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- Miles Davis: Kind of Blue (Columbia) Miles Davis (t), John Coltrane (ts), Cannonball Adderley (as), Wynton Kelly (p), Bill Evans (p), Paul Chambers (b) and Jimmy Cobb (d).
- John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (Impulse!) Coltrane (ts, v), McCoy Tyner (p), Jimmy Garrison (b) and Elvin Jones (d). Rec. 1964. No matter how many times you approach this album it’s always greater than the sum of whatever parts you compile.
- Ornette Coleman: The Shape of Jazz To Come (Atlantic) Coleman (as), Don Cherry (t), Charlie Haden (b), Billy Higgins (d). Rec. 1959. I don’t know what it was about Ornette that led record company executives to go for the overkill on the album names, but by the time Atlantic released this, the altoist’s debut on the label, he’d already had albums on Contemporary called Something Else!!!!
- Bill Evans Trio: Sunday At The Village Vanguard (Riverside) Evans (p), Scott LaFaro (b) and Paul Motian (d). Rec. 1961. None of the three men that made this music one fine June day in 1961 had any inkling of the impact it would have down the years: on listening to the playbacks LaFaro did mention to Evans that he thought they’d got pretty close to optimum performance, but that was about it.
May 12, 2008 · These hundred titles are meant to provide a broad sampling of jazz classics and wonders across the music’s century-long history. Early New Orleans jazz, swing, bebop, cool jazz, modal...
- Miles Davis: Kind Of Blue (Columbia) Topping our list of the 50 best jazz albums ever is this timeless, transcendent classic from the great Miles Davis.
- John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (Impulse!) Released in 1965, jazz mystic and saxophonist/composer John Coltrane’s four-part hymn to God remains deeply influential and is regarded as the album that birthed what became known as spiritual jazz.
- Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out (Columbia) Released in 1959 – the year that Ornette Coleman produced his game-changing free jazz manifesto, The Shape Of Jazz To Come – California pianist Dave Brubeck proved that jazz didn’t have to be wild and way out to be revolutionary and innovative.
- Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um (Columbia) One of jazz’s most colorful characters, renowned for his volcanic temper, Charles Mingus – a bass player and composer originally from Arizona but raised in Los Angeles – created a unique style that melded driving hard bop with plaintive blues cries and sanctified gospel cadences.
- Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Songbook
- Jaco Pastorius: Jaco Pastorius
- Charlie Christian: Solo Flight, The Genius of Charlie Christian
- Louis Armstrong:Satchmo at Symphony Hall
- Wes Montgomery: Smokin’ at The Half Note
- Dizzy Gillespie: Afro
- Mccoy Tyner: The Real Mccoy
- Kurt Rosenwinkel: The Next Step
- Herbie Hancock:Maiden Voyage
- Art Tatum: Piano Starts Here
Legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgeraldwas one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century, providing many of the definitive versions of classic jazz songs. Many of these came from her ‘Songbook’ series, a collection of 8 albums released between 1956 & 1964 which saw her team up with songwriting greats of the day. Whilst each of these (plus a...
Every facet of electric bass player Jaco Pastorius’s abilityis on kaleidoscopic display in this wildly ambitious debut album. Pastorius starts off with a jaw-dropping version of Miles Davis’s “Donna Lee” (all via a single bass part accompanied by congas!) and goes on to showcase a collection of jazz fusion royalty, from Lenny White and Herbie Hanco...
Unlike almost every other musician on this list, jazz guitarist Christian barely recorded as a bandleader. He was, though, one of the most influential early musicians on his instrument and deserves a place in every jazz fan’s collection. This compilation is an excellent choice, as it brings together some of his most notable work with Benny Goodman ...
It’s hard to talk about the history of jazz without noting the original superstar of the music, Louis Armstrong. He might be known by the wider world as a gravely voiced entertainer, but “Satchmo”, or “Pops”, as he was sometimes known, was first and foremost a virtuoso jazz trumpeter. This 1947 live recording sees him return to a classic Dixieland ...
A jazz guitar favourite, Wes Montgomerydeveloped an unconventional playing style with a frequent use of octaves, producing a highly distinctive sound that was always joyous, soulful and swinging. This 1965 recording, recorded liveat the Half Note jazz club in New York, sees Wes accompanied by Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb. Backed by th...
Many of the best jazz albums in history transcend music and actually document the evolution of the genre. This is certainly the case with this 1954 big band album from trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, which showcases the major role he played in bringing Afro-Cuban music into the jazz arena. Legendary arranger Chico O’Farrill provided the charts for the s...
Described by producer Alfred Lion as “a pure jazz session”, this 1967 album was recorded after the pianist’s departure from the John Coltrane quartet. It does, however, retain much of the power, enlisting bandmates Ron Carter on bassand Elvin Jones alongside tenor sax player Joe Henderson. ‘Passion Dance’is a modal jazz classic, and McCoy Tyner’s s...
Perhaps due to the increasing affordability of recording music in the latter part of the 20th Century, the choice of jazz records became exponentially bigger. Few, however, had the impact of the Kurt Rosenwinkel album, The Next Step, released in 2001. Developed over the course of a long residency at New York jazz club Smalls, Rosenwinkel brings tog...
Herbie Hancockmay be better known as a pioneering fusion musician, experimenting with electro, funk, and pop sounds. But the pianist first appeared on the scene in the early 1960s as a hugely exciting talent in acoustic jazz, before helping redefine the role of the rhythm section with Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet. His 1964 album Maiden Voyagei...
Most of Art Tatum’s classic work was recorded before the LP era, but it didn’t seem fair to exclude the piano legend from this list of the greatest jazz albums just because of that. The Piano Starts Here compilation, released in 1968, includes classic 1933 solo takes like ‘Tea For Two‘, ‘Sophisticated Lady‘ and the famous ‘Tiger Rag‘, as well as so...
Find out the top 100 jazz albums by pre-1980 jazz greats, from Miles Davis to Nina Simone, in this comprehensive list of jazz classics. Browse the names, dates, and genres of the albums, and learn more about the artists and their music.
1. The Ben Webster Quintet - Soulville. Jazz, Cool Jazz. Score. 100. Source →. Amazon. Music. Spotify. 2. Steve Lacy - The Straight Horn of Steve Lacy. Jazz. Score. 100. Source →. Amazon. 3. Max Roach - We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite. Avant-Garde Jazz, Vocal Jazz. Score. 100. Source →.
Feb 23, 2024 · The best jazz albums of all time, from Coltrane to Sinatra and beyond. A selection of classic records to help anyone start – or supplement – their love of the genre. By Josiah Gogarty and Brit...
