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[Will]

I want some good instrumental music, of any genre type, that would work well as a background for when I do my poetry readings. I'm working on making some mixes for different "set" lengths, and I want to hear what you fine folk would suggest. The stuff I read varies in tone, so I need a broad range of music to pick from.

Past winners that I have used include:

Explosions In The Sky (Your Hand In Mine & It's Natural To Be Afraid remix)
A Silver Mt. Zion (Tho' You Are Gone, I Still Often Walk With You & Broken Chords Can Sing A Little)
Miles Davis (Solea)
Mono (A Thousand Paper Cranes)
Zao (Violet)

I need whatever music I use to set a mood, but not overpowering; Mogwai doesn't work very well because their songs are generally too intense to just sit in the background.

I'd like some more electronic suggestions, and also if anyone can give some ideas of some instrumental acoustic songs those would be great as well...I'd like something that has kind of an 'old-west' feel to it...

Thanks guys! I'm planning on recording some stuff soon, and when I do I will share it here!

[amok]

Not 100% sure if any of these will be suitable but have a go:

Random:
If These Trees Could Talk - Malabar Front
Your Ten Mofo - <3
Anything from the "Easily Misunderstood" CD by Samuel Jackson Five
Bohren & Der Club Of gore - Nightwolf (film-noir-esque ambient/jazz. excellent mood music)

Electronic stuff:
Thievery Corporation - Lebanese Blonde (Instrumental Version)
(from the EP of the same name. if you have trouble finding it, shout out and I'll upload something)
Orbital - The Box
Synaesthesia - Nomads
Freq - Carbon-Based Lifeform, Nurbs
Wrecked Machines

Acoustic/light-rock stuff:
Opeth - Silhouette (doesn't really fit the old-west in any way whatsoever but it's a sweet instrumental)
Try the "Interludes" from Alfa 9's "Then We Begin" CD (there's 3, all called Interlude #)

(bolded the best ones)

[Will]

Yeah, jazz works REALLY well for this sort of thing...I have a cd from the 'Jazz In Paris' collection, the Donald Byrd Quintet I think it is...there's some good stuff there that I'm gonna work on using.

[casull]

I have just the thing for you. This is a one-shot instrumental prog bluegrass album Bela Fleck did a few years ago. I love it to death, and it has a nice variety of intensity. Listen to track 2 for a nice taste of what it's like in general. I think this may do well for an 'old west' kind of feel.

http://download.yousendit.com/E70C90AB6124A6D2g

Over 20 megs, so you need an account. It's free and fast, though.

[Jazzuu]

Find some Coltrane or Mingus. For Coltrane 'A Love Supreme' would be boss. For Mingus, you might want to try something like 'Oh Yeah', which has some words but not many. Otherwise, Miles Davis is your man.

 A Love Supreme is a masterpiece, but it's very intense, so it's maybe not very good background music (but get it anyway, it's a timeless classic!). More calm Coltrane would be, for example, "Ballads" and "Coltrane plays the blues".
 
  My suggestion 1# would be Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. Very relaxed and cool modal jazz. It's also one of the most influentical jazz records ever, so it's important to know.
  Other stuff by Davis is also great, but the later fusion stuff is either brutal or funky, so I'd suggest to try the earlier works for your purposes.

Personally, I often use Ry Cooder's Paris, Texas -Soundtrack for the background when I'm working.

Jazzuu
 

[Johnny Evilguy]

I don't know if you can find it in stores anymore but DJ ENCYNE has a really good instrumental CD I'll try and upload it later

9th Wonder: DJ of Little Brother

Nikolay from Foreign Exchange: Nikolay's beats are all surreal and ethereal-like... His beat packs would fit well for the tranquility moods...

[asyluman]

Instrumental songs by the Brian Jonestown Massacre.

[alongwaltz]

Broken Social Scene - 'Feel Good Lost'
a lot of Sigur Ros
Vince Guaraldi
Dave Brubeck

[greenMonkey]

I personally think Dave Brubeck might be a little busy for background music, and Sigur Ros might not fit well depending on what he's reading.

You might try The Bill Evans Trio.  I have one of their albums, Since We Met, and it is very good background music, very relaxed jazz.  You might also try St. Germain (specifically the album Tourist); St. Germain is kind of chill electronic jazz lounge music, I'm not sure how to describe it best.

[Kai]

[John Curtin]

You might also try St. Germain (specifically the album Tourist); St. Germain is kind of chill electronic jazz lounge music, I'm not sure how to describe it best.

Seconding St Germain, though some of those tracks are a little too much dance-type electronica for the purpose of poetry readings (I guess?).  I'd say "Land Of..." would be the most chilled (and also the best!) track from that record.

Someone mentioned Miles Davis, specifically Kind of Blue, which is a wonderful album, but it's kind of hackneyed in that it is what is always pulled out when someone thinks "I need jazz music!" for whatever purpose.  Not a bad thing of course, but if you want something that's in the background and won't impose itself on the poetry (you don't want your audience to think 'hey this is the music they played in that TV show one time'), try something like 'Round About Midnight, which is (mostly) as chilled.

I'm going to throw Thelonious Monk's hat into the ring here.  The vast majority of his music has that laid-back relaxed feel it sounds like you want, more than Davis even (consider that "'Round Midnight" is a Monk chart).  Give Brilliant Corners or Straight, No Chaser a spin.

[Misereatur]

For Mingus, you might want to try something like 'Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus' and 'Mingus Ah Um'.

Done.

Also, Miles' In A Silent Way and if youre feeling a bit more adventurous then try Miles' Bitches Brew and Ornette Coleman's This is Our Music or The Shape of Jazz to Come.