This section of my website, titled "Jazz Stacks", is my attempt to review jazz music and develop my own comphrehensive list of what I think a good jazz collection should have. One thing that I will share is that my tastes in jazz are my opinion - and not necessarily those of others. You may relate better to different forms of jazz - and believe me there are many forms - from Dixie Land to BeBop.

Two styles that I enjoy the most are "Hard Bop" and "Modal". To quote A.B. Spellman, poet and jazz critic: "Hard bop was also called mainstream jazz, called East coast jazz. Hard bop brought back some of the elements of swing like having a lot of fun with the playing."

I don't quite have a complete understanding of "Modal". Unfortunately I don't have training in music, but to get a good sence of Modal, I recommend Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" (You need RealAudio player to listen to this review) considered highest selling jazz album of all time. Please note that even if you are not a true fan of jazz, Kind of Blue is assessible to most people. Simply put - you can't go wrong with this album. Herbie Hancock calls it “a doorway for the musicians of my generation,” and Quincy Jones says if one album had to explain jazz, that one is it.