47. Garners manager heard the tapes and persuaded Columbia to release them as an album, whereupon it sold by the truckload (by 1958, it was estimated to have made over $1 million in sales). but, come to think of it, no Shaw or Miller. Compiling a list of the best jazz albums of all time is a nigh-on impossible task. The Best Jazz Pianists of All Time 21. Romantic Warrior for sure Chic, Stanley and the gang!! From the top of my head, where are Ella, Diz, Billie Holiday, Oscar Peterson, Wynton Marsalis, Bradford Marsalis, Benny Goodman, geeez!!! West Coast? What should be my next album? Interesting list overall though. Now that is completely wrong. Live at the Chez Buddy Rich Maiden Voyages gentle title song is a portrait of smooth sailing and finds Hancock and his band (featuring a two-horn frontline consisting of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and tenor saxophonist George Coleman) exploring modal jazz, while The Hurricane, as its title implies, is a giddy maelstrom of sound and fury. The following are influenced by thrills only as imagined by the author, and it has no significant whatsoever to the work of the artists, 50. No Miles Silent Way, No Trane at the Vanguard, No Trane at Birdland, No Wes Bumpin, No Monk and Trane at the 5 Spot, and especially you cant put Pharoah Sanders Karma in the Top 50???. So did you not see Gilberto/Getz on the list? The title track, with its funky undertow, was loosely based on the chord changes to Bobby Hebbs soul tune Sunny, and features mind-blowing solos by the two horns and Hancocks piano. Joe Pass And wheres Sidney Bechet? And Coltrane Ole Coltrane is a better example of his work than My Favorite Things. Such is Tatums genius that he transforms his source material into virtuosic mini concertos, packed with dizzying melodic cascades, inventive substitute chords, and piston-like left-hand accompaniments. Key track: So What. Because the only advice I ever sought was from this MONK. The all-time best 50 list should have a wide scope for inclusion.By that count Chick Coreas The Romantic Warrior , Wayne Shorters Native Dancer(seldom has one heard a better Latino fusion jazz-featuring also Milton Nascimento & Herbie Hancock),Stanley Clarkes School Days,and Billy Cobhams Magic should also rightfully find their pride of place in the list! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!! But to drop as much Coltrane in as they did and leave Sun Ra out makes the whole exercise seem like a lame Billboard Top Selling Jazz list, not a jazz aficionados best effort. Your email address will not be published. Where is: virtuoso. Miles Davis, MILESTONES! I also believe that Jackie McLeans Let Freedom Ring deserves to be here, as does Larry Youngs Unity. For me also Top 20 all-time classics. The sets only slow song, Vein Melter, is an oozy soundscape. Stan Tracey and George from Battersea ! On the Town 3. Mon avis c est que quelques un ne devraient pas figurer dans cette liste pour laisser la place aux manquants qui devraient y tre. The infectious title cut, penned by pianist Bobby Timmons, who laces his composition with churchy inflections, anticipates the soul jazz style that became popular in the 60s. I LOVE Sketches, but so many people dont get it. Right. I have been listening to Miles Davis In a Silent Way all week. On the back of hits such as Heebie Jeebies and the influential West End Blues, Armstrong became a huge star and later assumed an ambassadorial role in the jazz world. Kenny Burrell Midnight Blue Also, no Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and only one listing for Bird (though it includes multiple recordings). I didnt realise there is huge world out there in Jazz. In the last decade, he has consistently pushed the jazz envelope with albums like the politically charged The Emancipation Procrastination, which fuses alt rock, African music, hip-hop and ambient flavors to arrive at a sound that defies pigeonholing and which Adjuah describes as Stretch Music. The inaugural release in his acclaimed Centennial Trilogy, the album offers an immersive listening experience that is a stunning showcase of the horn blowers polyglot style; where his mournful, elegant trumpet melodies are framed by a blend of filmic soundscapes and stuttering trap grooves. If you include them, there should be Billie Holidays Complete Columbia, Dukes Blanton-Webster Band. The highlights range from the evergreen Get Happy and Smile, which are both transfigured into agitated numbers distinguished by prickly dissonances, and a brooding reading of Radioheads Everything In Its Right Place. Throughout the sets ten songs, the interplay between the three musicians seems to be operating at a heightened, ESP-like level, achieving a oneness of musical thought and purpose that recalls the early 60s Bill Evans trio at its peak. Thomaz Stanko Leosia It seems that only in the USA are outstanding jazz-performances! There are, however, hundreds to choose from but Retrospective, a 3-CD set from 2004, is a career-spanning anthology that opens with Reinhardts seminal Quintette du Hot Club de France sides (with violinist Stephane Grappelli) from the 1930s and goes right up to his 1950s electric guitar forays. Bill Evans Sunday school professor at the village Vanguard. Rollins references his familys Caribbean roots in the jaunty, self-penned calypso-esque St Thomas (which became one of his signature tunes) and contributes two more original songs in the shape of Strode Rode and Blue 7. His brilliance as a balladeer is highlighted on a gorgeous reading of the standard You Dont Know What Love Is. How is the classic Basie band 49 and behind a bunch of lesser lps like one by the Latter Basie band ,whos the fool who put this thing together ??? I love them both but Love Supreme is arguably the greatest music of the 20th Century bar none while Kind of Blue is not quite in that league. Cause of that, his artist name?? SUN RA 20. Garner is accompanied by bassist Eddie Calhoun and drummer Denzil Best, and offers typically flamboyant renderings of standards such as Ill Remember April, Teach Me Tonight, and Autumn Leaves. A vivid live portrait of a piano-playing genius. Key track: Giant Steps, Recorded and released in 1965, this album, whose five tracks are united by a nautical theme, was the Chicago pianists fifth solo outing for Blue Note. But I do agree there is a lack of recordings by other significant jazz artists from outside of the States. And wheres Ella? By the time that the North Carolina pianist/composer recorded Brilliant Corners for Riverside in 1956, however, he was beginning to get the recognition and accolades he deserved. Im pretty sure In a Silent Way is not jazz anything Miles Davis did with his electric band should be considered sans Genre or fusion. Ella Fitzgerald: Seven Essential Albums | Jazzwise Chick Corea George Coleman, Dexter Gordon A good ART Rhythm Section, could use a little PEPPER Coltrain Plays the Blues or Blue Train Now thats some heavy shit. Magico and Folk Songs Charlie Haden and Jan Garbarek. Oscar Peterson Plays the Cole Porter Song Book for me. ?I..Is A Popularity Contest Based On Sales..My Funny Valentine Live At Lincoln Center By Miles in 1964 Is My Favorite. So many, I want to take a deeper look but I would have to add Return to Forever and Heavy Weather. Very Tall Oscar Peterson with Milt Jackson Even Facing You comes before Koln IMHO. The music is intrepid in its exploration of new sonic worlds and, despite its eerie dissonances, theres a prevailing sense of swing which gives the music cohesion. Id love to introduce your jury to all of the extraordinary female jazz artists you didnt see fit to include. Bounce Terence Blanchard. From early ragtime to international modernism, Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology (a 2011 update of the milestone 1973 Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz) lets you enjoy this uniquely American musical genre through its legendary innovators, including Armstrong, Ellington, Basie, Gillespie, Fitzgerald, and Marsalis. Dark Starr David Murray. Ladies, if GOODMAN is hard to find, you never meet BENNY. difficult indeed to make a list. Pat Metheny has never put out an album titled Bright Side Life as referred to in the article. Being a jazz lover, you have to understand that woeful & Eric Dolphy cant possibly be used in the same sentence. No matter how many times I COUNT, I it always equal to BASIE Well done those and I wish they had simply pegged the Armstrong box set A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, for a fatter slice of the essential Louis of the 20s and 30s. Amazing. 46. I love Bill Evans but he was not better then Bud Powell or They all furthered the art of jazz!!!!! I would suggest two other albums for consideration. All those qualities can be found on Moanin, his 1958 LP with The Jazz Messengers. Oscar Peterson (1925-2007) was a jazz pianist. Assisted by pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and ber-drummer Elvin Jones, Coltrane takes us on a journey into the realm of religious exaltation. If you were to tell that to Oscar Peterson & Ray Charles because they would set you straight were they alive. What about ARCHI SHEPP? Time Out Dave Brubeck Quartet (1959, Columbia) During WWII, Desmond was drafted into the army and, although he never saw combat, he did meet and perform with pianist Dave Brubeck. There are some great albums and I have got a lot of them, but everybody seems to have been listening in the other direction. When Ornette told Mr. Coleman about the Shape of Jazz to come, he meant business. (loved and hated with equal passion but those who get it really get it) What about Steamin, Workin, Cookin Relaxin with the Miles Davis Quintet? Waltz For Debby was a song inspired by the pianists young niece; first recorded in 1956 on the album New Jazz Conceptions, it quickly became a jazz standard. Considered by some as the greatest jazz concert of all time, Jazz At Massey Hall was officially recognized as one of the best jazz albums in history when it was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1996. 9. Chet Baker ? Chick Corea. Key track: Red Top, A graduate of the formidable Jazz Messengers drummer Art Blakeys famous Hard Bop Academy New Jerseys Wayne Shorter recorded for Vee-Jay before joining Blue Note in 1964. Thats 69! But where is Sonny Clark with Cool Struttin on Blue Note or Tina Brooks True Blue? The fusion music of the late 60s & the 70s is what drew me to the world of jazz. Recorded by the first of several incarnations of the band, The Inner Mounting Flame is undoubtedly The Mahavishnu Orchestras best album and still astonishes today. -Spirituals To Swing John Hammonds great concerts with Basie, Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Helen Humes, Big Joe Turner, James P. Johnson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. This is a damn fine list. This would have to be inclusive yet selective and objective! No Billie Holiday? The contrast between Scofields acerbic, gnarly guitar lines and the pointillistic detail of Mendozas orchestrations offers a juxtaposition of tones and textures that is thrillingly dramatic. This list is good, everyone is here to give us good muziq. Genres: Jazz, Cool Jazz, Bebop. Sun Roms Jason Adasiewicz. Were sure youll have your own favorite albums. Sonny Sharrocks Ask the Ages is a glaring omission. Kudos for re-launching this Dec/2014 post and the debate on the heels of #JazzAppreciationMonth, #InternationalJazzDay and #BillieHoliday100. His death, in a car accident, on 26 June 1956, robbed the jazz world of one of its brightest prospects, though he recorded at least one album worthy of inclusion among the best jazz albums of all time. Only Corea and Clarke would remain for the next incarnation of the band but the lineup on Light As A Feather were responsible for one of the best jazz albums ever. Cannonball Adderley is truly Somethin Else Spotify didnt have Keith Jarrets The Kln Concert so I just marked its place with Birth in case Spotify would acquire it at another time. Here comes the Head Hunter Herbie Hancock Count Basie the Original American Decca Recordings Washington takes the listener on an enthralling journey through varied sonic landscapes, where exploratory cosmic jazz collides with martial arts mysticism. 23. Key track: The Sidewinder, Originally from Plainfield, New Jersey, and of Welsh and Russian ancestry, Bill Evans amalgamated bebop and impressionistic classical music to bring a new sensibility to jazz piano playing. yeah i was really let down that didnt make the list. More Beautiful Than Death Either Orchestra. But they are so much more than that. Ratings Release Date Title 1. In the meantime, these jazz albums are essential for anyone looking to start a collection, or to go beyond classics they already know. The best part of these lists are the comments. And of course Lester Yoiung! Fantastic: better than Coltrane I thought had lots of him, too! Stereophile.com Night Bird Song Thomas Chapin. . WebLP Oscar Peterson Trio 83 user score (2) 1963 Night Train LP The Oscar Peterson Trio 90 critic score (1) 78 user score (40) 1962 West Side Story LP Oscar Peterson Trio 70 23. If I put out a list and said blue was the best color, Id get 10,000 comment indicating a different color. session are Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Richard Davis, and an 18-year-old Tony Williams on drums. Homage Adam Niewood. Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Billie Holiday, all not as good as some of the music you post here. Agreed on how absurd it is to leave off the Sun Ra Arkestra! Elevated Michael Blake. Lenox Avenue Breakdown Arthur Blythe. Your email address will not be published. Key track: Cheese Cake, Considered a member of the Holy Trinity of female jazz singers along with Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday Sassy Sarah Vaughan entered the studio with rising trumpet god Clifford Brown to record this album, which many jazz critics believe to be her best. I own 4,500 of them! Though he was terminally ill at the time, Breckers playing is wonderfully vibrant and brimming with a life-affirming vigor. Billie Holiday Golden years Vol 1 (is that allowed?) A good list I would include some albums that made important contributions in the evolution of Jazz . Check out some of the greatest jazz albums on vinyl here. Teagarden. a nice list, BUT really focused on the 1950s thru 1970s and lots of omissions even from that period (no Sun Ra, the Blakey band that had Shorter and Hubbard and Cedar Walton in it, Love the selected Artists Like the (+) 50 others. Well done on what is not an easy task. I am surprised that Milestones is not on this list. Arturo Sandoval pays tribute to Clifford Brown with I Remember Clifford on GRP Records. Duke Ellington. Even so, Mingus produced one of his most compelling studio creations here: a thrilling collision of jazz, blues, and gospel flavors (which he once described as ethnic folk-dance music) that was distinguished by taut, cohesive ensemble work and stunning solos. The nine-song set begins with a sprightly rendition of George Shearings Lullaby Of Birdland and a fine, carefree swinger called Youre Not The Kind, but elsewhere Vaughan serves up some gorgeous ballads, including a wistful April In Paris (which finds Brown playing a plangent but lyrical horn solo using a mute) and a sensuous Embraceable You, where she caresses the lyrics with her gorgeous contralto tone. Dave Holland Conference of the Birds JazzTimes 10: All-Time Great Piano Trio Albums my apologies. Call me crazy butfor the best selling jazz record of all timeI think it is also the most overrated. Pretty good but I would have found room for a compilation of King Oliver Creole Jazz Band 1923on Archeophone 2CD. Dexter Gordon Go Dexter Go The album also had a biting political edge thanks to the track Fables Of Faubus, which attacked Arkansas Governor Orval E Faubus, who resisted racial integration in American schools. Key track: Song For My Father, St Louis guitarist Grant Green was prolific during two separate stints at Blue Note and, as his 29 albums for the company reveal, he recorded in a wide range of settings. Those and the old stuff from the 20s and 30s as someone else said. Oscar Peterson - Most Famous Hits Album Reviews, The Art of Rhythm Tom Harrell. Infinitude Ingrid and Christine Jensen. The Art Ensemble of Chicago Baptizum. Django ? Peterson seemed to hit commercial and artistic peaks at the same time, and the early sixties was one of those periods. Web891 71K views 2 years ago Discover the very best jazz recordings by Oscar Peterson. Oscar Peterson Trio: 1. I second with knobs on the comment by Trevor Hyde a travesty not to include those he mentions. By the time the record was released, Brecker had passed away but this great jazz album stands as an enduring monument to his genius. It captures Parker at the peak of his powers before heroin addiction blighted his career. It doesnt offend me, it is an absurd comment. Hearts Wide Open Gilad Hekselman. The Very Best of Oscar Peterson - YouTube Best Jazz Albums: Essential Albums You Need To Hear Ill use it to listen to some tunes that maybe I have not discovered. Time Out album finds Brubecks classic quartet (featuring the eloquent Paul Desmond on alto sax) experimenting with a range of unorthodox time signatures but still managing to balance sonic exploration with an accessible selection of tunes. 43. A good job compiling this list as I have almost all of them. Offramp Pat Metheny. A few of the greats include: Soft Machine Fourth. Oscar Peterson originally did Medley: Perdido / Caravan, Summertime, I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night and Reunion Blues. Translators Note Oded Tzur. While I am familiar with many on this list, I cannot honestly say I have listened to them all nor can I respond to many of the comments above this. Sadly, Dolphy died, aged 36, of a diabetes-associated coma four months after recording one of the best jazz albums from the free jazz era. me. Of course it is just silly: nothing by David Murray! The great Jimmy Smith not on the list? Lots of film and video of these and many other GOAT jazz artists. A Superb Album with a Truly Magnificent All Star ensemble with a Remarkable number of The Greatest Jazz Performers of All time, as we know Today. All the material was written by rising composer/arranger Neal Hefti, and features some dynamite brass charts. ? Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong collaborations It wasnt his inaugural recording venture, but it was unequivocally his first significant album. Lester Young ? At the center of all the action is Basies laconic piano, its piquant fills a model of dissonant minimalism. the five I have mentioned are sidemen on some of these other albums in my list and as such do what they need to do, but none of them perform that well as leaders . I suppose subjectivity is inevitable when it comes to taste and naming the best 50 albums is impossible. Basie. 26. I would add Miles In a Silent Way, Getzs Sweet Rain, and Wayne Shorters Native dancer with Milton Nascimento. Jarrett initially refused to play but eventually relented, sitting down to deliver 66 spellbinding minutes of solo piano extemporization. Joe Farrell Key track: Spirits, A prodigiously gifted multi-reed player who excelled on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Los Angeles-born Eric Dolphy was also a virtuoso flute player. With such a variety of styles to choose from and no shortage of musicians who have contributed several groundbreaking works to the development of jazz it quickly becomes clear that a mere handful of artists, or subgenres, could easily dominate the list. Great choices anyway. Max Roach Freedom Now Suite Im a Fusion headNo Birds Of Fire or Chaser ? Most of the list reads like an audiophiles introduction into jazz to impress your friends with. Ive loved jazz for 60 years and cannot imagine what a hole would exist without JC. The title tune, with its memorable clarion-call horn theme, sets the tone for a six-track album that contains only one standard (Im Old Fashioned) and highlights Tranes signature sheets of sound style. thank you , Wow what a great list! Miles Sketches of Spain Space is thePlace. He has also made numerous solo albums and is an acclaimed classical pianist and harpsichordist, having recorded works by Bach, Handel, Mozart, Shostakovich and others. Don Cherry Eternal Rhythm Pharoah Sanders too. The ignorance expressed on this list is representative of our time. But wise to leave Nigel Farage and His Tradmen off the list. Ive heard most of this list and Ive not listened to plenty of it for years, but I cant go more than a few months without listening to at least Columbias This Is Jazz #1.