'The Sidewinder' by Lee Morgan, just recently heard and like 'The Sermon' by Jimmy Smith and enjoy Mose Allison quite a bit.

What do you think I should check out next?

What about Art Blakey? Jazz Messengers? That springs to mind right away.

Try Shellac. I hear their second album is pretty jazzy.

Dylan

as far as mingus goes, have you heard Black Saint & The Sinner Lady? That's one of the best jazz records ever. Or maybe you'd like "Oh Yeah" he plays piano on that one and has a ripping band.

There was a Peter Brotzmann/Paal Nillsen-Love duo cd that was just released that's a total burner. Paal is a wicked drummer.

I would recommend Eric Dolphy "Out To Lunch" Roy Haynes "Out Of The Afternoon" the Gil Evans albums "Out of the Hot" and "Into The Cool." Maybe Archie Shepp's "The Way Ahead" or Cecil Taylor's "Nefertitti"?

just a couple ideas.

i just realized that I listed three titles in a row that had "Out" in them.

Outch.

Dylan,
If you like Monk, start with Cecil Taylor "Jazz Advance" and go from there thru his catalog.
Lots and lots of great Sun Ra from more traditional stuff like "Jazz in Silhouette" to the outhere freakfests like "Strange Strings" or the BYG/Actuel or ESP releases.
Bill Dixon is a great, underrated trumpet player and has a handful of records as a leader.
Don Cherry is another trumpeter to check out, esp the Blue Note stuff.
Lots more, but gotta go eat.

Try early John Surman.

Influenced by the 'Trane, still does his own thang, tho. Also veers into wild bass clarinet weirdness. Recommended.

The Trio s/t

Conflagration

S.O.S.

John Surman w/ Stu Martin Woodstock lp. Drum / Sax duets w/ EMS VC3 Synth operated my Martin. Killer.

Nice to see you active again, Sir. Hope you are well.

Personally I am very fond of Charles Mingus. If you can tolerate an eleven-piece band, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is superbly orchestrated composition. If you want something slightly more stripped-back, maybe try Oh Yeah or Let My Children Hear Music.

If you are remotely interested in free jazz, it is worthwhile hearing some Sun Ra. My introduction was The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra Trilogy. A wild and wonderful exploration of the avant garde. All three parts are mind-melting in their own way.

Edit: How did seven posts happen in the time it took me to write this?!

I goddamn love this album. All three of these legends are on their game on this one.

i'm just recently started listening to jazz, but Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz is a great piece of music.