Compiling a listing of the perfect jazz albums of all time is a nigh-on unattainable activity. With such a wide range of kinds to select from – and no scarcity of musicians who’ve contributed a number of groundbreaking works to the event of jazz – it shortly turns into clear {that a} mere handful of artists, or subgenres, might simply dominate the checklist.
With that in thoughts, we’ve tried to make room for a big selection of musicians, kinds – and causes – for inclusion on this checklist of the perfect jazz albums of all time. Hopefully, this implies our alternatives are as wealthy, diversified – and maybe shocking – because the historical past of jazz itself.
We’re certain you’ll have your personal favourite albums. Tell us within the feedback part what you assume we’ve missed out – and why.
Take a look at among the biggest jazz albums on vinyl right here.
Within the meantime, these jazz albums are important for anybody seeking to begin a group, or to transcend classics they already know.
81: Frank Sinatra: Sinatra on the Sands (Reprise)
Sinatra At The Sands was recorded at a time when long-haired pop and rock teams – epitomized by The Beatles and The Seaside Boys – have been altering the face of music. 1966 was, in any case, the age of game-changing albums comparable to Revolver and Pet Sounds, however within the Copa Room, in Sinatra’s presence, none of that appeared to matter. The viewers have been in Frank’s world, the place the music swung, the songs have been timeless, the jewellery dazzled and the booze flowed. Time stood nonetheless.
Key observe: “Angel Eyes”
80: Pat Metheny: Brilliant Aspect Life (ECM)
Largely ignored and promoting barely 1,000 copies on its launch in January 1976, the Missouri guitar magus’ debut jazz album steadily grew in stature and went on to be thought to be a post-bop masterpiece. Metheny was simply 21 and instructing at Boston’s Berklee College of Music when ECM producer Manfred Eicher, who had heard him play with vibraphonist Gary Burton’s group, recorded the younger guitarist with fretless bass maven Jaco Pastorius and drummer Bob Moses. What resulted was an exhilarating showcase for Metheny’s clear-toned, flowing virtuoso model which was outlined by elliptical melodic filigrees, liquid improv and flights of untrammeled lyricism. Over the course of Metheny’s profession, he would go on to make way more bold albums however Brilliant Measurement Life stands out for its profitable mixture of youthful vitality and masterly assuredness.
Key observe: “Bright Size Life”
79: Metropole Orkest feat. John Scofield: 54 (Emarcy)
Six-time Grammy profitable American arranger Vince Mendoza is famend for his collaborations with pop and rock acts (Björk, Joni Mitchell) however he’s additionally labored his magic with jazz performers. Main Holland’s redoubtable Metropole Orkest, in 2010 Mendoza invited US jazz-rock guitarist Scofield to visitor on 54, which offered seven widescreen variations of tunes from Scofield’s again catalogue in addition to two authentic numbers. The distinction between Scofield’s acerbic, gnarly guitar traces and the pointillistic element of Mendoza’s orchestrations provides a juxtaposition of tones and textures that’s thrillingly dramatic. The set’s highlights embrace the pent-up symphonic opener, “Carlos,” oscillating between pressure and determination, and “Out Of The City,” which exudes a metropolitan swing really feel. A scintillating up to date tackle massive band, and one of many biggest jazz albums of all-time.
Key observe: “Carlos”
78: Artwork Tatum: Piano Begins Right here (Columbia)
From Toledo, Ohio, the visually impaired Artwork Tatum set an impossibly excessive bar for jazz piano taking part in between 1933, when he made his first recordings, to his demise in 1956. The 1968 compilation, Piano Begins Right here, provides a rewarding snapshot of Tatum’s jaw-dropping method and sparked a revival of curiosity in Tatum’s music twelve years after his demise. It featured his first 4 studio sides – together with splendidly flamboyant renditions of “Tea For Two” and “Tiger Rag” – augmented by scintillating stay recordings recorded at LA’s Shrine Auditorium from 1949. Such is Tatum’s genius that he transforms his supply materials into virtuosic mini concertos, full of dizzying melodic cascades, creative substitute chords, and piston-like left-hand accompaniments.
Key observe: “How High The Moon”
77: Christian Scott a Tunde Adjuah: The Emancipation Procrastination (Ropeadope/Stretch Music)
Although the historical past of jazz could be heard in his trumpet taking part in – from the brash ebullience of Louis Armstrong to the introspective melancholy of Miles Davis and the incandescent virtuosity of Dizzy Gillespie – this New Orleans musician has created a singular and unclassifiable musical hybrid. Within the final decade, he has constantly pushed the jazz envelope with albums just like the politically charged The Emancipation Procrastination, which fuses alt rock, African music, hip-hop and ambient flavors to reach at a sound that defies pigeonholing and which Adjuah describes as “Stretch Music.” The inaugural launch in his acclaimed Centennial Trilogy, the album provides an immersive listening expertise that could be a gorgeous showcase of the horn blower’s polyglot model; the place his mournful, elegant trumpet melodies are framed by a mix of filmic soundscapes and stuttering lure grooves.
Key observe: “Ashes Of Our Forever”
76: Michael Brecker: Pilgrimage (Heads Up)
This Pennsylvanian tenor saxophonist rose to fame taking part in jazz-funk within the 70s along with his elder sibling Randy within the Brecker Brothers but in addition carved out a profession as a primary name sideman for rock artists that ranged from John Lennon to Steely Dan. Pilgrimage was Brecker’s remaining solo album, recorded throughout 2006 within the stellar firm of Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Brad Mehldau, John Patitucci, and Jack DeJohnette. Although he was terminally unwell on the time, Brecker’s taking part in is splendidly vibrant and brimming with a life-affirming vigor. By the point the document was launched, Brecker had handed away however this nice jazz album stands as a permanent monument to his genius. It additionally received him two posthumous Grammy awards.
Key observe: “When Can I Kiss You Again”
75: Cécile McLorin Salvant: Dream & Daggers (Mack Avenue)
Blessed with a sweetly soulful voice, this groundbreaking Miami chanteuse, born to a French mom and Haitian father, picked up Greatest Jazz Vocal award on the 2018 Grammys for Desires & Daggers; an enterprising 34-track double album that contrasts stay performances capturing her at New York’s iconic Village Vanguard venue with studio recordings that includes a string quartet. It’s additionally an album of juxtapositions in different methods; between classic jazz songs (“Mad About The Boy”) and freshly minted self-penned numbers (“Red Instead”), which the singer weaves right into a coherent storytelling narrative that examines the vicissitudes of affection and life. Desires & Daggers is a masterwork that thrust McLorin Salvant into the pantheon of nice jazz singers.
Key observe: “Never Will I Marry”
74: Brad Mehldau Trio: Something Goes (Warner)
Along with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy, this prolific classically-trained pianist expanded the parameters of the piano trio format in a fertile ten-year spell between 1995 and 2005. This 2004 album is the perfect of the jazz trio’s output, reflecting their deconstruction-style method to each jazz requirements and pop-rock songs. The highlights vary from the evergreen “Get Happy” and “Smile,” that are each transfigured into agitated numbers distinguished by prickly dissonances, and a brooding studying of Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place.” All through the set’s ten songs, the interaction between the three musicians appears to be working at a heightened, ESP-like stage, reaching a oneness of musical thought and objective that recollects the early 60s Invoice Evans trio at its peak.
Key observe: “Everything In Its Right Place”
73: Maria Schneider Orchestra: Information Lords (Artist Share)
Serving her musical apprenticeship with the legendary arranger Gil Evans within the 70s, this Minnesota-born composer, orchestrator and conductor rose to change into the undisputed doyenne of huge canvas jazz and has been main her personal orchestra since 1992. A seven-time Grammy winner, Schneider’s 2020 opus, Information Lords, is arguably her most bold mission; an epic double idea album that explores the uneasy intersection of the digital and pure worlds and although a sequence of beautiful tone poems provides an eloquent critique of surveillance capitalism and the darkish aspect of technological developments. Like the good Duke Ellington earlier than her, Schneider writes a lot of her music with particular band musicians in thoughts. A landmark album in up to date massive band jazz.
Key observe: “Sputnik”
72: Ambrose Akinmusire: When The Coronary heart Emerges Glistening (Blue Observe)
The 2007 winner of the distinguished Thelonious Monk Institute’s Worldwide Jazz Award, Oakland-born Akinmusire is a flexible, technically achieved trumpeter who’s simply as snug producing breathy, mellow, low-end sounds as he’s blowing stratospheric excessive notes. Although his inclusion of the usual “What’s New” on this 2011 album, his Jason Moran-produced Blue Observe debut, confirmed that he was rooted within the jazz custom, the album revealed him to be a forward-thinking conceptualist whose music is fiercely up to date. He additionally isn’t afraid to articulate socio-political issues; “My Name Is Oscar,” a robust spoken-word piece with drum accompaniment, highlights the unjust demise of a younger African-American man murdered by the LAPD in 2009.
Key observe: “Confessions to My Unborn Daughter”
71: Gregory Porter: Be Good (Motema)
Earlier than this satin-voiced “jazz cat in a hat” turned a family identify in America and Europe after his 2013 album Liquid Spirit broke him into the mainstream, Bakersfield-born Porter was largely a cult determine who solely figured on the radar of the jazz cognoscenti. Despite the fact that his debut album, Water, was nominated for a Grammy, it was along with his second long-player, 2012’s Be Good that he started to construct a faithful following. Fusing jazz with soul, blues and gospel flavors, Porter confirmed he had songwriting expertise to match his wealthy mellifluous baritone voice. From silky ballads to energised uptempo numbers, Be Good revealed that Gregory Porter had substance in addition to model.
Key observe: “On My Way To Harlem”
70: Kenny Burrell: Midnight Blue (Blue Observe)
One of many biggest jazz guitarists of all time, the prolific Detroiter Burrell made his recording debut with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in 1951 and from there quickly turned wanted as a sideman. His first album as a pacesetter got here shortly afterwards, in 1956, when Burrell joined Alfred Lion’s Blue Observe label; the corporate the place he lower his magnum opus, Midnight Blue, seven years later. Aided by the soulfully smoky effusions of tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, Burrell digs deep into the blues, delivering tasteful solos the place the steadiness between flawless method and emotional expression is ideal. Ray Barretto’s congas add Latin flavoring, notably on the sprightly opener, “Chitlins Con Carne” and the loping “Wavy Gravy.”
Key observe: “Chitlins Con Carne”
69: Chet Baker – Chet Baker & Crew (Pacific Jazz)
Thought to be the poster boy of jazz’s west coast cool college, Oklahoma-born Baker rose to fame with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet in 1952, seducing listeners with a mix of his superbly burnished trumpet melodies and languid, virtually androgynous, vocal croon. His vocals are absent from this 1956 providing, but it surely’s nonetheless probably the most satisfying albums he recorded for Dick Bock’s iconic Pacific Jazz label. Although he had simply returned from a grueling European tour, Baker – main a quintet that features tenor saxophonist Phil Urso and pianist Bobby Timmons – performs with each vigor and vitality, which is especially notable on the zippy opener, “To Mickey’s Memory,” a hard-swinging observe augmented by Invoice Loughborough’s exotic-sounding chromatic timpani.
Key observe: “To Mickey’s Memory”
68: Alice Coltrane – Journey In Satchidananda (Impulse!)
Following the more and more religious trajectory of her husband John’s mid-’60s albums, Alice Coltrane mixed modal jazz with an exploration of South Asian music and Japanese metaphysics to create her personal distinctive musical voice. No album epitomizes her singular model higher, maybe, than this 1970 opus, her fourth solo outing for Impulse! Data, which featured 4 tracks recorded in her house studio and one recorded stay at New York’s Village Gate. Cecil McBee’s sturdy however pliable bass is the lynchpin on the 4 studio cuts, offering the musical bedrock on which Coltrane and her cohorts assemble edifices constructed of swirling harp glissandi, bluesy piano runs, spacey tamboura drones, and hovering soprano saxophone cries (the latter courtesy of Pharoah Sanders). It stands as one of many biggest jazz albums ever recorded.
Key observe: “Journey In Satchidananda”
67: Oscar Peterson: Evening Practice (Verve)
Described by Duke Ellington because the “Maharajah of the keyboard,” Montreal-born Peterson was famed for a florid piano model that expanded the virtuoso aesthetics of his mentor, the good Artwork Tatum. Peterson’s most popular setting was the jazz trio format, of which he was a pioneer, and which some imagine reached its apotheosis on his 1963 LP, Evening Practice, the place the pianist along with trusted collaborators bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen achieved a heightened sense of communion on a pitch-perfect assortment of requirements and blues. Although famend for bravura shows of method, Peterson additionally confirmed subtlety and restraint on an album that deepened appreciation for his undoubted genius.
Key observe: “C Jam Blues”
66: Ella Fitzgerald: Sings The Cole Porter Songbook (Verve)
This was the 1956 album that achieved the crafty grasp plan of Fitzgerald’s then supervisor, producer, and jazz impresario Norman Granz, who desired to remodel his then 39-year-old protégé from a cult jazz singer into a global family identify. He achieved it by having her discover the work of one of many Nice American Songbook’s preeminent composers over the course of a 29-track double LP. Issued because the inaugural launch of Granz’s newly shaped Verve label, it struck the fitting steadiness between pop accessibility and jazz expression because of the mixture of Fitzgerald’s impeccable vocals and Buddy Bregman’s tasteful preparations.
Key observe: “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”
65: Wayne Shorter: Emanon (Blue Observe)
Even at 86, veteran saxophonist Wayne Shorter wasn’t content material to relaxation on his laurels and in 2018 served up among the finest jazz albums of the yr. Famend for patenting an idiosyncratic method to composition, Shorter’s otherworldliness reached its apotheosis with Emanon, an esoteric triple album that additionally doubled as a graphic novel depicting the adventures of a superhero who traverses multiverses combating baddies. The primary disc finds Shorter and his quartet collaborating in grandiose symphonic items with the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble whereas the rest of the album is fleshed out with mind-blowing stay performances that illustrate the unbelievable synergy that the saxophonist and his band generated on stage.
Key observe: “Prometheus Unbound”
64: Wynton Marsalis: Black Codes (From The Underground) (Columbia)
The virtuosic New Orleans-born trumpeter and former Jazz Messenger Marsalis – an outspoken critic of jazz fusion and the avant-garde – was heralded by some as up to date jazz’s savior in 1982 when his self-titled debut album sparked a revival within the straight-ahead, acoustic number of the music. The album featured Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams from Miles Davis’ 60s quintet and although solely Carter appeared on Marsalis’ fourth LP, 1985’s double-Grammy profitable Black Codes (From The Underground), the affect of that group is nearly palpable on the musical language that defines the uptempo “Delfeayo’s Dilemma” and the elliptical lyrical ballad “Aural Oasis,” the place 23-year-old Marsalis mutes his trumpet to present it a Miles-like timbre. Branford Marsalis, alternating between tenor and soprano saxophones, features as a Wayne Shorter-like foil for his youthful sibling, creating an arresting, crackling dialogue all through.
Key observe: “Black Codes”
63: Ahmad Jamal: At The Pershing: However Not For Me (Argo)
A Pittsburgh pianist famous for his delicate contact, crystalline melodic traces and dramatic use of house, 27-year-old Jamal discovered himself with a million-selling album in 1958 when a collection of stay tracks recorded within the lounge of Chicago’s Pershing Lodge lit up the US LP charts. The fabric performed by Jamal and his trio (that includes the formidable pairing of bassist Israel Crosby and drummer Vernel Fournier) ranges from uptempo swingers (“Surrey With The Fringe On Top”) to dreamy nocturnes (“What’s New”) and features a spellbinding remodeling of the faintly unique “Poinciana,” an obscure Thirties pop tune pushed by Afro-Cuban rhythms that turned Jamal’s signature tune. A vivid instance of Jamal’s “less is more” aesthetic, the tune was revived on the soundtrack to Clint Eastwood’s 1995 film, The Bridges Of Madison County.
Key observe: “Poinciana”
62: Pharoah Sanders: Karma (Impulse!)
A disciple of John Coltrane, in whose band he performed between 1965 and 1967, this Arkansas saxophonist and astral traveler was a key architect of what turned often called religious jazz, an explorative mix of cosmic otherworldliness, jap mysticism, and Afrocentrism, which flourished within the late 60s and early 70s. Arguably his biggest album, Karma was Sanders’ second long-player for Impulse! and contained solely two tracks; an epic 33-minute meditation referred to as “The Creator Has A Master Plan,” that includes a mantra-like chorus sung by avant-garde singer Leon Thomas, whose resonant tones additionally reverberate on “Colors,” a gradual, shimmering tone poem garnished with waves of sibilant percussion.
Key observe: “The Creator Has A Master Plan”
61: Dave Holland Quartet: Convention Of The Birds (ECM)
After taking part in bass with Miles Davis between 1968 and 1970, Wolverhampton-born Holland teamed up with keyboardist Chick Corea to kind the avant-garde group Circle earlier than embarking on a solo profession in 1973 along with his debut LP Convention Of The Birds. Circle’s reed participant Anthony Braxton and drummer/percussionist Barry Altschul collaborated with Holland on the album together with saxophonist/flautist Sam Rivers; combining their abilities to create a free jazz album that bristles with invention however which additionally has moments of ear-catching accessibility. Its six tracks vary from gusty swinging post-bop (“Four Winds” and “See-Saw”) to discursive four-way musical conversations (“Q&A”), fiery expositions (“Interception”), and eerie, textured ballads (“Now Here (Nowhere)”).
Key observe: “Four Winds”
60: The Fashionable Jazz Quartet: Lonely Girl (Atlantic)
The Fashionable Jazz Quartet’s pianist John Lewis was an early champion of Ornette Coleman, the free jazz revolutionary from Fort Price, but it surely was nonetheless a shock that the group – famend for its elegant “chamber jazz” model influenced by classical music – would make the Texan saxophonist’s “Lonely Woman” the title observe of its 1962 LP. The MJQ’s suspenseful rendering, which opens the album, reveals that Coleman’s haunting melody possesses a common magnificence; the dialogue between Lewis’ piano and Milt Jackson’s bluesy glistening vibes has an ethereal high quality, although the engine room of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Connie Kay retains the music grounded. Elsewhere within the album, the music is diversified, starting from swinging scherzos (“Animal Dance”) to sleek ballads (“New York 19”) and playful uptempo romps (“Fugato”).
Key observe: “Lonely Woman”
59: Coleman Hawkins: Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster (Verve)
The person who invented the improvised saxophone solo on his 1939 recording of “Body & Soul,” Coleman “Bean” Hawkins was 53 when he joined forces with fellow Missourian 48-year-old Ben Webster for a much-anticipated tenor saxophone summit in 1957. Each gamers had totally different sounds – Hawkins’ tone was smoother than Webster’s breathy growl – however they shared a love for the blues, which is mirrored in the best way they mix their horns on the opening quantity, an easy-going shuffle referred to as “Blues For Yolande.” Main an all-star band that features pianist Oscar Peterson and bassist Ray Brown, the pair present better sophistication on the remaining six songs, that vary from wistful Latin tangos (“Rosita”) to swinging requirements (“You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To”).
Key observe: “Tangerine”
58: Roy Hargrove Quintet: Earfood (EmArcy)
Hargrove’s demise in November 2018 on the age of 49 robbed the up to date jazz world of one in every of its main virtuoso trumpeters. Rising to fame within the Nineties alongside fellow “Young Lions,” saxophonists Joshua Redman and Branford Marsalis, Texas-born Hargrove was a passionate devotee of neo-hard bop but in addition dabbled with Afro-Cuban music and R&B-tinged jazz-funk. 2008’s Earfood is a traditional straight forward session in a quintet setting the place Hargrove’s thrilling horn traces – each open and muted – steadiness technical precision with emotional intelligence. The infectious “Strasbourg/St. Denis” is an replace of gospel-tinged 60s soul jazz whereas “The Stinger” is a propulsive swinger that Artwork Blakey would have been happy with.
Key observe: “Strasbourg/St. Denis”
57: Freddie Hubbard: Crimson Clay (CTI)
A flamboyant trumpet virtuoso within the mould of Lee Morgan, Indianapolis-born Hubbard had recorded for Blue Observe, Impulse! and Atlantic earlier than touchdown at jazz producer Creed Taylor’s CTI label in 1970. His debut for the corporate discovered Hubbard in exalted firm with sidemen of the caliber of saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and 21-year-old drummer Lenny White. The title observe, with its funky undertow, was loosely primarily based on the chord modifications to Bobby Hebb’s soul tune “Sunny,” and options mind-blowing solos by the 2 horns and Hancock’s piano. The bluesy “Delphia” exhibits Hubbard’s sensitivity as a balladeer whereas “The Intrepid Fox” is a propulsive showcase for the trumpeter’s unbelievable chops.
Key observe: “Red Clay”
56: Kamasi Washington: The Epic (Brainfeeder)
After three largely ignored self-released albums, this Los Angeles tenor saxophonist – who had beforehand eked a dwelling as a sideman for Snoop Dogg and Lauryn Hill – burst into the mainstream like a supernova in 2015 with The Epic, a sprawling triple album that greater than lived as much as its title. Washington takes the listener on an enthralling journey by means of diversified sonic landscapes, the place exploratory cosmic jazz collides with martial arts mysticism. The masterstroke is Washington’s use of an orchestra and a choir, which supplies the music a bigger than life, widescreen dimension. Not solely did the album take Washington’s profession to a different stage, it impressed a religious jazz resurgence and drew droves of younger folks to the style.
Key observe: “Change Of The Guard”
55: Chick Corea & Return To Without end: Gentle As A Feather (Polydor)
Earlier than they introduced in an electrical guitarist, turned up the amount to eleven, and embraced jazz-rock, Chick Corea’s Return To Without end performed a extra well mannered form of Latin-infused jazz fusion. After their debut LP for ECM in 1972, they launched the beautiful Gentle As A Feather in 1973. That includes the Brazilian singer Flora Purim, her husband, drummer/percussionist Airto Moreira, saxophonist Joe Farrell and double bassist Stanley Clarke, the band served up fantastic tracks within the form of the ethereal title lower, the mercurial “Captain Marvel,” the trippy “500 Miles High” and its epic nearer, “Spain,” the place Corea reconfigures the principle theme from Spanish composer Rodrigo’s well-known guitar concerto. Solely Corea and Clarke would stay for the following incarnation of the band however the lineup on Gentle As A Feather have been chargeable for among the finest jazz albums ever.
Key observe: “Spain”
54: Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt: Sonny Aspect Up (Verve)
A collaboration between bebop architect Gillespie and two Charlie Parker acolytes, Sonny Aspect Up pits the veteran trumpeter in opposition to rising saxophonist stars Stitt (alto) and Rollins (tenor) in an off-the-cuff jam session context. There are solely 4 tracks however the 1957 session isn’t quick on high quality; the soloing from the central protagonists is awe-inspiring, notably on the Stitt-penned “The Eternal Triangle,” a frenetic however prolonged bop quantity that enables the soloists to face off in a gladiatorial style that has echoes of the well-known “cutting” contests of the Forties and 50s. Rollins and Stitt are mightily spectacular, however when Gillespie enters and blows them away, it’s evident that they nonetheless have a lot to study.
Key observe: “The Eternal Triangle”
53: Jackie McLean: Vacation spot … Out! (Blue Observe)
A bebop disciple who wasn’t afraid to enterprise to jazz’s far aspect, alto saxophonist Jackie McLean was in an experimental mode within the early Sixties, pushing the exhausting bop aesthetic to breaking level with a sequence of more and more progressive albums for Blue Observe. His most outré providing was Vacation spot … Out!, a exceptional session that includes rising younger jazz stars trombonist Grachan Moncur III (who contributes two of the set’s 4 tunes), and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, together with bassist Larry Ridley and the versatile drum maestro Roy Haynes. The haunting ballad “Love and Hate” exudes an otherworldly magnificence whereas the episodic “Esoteric” begins as a macabre waltz. Solely the ultimate lower, the gently swinging “Riff Raff,” doffs its cap to exhausting bop on what’s an bold however vastly spectacular recording.
Key observe: “Love and Hate”
52: Billie Vacation: Woman In Satin (Columbia)
By way of its timbre, “Lady Day’s” voice – raspy, careworn, and ravaged by years of medicine and alcohol abuse – was previous its greatest when she got here to document her remaining LP, 1958’s Woman In Satin, a group of ballads orchestrated by Ray Ellis. Even so, Vacation’s vocal imperfections are a part of the album’s attract, revealing a vulnerability that offers the album added poignancy. Arranger Ellis cradles Vacation’s fragile voice with lush cushions of sound although they’ll’t disguise the compelling emotional nakedness of the singer’s performances. Melancholy and bittersweet however flecked with fleeting nuggets of pleasure, Woman In Satin comes throughout as a wistful memory of a life well-lived; a becoming epitaph for one in every of jazz’s biggest storytellers.
Key observe: “You’ve Changed”
51: Django Reinhardt – Retrospective 1934-53 (Saga)
Given that almost all of Reinhardt’s seminal recordings preceded the long-playing LP and got here out as 78 rpm singles, one of the best ways to understand the Belgian guitar-playing gypsy’s music is to hunt out a compilation album. There are, nevertheless, a whole bunch to select from however Retrospective, a 3-CD set from 2004, is a career-spanning anthology that opens with Reinhardt’s seminal Quintette du Scorching Membership de France sides (with violinist Stephane Grappelli) from the Thirties and goes proper as much as his Nineteen Fifties electrical guitar forays. A compelling portrait of one in every of jazz’s most gifted musicians and improvisers.
Key observe: “Limehouse Blues”
50: Thelonious Monk: Genius Of Fashionable Music Vols.1 & 2 (Blue Observe)
No person wished to take an opportunity on signing pianist/composer Thelonious Monk when he emerged on the New York jazz scene within the late 40s. Dubbed “The High Priest Of Bop,” his idiosyncratic music, with its superior musical vocabulary of asymmetrical melodies and dissonant cluster chords, was deemed too outré for mainstream tastes. However then Alfred Lion of Blue Observe Data heard Monk, recognised his unorthodox brilliance, and commenced recording singles with him in 1947. In 4 years later, in 1951, Lion issued Monk’s first album, Genius Of Fashionable Music, which was adopted by a second quantity in 1956 (by which era Monk was recording for Riverside). Blue Observe battled to get Monk’s music to a wider viewers however with out a lot success. Nonetheless, his two albums for the corporate have been vital to the evolution of contemporary jazz. In addition they seize him at a notable juncture in his profession, when he was creating his distinctive musical ideas.
Key observe: “Well You Needn’t”
49: Depend Basie: The Unique American Decca Recordings (Decca)
This 2013 compilation brings collectively all the edges that Basie recorded for Decca between 1937 and 1939, captured at the peak of the swing period when massive bands held sway. Although Basie’s Decca tenure was quick, it was extremely fertile, ensuing within the hits “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Pennies From Heaven.” His band on the time included Lester Younger, Freddie Inexperienced and Jo Jones, in addition to vocalists Jimmy Speeding and Helen Humes. Collectively they helped to patent an unmistakable signature sound outlined by throbbing swing rhythms, taut ensemble work, and incandescent soloing. A vivid snapshot of the Basie band in its youthful prime.
Key observe: “Pennies From Heaven”
48: Bud Powell: The Wonderful Bud Powell Vol.1 (Blue Observe)
Harlem-born pianist Powell didn’t stay past his forty first birthday, however he made a profound impression that may nonetheless be felt in up to date jazz. Closely influenced by the advanced language of bebop, within the late 40s Powell transposed the improvements of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie onto the piano. Compiled from recordings made in 1949 and 1950, The Wonderful Bud Powell was the pianist’s first album, and it got here out in 1952 when he was 28. It contained his signature tune, “Un Poco Loco” – a exceptional showcase for Powell’s virtuosity, seasoned with Afro-Cuban flavors – and the equally good “Bouncing With Bud.” The album, which additionally featured a 19-year-old Sonny Rollins, is without doubt one of the greatest jazz albums by a pianist; it tore up the rule guide and served as a memorable introduction to an exceptional musical expertise.
Key observe: “Bouncing With Bud”
47: Climate Report: Heavy Climate (Columbia)
There have been many alternative incarnations of Climate Report through the fusion band’s 15-year lifespan, however what gave them a unifying sense of continuity and cohesion was the omnipresence of co-founders Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter. 1977’s Heavy Climate was the group’s eighth album and their second with fretless bassist extraordinaire Jaco Pastorius. Like Shorter and Zawinul, Pastorius was a gifted composer, and his tunes “Teen Town,” a cool automobile for outrageous bass pyrotechnics, and “Havona,” an outstanding ensemble piece, spotlight his rising maturity as a jazz conceptualist. But it surely was Zawinul’s chirpy opener, “Birdland,” that earned probably the most plaudits and have become the group’s most widely-known tune, spawning many canopy variations. Arguably probably the most good of Climate Report’s 14 studio albums, Heavy Climate stays among the finest jazz albums of the fusion period.
Key observe: “Birdland”
46: John Coltrane And Thelonious Monk: At Carnegie Corridor (Blue Observe)
This stay recording of Monk and Trane taking part in collectively for a charity profit live performance in November 1957 was thought misplaced till the grasp tape was found languishing within the vaults of the US Library Of Congress in 2005. It’s a wonderfully preserved doc capturing Coltrane throughout his six-month tenure with Monk, which got here after Miles Davis had fired him earlier within the yr (and two months after the saxophonist had recorded his Blue Practice album). Each males, supported by bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik and drummer Shadow Wilson, are on the peak of their respective artistic powers, with Coltrane navigating Monk’s difficult melodies and unorthodox chord modifications with consummate ease. A compelling portrait of two geniuses at work.
Key observe: “Blue Monk”
45: Horace Silver: Music For My Father (Blue Observe)
A number one exponent of exhausting bop and a founder member of The Jazz Messengers within the 50s, Horace Silver was a Connecticut-born pianist/composer who was instrumental in establishing the two-horn frontline as de rigueur in post-bop small-group jazz. Throughout his 28-year stint with Blue Observe he produced many wonderful albums, however few as actually satisfying as Music For My Father, whose immortal title observe is outlined by infectious horn motifs and a loping intro (famously borrowed by Steely Dan for his or her 1974 hit “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”). Recorded in three separate periods between 1963 and ’64, the album featured two totally different incarnations of Silver’s quintet, although it’s the 4 songs by the newer line-up (that includes trumpeter Carmel Jones and saxophonist Joe Henderson) that impresses probably the most. Music For My Father stays Silver’s most seminal work.
Key observe: “Song For My Father”
44: Grant Inexperienced: Idle Moments (Blue Observe)
St Louis guitarist Grant Inexperienced was prolific throughout two separate stints at Blue Observe and, as his 29 albums for the corporate reveal, he recorded in a variety of settings. Arguably the perfect of his LPs throughout his first tenure with the label – when he performed exhausting bop – Idle Moments was recorded in 1963 and finds Inexperienced main a sextet that features tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist Duke Pearson (who composed two of the songs on the album, together with the elegant however subdued 14-minute title tune) and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. In contrast to some guitarists, Inexperienced by no means tried to overpower the listener with elaborate or flashy runs however most popular to pick single-note melodies that stayed throughout the boundaries of excellent style. Regardless of his financial system with notes and considered use of house, “Jean De Fleur,” a quick, self-written swinger on Idle Moments, exhibits that Inexperienced might play with fireplace when the event demanded.
Key observe: “Idle Moments”
43: Depend Basie: The Full Atomic Basie (Roulette)
This jazz aristocrat’s band was famed for its panache, dynamism, and unerring sense of swing, and all these qualities could be heard on this explosive 1957 recording. In an age when massive bands have been largely extinct, the discharge of The Full Atomic Basie marked a resurgence within the fortunes of the debonair pianist from Crimson Financial institution, New Jersey. All the fabric was written by rising composer/arranger Neal Hefti, and options some dynamite brass charts. On the heart of all of the motion is Basie’s laconic piano, its piquant fills a mannequin of dissonant minimalism. In addition to swinging uptempo numbers with blaring horns, the album comprises some superbly subdued slower numbers outlined by deft and refined orchestral nuances. The whole model, with bonus materials, was launched in 1994.
Key observe: “Kid From The Red Bank”
42: Hank Mobley: Soul Station (Blue Observe)
Damned by the faint reward of 1 jazz critic, who described him because the “middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone,” Georgia-born Mobley was usually eclipsed by the work and repute of fellow tenor gamers John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. Although not a jazz pathfinder, he was prolific and produced a formidable physique of labor for Blue Observe between 1955 and 1970. His 26 albums for the label are all robust, however none are fairly as good as Soul Station. Surrounded by the supreme abilities of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Artwork Blakey, Mobley delivers a masterclass in relaxed exhausting bop. A elegant mellow model of Irving Berlin’s “I Remember” units the tone for the album, which additionally consists of 4 robust authentic numbers (“Dig Dis” is the perfect of them) that show Mobley’s unsung skills as a composer. This earns its place among the many biggest jazz albums of all time by being among the finest albums on Blue Observe.
Key observe: “I Remember”
41: Charlie Christian: The Genius Of The Electrical Guitar (Columbia)
Regardless of passing away on the age of 25 from tuberculosis, Texas-born Christian did sufficient throughout his quick profession to realize immortality and earn a spot in the pantheon of jazz guitar greats. Although he rose to fame within the age of big-band swing (he first made his mark within the Benny Goodman sextet alongside vibes maestro Lionel Hampton), the melodic and harmonic content material of Christian’s solos anticipated the superior musical vocabulary of bebop. A posthumous launch, this compilation album, first issued in 1987, drew collectively disparate sides, together with solo recordings and cuts that doc his stint with Goodman. Many guitarists that adopted in Christian’s wake – amongst them Wes Montgomery, Grant Inexperienced and George Benson – have been indebted to the Texan fretboard genius.
Key observe: “Solo Flight”
40: Artwork Pepper, Crimson Garland, Paul Chambers And Philly Joe Jones: Artwork Pepper Meets The Rhythm Part (Up to date)
In January 1957, when Artwork Pepper recorded this album – alongside Miles Davis’ former rhythm part, comprised of pianist Crimson Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones – the 31-year-old West Coast alto saxophonist was battling drug dependancy. Regardless of this, Pepper – who claimed he hadn’t touched his sax for a number of weeks previous to the session – made a transcendent jazz document. The fabric and performances are merely elegant, with each musician taking part in at a excessive stage of creativity, focus, and inspiration. Among the many highlights is the Pepper co-write “Straight Life,” a frenetic bebop swinger which later turned the title of his warts-and-all autobiography.
Key observe: “Imagination”
39: John Coltrane: My Favourite Issues (Atlantic)
Coltrane showcased his prowess on the comparatively obscure and under-exposed soprano saxophone on this, his third album for Atlantic Data, recorded in March 1961 and launched later that yr. The title tune recast a key quantity from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s fashionable Broadway musical The Sound Of Music and reworked it right into a 13-minute modal jazz waltz with Japanese overtones. Three different requirements made up the remainder of the album, together with a swinging uptempo tackle George Gershwin’s “Summertime” and a poignant studying of “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye.” The expansion of Coltrane’s recognition within the early 60s was undoubtedly aided by Atlantic releasing a shorter model of “My Favorite Things” as a single to advertise the album.
Key observe: “My Favorite Things”
38: Benny Goodman: At Carnegie Corridor (Columbia)
Although it was recorded on 16 January 1938, Benny Goodman’s Carnegie Corridor live performance didn’t floor till 1950. It earns its place among the many greatest jazz albums of all time because of its capturing a big second in historical past: Goodman was the primary jazz musician permitted to play at a prestigious classical music live performance corridor. Fearful that destructive evaluations would derail his profession, the clarinetist was apprehensive about performing on the venue, however his fears proved unfounded and the live performance was heralded as a serious cultural occasion. Goodman’s band is on fireplace, and an additional dose of gasoline is added to the flames because of the addition of members from Duke Ellington’s and Depend Basie’s bands. In addition to showcasing new materials, Goodman additionally provided up a historical past of jazz, together with some ragtime and Dixieland tunes in his set, affirming that he actually lived as much as his billing because the “King Of Swing.”
Key observe: “Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing)”
37: Wes Montgomery: The Unimaginable Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery (Riverside)
Although impressed by the fretboard virtuosity of his idol, Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery cast a singular and instantly identifiable model. The Unimaginable Jazz Guitar Of… was his third album however the one that actually put the Indianapolis guitarist on the jazz map. Montgomery’s sidemen (pianist Tommy Flanagan, Fashionable Jazz Quartet bassist Percy Heath, and his brother, drummer Albert Montgomery) provide sterling help on a diversified collection of authentic tunes (“Four On Six,” “West Coast Blues,” and “Mr. Walker”), covers (Sonny Rollins’ “Airegin” and Dave Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way”) and requirements (“Polka Dots And Moonbeams”). Utilizing his callused thumb as a decide, Montgomery performs single-note melodies with horn-like phrasing, earlier than embellishing his solos with a sequence of block chords adopted by octaves.
Key observe: “Four On Six”
36: The Mahavishnu Orchestra With John McLaughlin: The Inside Mounting Flame (Columbia)
After rising to fame with Miles Davis on the finish of the 60s (on the proto jazz-rock/fusion albums In A Silent Approach and Bitches Brew), Doncaster-born guitar magus John McLaughlin shaped The Mahavishnu Orchestra, a quintet that married the virtuosity of jazz improv with the high-decibel energy of heavy rock to create a hybrid that was then infused with Japanese mysticism. This, their debut album, was an incendiary confection of searing guitar and violin traces jousting over churning rhythm tracks performed in uncommon time signatures. The group’s harshest detractors damned them as pretentious and self-indulgent, however, amazingly, they achieved mainstream success, notably in America, the place they have been wholeheartedly embraced. Recorded by the primary of a number of incarnations of the band, The Inside Mounting Flame is undoubtedly The Mahavishnu Orchestra’s greatest album and nonetheless astonishes right this moment.
Key observe: “The Dance Of Maya”
35: Clifford Brown And Max Roach: Clifford Brown & Max Roach (EmArcy)
Who is aware of what trumpeter and early exhausting bop architect Clifford Brown would have achieved had he lived past his twenty fifth birthday. His demise, in a automobile accident, on 26 June 1956, robbed the jazz world of one in every of its brightest prospects, although he recorded not less than one album worthy of inclusion among the many greatest jazz albums of all time. Regardless of his younger age, “Brownie” left variety of recordings that proceed to protect his identify, the perfect of which is arguably this one, laid down in August 1954 when Brown and drummer Max Roach co-led a quintet that included saxophonist Harold Land. With Richie Powell on piano (who died in the identical deadly automobile crash with Brown) and George Morrow on bass, the group delivered a shocking set that featured three authentic tunes – together with “Joy Spring” – plus a vibrant tackle Bud Powell’s “Parisian Thoroughfare” (with a touch of George Gershwin’s “American In Paris” within the intro).
Key observe: “Joy Spring”
34: Andrew Hill: Level Of Departure (Blue Observe)
Andrew Hill recorded 13 albums for Blue Observe between 1963 and 1970, however Level Of Departure is, no doubt, the perfect of them. Like Thelonious Monk earlier than him – who exerted a powerful affect on Hill – the Chicago pianist/composer ploughed a lone furrow, expressing himself in a singular and idiosyncratic model outlined by asymmetrical melodies and unorthodox meters. Level Of Departure was Hill’s fifth Blue Observe album and it featured a sextet that included Eric Dolphy, Joe Henderson, Kenny Dorham, and a younger Tony Williams on drums. Hill’s compositions – by turns frenetic and tranquil – aren’t simple to play however the group render them superbly and effortlessly. Right here, Hill traverses a slender tightrope separating superior exhausting bop from full-on avant-garde jazz, however he does so convincingly. Over half a century later, this magnum opus ranks among the many greatest jazz albums as a vital, must-hear instance of paradigm-busting post-bop jazz.
Key observe: “Flight 19”
33: Herbie Hancock: Head Hunters (Columbia)
After the experimental music of his early 70s Mwandishi band fell on deaf ears, Herbie Hancock reinvented himself as an afro-topped jazz-funk wizard with this 1973 blockbuster album, which hit No.1 on the US jazz charts. Although influenced by Sly Stone and James Brown, Hancock stumbled upon one thing distinctive that was concurrently accessible and groundbreaking. Combining squelchy clavinet components with astral synth traces – each underpinned by Paul Jackson’s anchoring bass and Harvey Mason’s taut however elastic grooves – Hancock and his cohorts discovered themselves opening for rock acts like Santana. The 4 tracks right here vary from epic spaced-out funk (“Chameleon”) to atmospheric tropical grooves (an offbeat, African-influenced remodeling of his 1963 Blue Observe traditional, “Watermelon Man”) and edgy, syncopated fusion (“Sly”). The set’s solely gradual tune, “Vein Melter,” is an oozy soundscape. Head Hunters proved to be a vastly influential album, reworking Herbie Hancock right into a fusion famous person.
Key observe: “Chameleon”
32: Dexter Gordon: Go! (Blue Observe)
The primary musician to efficiently play bebop on the tenor saxophone, this six-foot-six jazz big from Los Angeles began his profession within the late 40s however just about disappeared within the 50s because of spells in jail for drug offenses. Within the early 60s, nevertheless, he revived his profession at Blue Observe. Recorded in 1962, Go! was Gordon’s third album for the label and located him within the firm of pianist Sonny Clark, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Billy Higgins. The album begins with a supreme slice of self-penned driving exhausting bop referred to as “Cheese Cake,” which might stay in Gordon’s repertoire till his demise in 1990. The remainder of the album is dedicated to requirements, together with a Latin-style tackle Cole Porter’s “Love For Sale.” A self-confessed connoisseur of ballads, the saxophonist infuses his model of “I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears To Dry” with a refined soulfulness.
Key observe: “Cheese Cake”
31: Sarah Vaughan: Sarah Vaughan (With Clifford Brown) (EmArcy)
Thought-about a member of the Holy Trinity of feminine jazz singers – together with Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Vacation – “Sassy” Sarah Vaughan entered the studio with rising trumpet god Clifford Brown to document this album, which many jazz critics imagine to be her greatest. The nine-song set begins with a sprightly rendition of George Shearing’s “Lullaby Of Birdland” and a wonderful, carefree swinger referred to as “You’re Not The Kind,” however elsewhere Vaughan serves up some beautiful ballads, together with a wistful “April In Paris” (which finds Brown taking part in a plangent however lyrical horn solo utilizing a mute) and a sensuous “Embraceable You,” the place she caresses the lyrics together with her beautiful contralto tone.
Key observe: “Lullaby Of Birdland”
30: The Quintet: Jazz At Massey Corridor (Debut)
One of many earliest jazz supergroups, The Quintet comprised Charlie Parker – who was initially billed as Charlie Chan for contractual causes – with Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Bud Powell, and Max Roach. They got here collectively for one evening solely on Friday, 15 Might 1953, at Toronto’s Massey Corridor. The album got here out on Mingus’ personal Debut label later that yr, however not earlier than he had re-recorded his bass traces, which have been barely audible on the unique recording. The efficiency included the Gillespie classics “Salt Peanuts” and “Night In Tunisia,” the latter containing some fabulous interchanges between the trumpeter and Parker’s mercurial alto sax. Sadly, the live performance represented the ultimate time that the 2 bebop geniuses recorded collectively. Thought-about by some as the best jazz live performance of all time, Jazz At Massey Corridor was formally acknowledged as among the finest jazz albums in historical past when it was inducted into the Grammy Corridor Of Fame in 1996.
Key observe: “A Night In Tunisia”
29: Invoice Evans Trio: Waltz For Debby (Riverside)
Invoice Evans introduced a contemporary perspective to jazz piano taking part in by avoiding bebop clichés and drawing on the luxurious harmonization of French impressionist classical composers Debussy and Ravel. “Waltz For Debby” was a tune impressed by the pianist’s younger niece; first recorded in 1956 on the album New Jazz Conceptions, it shortly turned a jazz normal. It additionally turned the title observe of this stay album recorded in June 1961 on the Village Vanguard in New York. Waltz For Debby’s materials was drawn from the identical efficiency that yielded the Sunday At The Village Vanguard album, with Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian displaying a excessive diploma of empathy and symbiotic communication by no means earlier than witnessed in a jazz trio setting. LaFaro, simply 25, was tragically killed ten days later, although his genius is preserved in his superb performances right here.
Key observe: “My Foolish Heart”
28: Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder (Blue Observe)
A trumpet prodigy from Philadelphia who joined Blue Observe when he was nonetheless a teen, Lee Morgan rose to fame as a member of Artwork Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. The Sidewinder’s title tune, with its jaunty soul-jazz groove and infectious horn motifs, was successful single for Blue Observe and helped the guardian album change into the label’s best-selling LP. Other than the extra commercial-oriented title observe, the remaining 4 cuts provided one thing totally different, displaying the younger 25-year-old musician exploring deeper jazz grooves comparable to “Totem Pole” and “Hocus Pocus.” Morgan’s foil is tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, whose tone is strong and earthy as compared with the trumpeter’s hovering, gilded sound. Providing strong help is the rhythm part, comprising Barry Harris, Bob Cranshaw, and Billy Higgins.
Key observe: “The Sidewinder”
27: Invoice Evans: Sunday At The Village Vanguard (Riverside)
Initially from Plainfield, New Jersey, and of Welsh and Russian ancestry, Invoice Evans amalgamated bebop and impressionistic classical music to deliver a brand new sensibility to jazz piano taking part in. After debuting in 1956, Evans shortly made his mark within the jazz world and, two years later, was recruited by Miles Davis, serving to to form the sound of his groundbreaking 1959 album, Form Of Blue. Sunday At The Village Vanguard is an amazing stay album from 1961 that exhibits how Evans, along with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, introduced a brand new idea of collective improv to the piano trio aesthetic. Certainly, their interaction reaches an virtually telepathic stage of communication. Although Evans’ forte was lush romantic ballads, Sunday At The Village Vanguard exhibits that he might additionally swing with actual verve.
Key observe: “My Man’s Gone Now”
26: Thelonious Monk: Sensible Corners (Riverside)
Thelonious Monk was forward of his time, which was why for a few years his music was usually misunderstood and even ridiculed. By the point that the North Carolina pianist/composer recorded Sensible Corners for Riverside in 1956, nevertheless, he was starting to get the popularity and accolades he deserved. By way of its defining traits, the album – with its angular melodies, dissonant harmonies and jaunty swing rhythms – is quintessentially Monkish. The five-track album encompasses a 26-year-old Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone, slaloming by means of Monk’s difficult chord sequences with aplomb. Highlights embrace the title observe, plus “Pannonica” (devoted to Monk’s European patron, Baroness Kathleen Pannonica De Koenigswarter, on which Monk performs celeste) and “Bemsha Swing.”
Key observe: “Bemsha Swing”
25: Keith Jarrett: The Köln Live performance (ECM)
Destiny virtually conspired in opposition to Keith Jarrett making The Köln Live performance, which was recorded stay in Cologne, then in West Germany, on 25 January 1975. The Pennsylvanian pianist, then 29, was affected by excruciating again ache in addition to fatigue after an extended drive to the gig, solely to seek out that the piano wasn’t to his satisfaction. Jarrett initially refused to play however ultimately relented, sitting all the way down to ship 66 spellbinding minutes of solo piano extemporization. By turns lyrical and febrile, the music simply appeared to pour out of him in a cathartic torrent of feelings. The ensuing album shortly gained notoriety and, up to now, it stays the biggest-selling album of unaccompanied piano music. Jarrett has recorded many solo piano albums since, they usually’re all good, however none of them can prime the transcendent feeling that defines The Köln Live performance.
Key observe: “Part 1”
24: John Coltrane: Big Steps (Atlantic)
A swap from Status to the larger Atlantic label in March 1959 witnessed Coltrane upping his sport along with his debut for his new firm. Launched in January 1960, Big Steps marked the primary time that Coltrane had recorded an album of all-original materials, and, considerably, two of the songs – the traditional title tune, with its mesmerizing descending melody over cyclical chord modifications, and the beautiful ballad “Naima” – went on to change into recognised as jazz requirements. Surrounding himself with simpatico sidemen – pianist Tommy Flanagan (changed by Wynton Kelly on “Naima”), bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Artwork Taylor – Coltrane’s musical explorations took bebop to its biggest heights. Different highlights of this immortal set embrace “Cousin Mary” and “Mr PC,” the latter a tribute to bassist Paul Chambers.
Key observe: “Giant Steps”
23: Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage (Blue Observe)
Recorded and launched in 1965, this album, whose 5 tracks are united by a nautical theme, was the Chicago pianist’s fifth solo outing for Blue Observe. Simply 24 on the time of its recording, Hancock was a rising star within the jazz world and was making his mark as a member of the celebrated Miles Davis Quintet (together with Ron Carter and Tony Williams, who additionally contribute to the album). Maiden Voyage’s mild title tune is a portrait of clean crusing and finds Hancock and his band (that includes a two-horn frontline consisting of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and tenor saxophonist George Coleman) exploring modal jazz, whereas “The Hurricane,” as its title implies, is a giddy maelstrom of sound and fury. One other standout is the blithe and becalmed “Dolphin Dance.” Eminently accessible but with an ear for what was innovative on the time, Maiden Voyage is the jewel in Hancock’s Blue Observe crown and was inducted into the Grammy Corridor Of Fame in 1999.
Key observe: “Maiden Voyage”
22: Duke Ellington: Ellington At Newport (Columbia)
Some deemed Duke Ellington to be nicely previous his sell-by date when he appeared on the Newport Jazz Competition alongside most of the jazz world’s modernists in 1956. With an incendiary and provoking efficiency that wowed the Newport viewers, nevertheless, Ellington and his band demonstrated that they might nonetheless ship the products whereas asserting that massive bands nonetheless had a spot in jazz. His set included each previous and new materials; the latter included the specially-written “Festival Junction” and “Newport Up,” although it was an previous chestnut, “Diminuendo And Crescendo In Blue,” written in 1937, that stole the present. It’s notable for an exceptional solo by saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, who blew 27 choruses and whipped the group right into a frenzy. The unique album solely contained 5 tracks, but it surely was expanded to a two-hour-long CD launch in 2009.
Key observe: “Diminuendo And Crescendo In Blue”
21: Cecil Taylor: Unit Buildings (Blue Observe)
A local New Yorker, pianist, and poet, the late Cecil Taylor, was pushing musical boundaries a number of years earlier than Ornette Coleman launched the idea of free jazz to an unsuspecting world. A classically educated pianist, Taylor recorded his first album, Jazz Advance, in 1956, and by the point that he recorded Unit Buildings (the primary of two albums for Blue Observe) ten years later, he had developed his personal personalised tackle free jazz. Unit Buildings options 4 prolonged explorations in free-form sonics and finds Taylor assisted by six like-minded musicians, together with trumpeter Eddie Gale, alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons and drummer Andrew Cyrille. Taylor and his cohorts take no prisoners with their sound collages, which, to the uninitiated, are unremittingly intense and difficult. Unit Buildings stays among the finest jazz albums to return out of the avant-garde.
Key observe: “Steps”
20: Charlie Parker: Full Savoy And Dial Studio Recordings (Harmony)
Along with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, Kansas Metropolis-born alto saxophonist Parker started a jazz revolution within the mid-40s when he created a brand new sound that was dubbed bebop. With jaw-dropping shows of virtuosity mixed with superior harmonies and syncopated rhythms, Parker helped to change the notion of jazz, reworking it from dance music right into a critical artwork kind. Most of his seminal recordings got here out as singles for the Savoy and Dial labels within the 40s and they are often discovered on this 2000 compilation, which provides a vivid snapshot of bebop’s glory years. It captures Parker on the peak of his powers earlier than heroin dependancy blighted his profession.
Key observe: “Now’s The Time”
19: Miles Davis: Delivery Of The Cool (Capitol)
A trendsetter who was not afraid to shun conference, Miles Davis turned uninterested in bebop’s frenetic verbosity within the late 40s and experimented with music that changed sonic warmth with studied, cool class. Main a nonet that included saxophonists Lee Konitz and Gerry Mulligan, in addition to drummers Max Roach and Kenny Clarke, throughout 1949 and 1950 Miles recorded a sequence of singles for Capitol that redefined fashionable jazz. Considerably, arranger Gil Evans additionally labored on the session, and his friendship with the trumpeter would result in future collaborations within the late 50s (on the albums Miles Forward, Porgy And Bess and Sketches Of Spain). The seeds for these large-canvas later works could be heard in Delivery Of The Cool (particularly on the Evans-arranged observe “Moon Dream”). The album’s title – given to the periods on their authentic album launch in 1957 – displays the affect the edges had on the West Coast “cool jazz “sound.
Key Track: “Boplicity”
18: Artwork Blakey And The Jazz Messengers: Moanin’ (Blue Observe)
No person might drum like Artwork Blakey. A pure chief on the bandstand who mixed each energy and subtlety, he instinctively knew how you can make a observe swing however might additionally complement a soloist, using his volcanic press rolls to create drama and provide inspiration. All these qualities could be discovered on Moanin,’ his 1958 LP with The Jazz Messengers. The infectious title lower, penned by pianist Bobby Timmons, who laces his composition with churchy inflections, anticipates the soul jazz model that turned fashionable within the 60s. Saxophonist Benny Golson contributes 4 top-notch songs, together with “Blues March,” “Along Came Betty,” and “The Drum Thunder Suite,” the latter of which is an explosive showcase of Blakey’s polyrhythmic prowess. On trumpet is a 19-year-old Lee Morgan.
Key observe: “Moanin’”
17: Albert Ayler: Non secular Unity (ESP-Disk’)
First launched on Bernard Stollman’s small, New York-based indie label, ESP-Disk,’ in 1964, Non secular Unity introduced Ohio-born saxophonist Ayler’s arrival on the world stage. It wasn’t his inaugural recording enterprise, but it surely was unequivocally his first vital album. Many discovered its visceral rawness and depth – generally Ayler’s sax resembles a chainsaw chopping right into a bees’ nest – deeply disturbing. Supported by intuitive and symbiotic interactions from bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray, Ayler takes Ornette Coleman’s idea of free jazz to a different stage. The album’s tune titles – “Ghosts: First Variation,” “The Wizard,” “Spirits,” and “Ghosts: Second Variation” – serve to underline the otherworldly essence of Ayler’s distinctive musical universe. Probably the greatest jazz albums of the period, it nonetheless sounds startlingly authentic right this moment.
Key observe: “Spirits”
16: Eric Dolphy: Out To Lunch! (Blue Observe)
A prodigiously gifted multi-reed participant who excelled on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Los Angeles-born Eric Dolphy was additionally a virtuoso flute participant. He first made his mark in 1958 when he joined drummer Chico Hamilton’s band, and later, within the early 60s, when he turned a number one mild of the avant-garde motion, he performed with Charles Mingus and John Coltrane. Recorded in February 1964, Out To Lunch! was Dolphy’s debut for Blue Observe and got here on the again of a number of LPs for Status’s New Jazz imprint. Becoming a member of Dolphy on the Out To Lunch! session are Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Richard Davis, and an 18-year-old Tony Williams on drums. The music is intrepid in its exploration of latest sonic worlds and, regardless of its eerie dissonances, there’s a prevailing sense of swing which supplies the music cohesion. Sadly, Dolphy died, aged 36, of a diabetes-associated coma 4 months after recording among the finest jazz albums from the free jazz period.
Key observe: “Hat And Beard”
15: Oliver Nelson: The Blues And The Summary Reality (Impulse!)
St Louis-born Nelson was a proficient saxophonist who might play each the tenor and alto varieties, however who earned extra fame throughout his comparatively quick profession as a masterful arranger who might flip his hand to TV soundtracks and film scores. After three years recording for the Status label, Nelson joined producer Creed Taylor at ABC-Paramount’s newly based jazz imprint, Impulse!, in 1961. His debut album was the magnificent The Blues And The Summary Reality, on which Nelson led a stellar septet whose ranks included Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy, and Invoice Evans. It’s an album whose each side – from the fabric, preparations, ensemble work, and solo passages – blends completely to create an beautiful entire. By way of its class, although, nothing surpasses the superlative opener, “Stolen Moments.”
Key observe: “Stolen Moments”
14: Erroll Garner: Live performance By The Sea (Columbia)
Famed for his florid, virtuosic keyboard model, Pittsburgh-born Erroll Garner was closely influenced by Earl Hines and Fat Waller however managed to seek out his personal distinctive voice on the piano. Capturing Garner in an meeting corridor in Carmel, California, in 1955, Live performance By The Sea started as an unofficial recording made by a neighborhood broadcaster for US armed forces radio. Garner’s supervisor heard the tapes and persuaded Columbia to launch them as an album, whereupon it offered by the truckload (by 1958, it was estimated to have remodeled $1 million in gross sales). Garner is accompanied by bassist Eddie Calhoun and drummer Denzil Greatest, and provides usually flamboyant renderings of requirements comparable to “I’ll Remember April,” “Teach Me Tonight,” and “Autumn Leaves.” A vivid stay portrait of a piano-playing genius.
Key observe: “Red Top”
13: Wayne Shorter: Converse No Evil (Blue Observe)
A graduate of the formidable Jazz Messengers – drummer Artwork Blakey’s well-known “Hard Bop Academy” – New Jersey’s Wayne Shorter recorded for Vee-Jay earlier than becoming a member of Blue Observe in 1964. Converse No Evil was the saxophonist’s third album for Alfred Lion’s iconic jazz label and was recorded three months after he had joined the Miles Davis Quintet. Shorter fronts an ace quintet of his personal right here, comprised of Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Coltrane’s then-drummer, Elvin Jones, and collectively they conjure up a memorable session that includes six songs composed by the saxophonist. Highlights embrace the beguiling opener, “Witch Hunt,” with its snaking melody; the cool title tune, with its elegant horn theme performed by Shorter and Hubbard; and the mild, much-covered ballad “Infant Eyes,” which is now thought to be a jazz normal. Wayne Shorter has made many wonderful albums throughout his lengthy profession however this one, recorded on Christmas Eve 1964, is additional particular.
Key observe: “Infant Eyes”
12: Stan Getz And João Gilberto: Getz/Gilberto (Verve)
Although initially from Pennsylvania, tenor sax titan Stan Getz turned related to the cool, West Coast jazz sound within the 50s. Within the following decade, he helped to stimulate curiosity in Brazilian music along with his 1962 album Jazz Samba. Two years later, his impressed collaboration with rising Brazilian singer and guitarist João Gilberto (on Getz/Gilberto) helped to start a bossa nova craze within the US. The mixture of Getz’s silky saxophone effusions with Gilberto’s delicate vocals and softly-strummed guitar was magical, whereas the album’s hottest observe, “The Girl From Ipanema,” featured a shocking cameo from Gilberto’s spouse, Astrud. An edited model turned successful single and created an enormous world viewers for the seductive bossa nova sound. It additionally helped to remodel Astrud Gilberto right into a star who then launched her personal profitable profession.
Key observe: “The Girl From Ipanema”
11: Louis Armstrong: Greatest Of The Scorching 5s And 7s (Columbia)
The long-playing 33 1/3rpm document didn’t exist when New Orleans trumpet sensation and scat singer Louis Armstrong (aka “Satchmo”) helped to outline what US author F Scott Fitzgerald described because the “Jazz Age” within the late 20s. A virtuoso trumpeter from an impoverished background, Armstrong performed with King Oliver and Fletcher Henderson earlier than forming his personal Scorching 5 Band in 1925. A few of Armstrong’s seminal sides with this band could be discovered on this wonderful compilation, which additionally consists of music from his later Scorching Seven group (which recorded in 1927). On the again of hits comparable to “Heebie Jeebies” and the influential “West End Blues,” Armstrong turned an enormous star and later assumed an ambassadorial function within the jazz world. For these in search of an entry-level assortment specializing in the rise of New Orleans jazz and the trumpeter’s early years, this retrospective can’t be crushed.
Key observe: “West End Blues”
10: John Coltrane: Blue Practice (Blue Observe)
This was John Coltrane’s first bona fide masterpiece, recorded every week earlier than his thirty second birthday. Although the saxophonist was contracted to Status on the time, he was allowed to document a one-off session for Alfred Lion’s Blue Observe label, and it turned out to be an absolute gem. Earlier within the yr, Trane had been fired from the Miles Davis Quintet for his heroin dependancy, however by September 1957 he had stop medication for good and commenced rebuilding each his life and repute. Blue Practice is an affirmation of Coltrane’s newfound sense of creativity and encompasses a sextet that includes pianist Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones from the Miles Davis band, plus Jazz Messengers Lee Morgan and Curtis Fuller. The title tune, with its memorable clarion-call horn theme, units the tone for a six-track album that comprises just one normal (“I’m Old Fashioned”) and highlights Trane’s signature “sheets of sound” model.
Key observe: “Blue Train”
9: Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (Columbia)
On the finish of the 60s, the ever-restless Miles Davis sought to vary his musical route once more. Eyeing new sonic horizons and displaying an curiosity in rock and funk aesthetics, he started utilizing digital devices and creating expansive grooves pushed by a backbeat. A primary main milestone on this improvement was the epochal Bitches Brew, a sprawling double-album launched in 1970. Utilizing a big ensemble that included British guitarist John McLaughlin and three electrical keyboardists (Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea, and Larry Younger), Davis set in movement the fusion motion that dominated jazz pondering within the 70s. A lot of the music was formed in post-production, closely edited by Miles’ producer, Teo Macero, however Bitches Brew turned vastly influential, ushering within the age of jazz-rock. Now virtually half a century previous, it nonetheless sounds just like the music of the long run.
Key observe: “Spanish Key”
8: Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus (Status)
At 88 years previous, Sonny Rollins is without doubt one of the final surviving greats of jazz’s golden epoch. Although for well being causes he not performs his beloved tenor saxophone, this seminal 1957 album – which gave Rollins his nickname – reminds us of his unparalleled brilliance as an improviser. Rollins receives sterling help from pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Doug Watkins, and legendary bebop drummer Max Roach, and collectively the quartet created an alchemical synergy that leads to pure magic. Rollins references his household’s Caribbean roots within the jaunty, self-penned calypso-esque “St Thomas” (which turned one in every of his signature tunes) and contributes two extra authentic songs within the form of “Strode Rode” and “Blue 7.” His brilliance as a balladeer is highlighted on a stunning studying of the usual “You Don’t Know What Love Is.”
Key observe: “St Thomas”
7: Cannonball Adderley: Somethin’ Else (Blue Observe)
Recorded in 1958, that is undoubtedly the best album made by alto saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley throughout his 20-year profession. What makes it particular is the presence of Miles Davis in a uncommon sideman function (Adderley was a member of the trumpeter’s sextet on the time), whereas the contributions of the good Artwork Blakey on drums, together with wonderful work from pianist Hank Jones and bassist Sam Jones, conspire to make this among the finest jazz albums recorded by a small-group ensemble. On the gently swinging “Autumn Leaves” and “Love For Sale,” Miles performs some bewitching muted trumpet traces, however he doesn’t outshine Cannonball or the remainder of the group. A must-own album for any critical jazz collector.
Key observe: “Autumn Leaves”
6: Charles Mingus: The Black Saint And The Sinner Woman (Impulse!)
That includes an 11-piece band taking part in opulent, cinematic preparations by Bob Hammer, this 1963 idea album from bassist/composer Charles Mingus was notable for its use of overdubbing, a process often shunned by most jazz musicians. Even so, Mingus produced one in every of his most compelling studio creations right here: an exhilarating collision of jazz, blues, and gospel flavors (which he as soon as described as “ethnic folk-dance music”) that was distinguished by taut, cohesive ensemble work and gorgeous solos. The affect of Duke Ellington is nearly palpable, however such was the pressure of Mingus’ individuality as a composer that his persona dominates the album. In Mingus’ canon, this album’s brilliance is barely eclipsed solely by the sooner Mingus Ah Um.
Key observe: “Duet Solo Dancers” (aka “Hearts Beat And Shades In Physical Embraces”)
5: Ornette Coleman: The Form Of Jazz To Come (Atlantic)
From Fort Price, Texas, Ornette Coleman made two albums for Lester Koenig’s California-based Up to date label earlier than becoming a member of Atlantic in 1959, the place this, his debut for the corporate, proved probably the most revolutionary albums in jazz. Main a quartet comprising trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins, Coleman shredded the bebop rulebook by jettisoning orthodox notions of what constituted melody and concord. Within the course of, he created a courageous new musical language of free-form collective improvisation that shook the jazz world to its core. The Form Of Jazz To Come was extraordinarily divisive on the time, however its standing as among the finest jazz albums in historical past is safe right this moment; it gave start to the free jazz motion that may acquire momentum as a viable musical forex within the 60s.
Key observe: “Lonely Woman”
4: Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um (Columbia)
Certainly one of jazz’s most colourful characters, famend for his volcanic mood, Charles Mingus – a bass participant and composer initially from Arizona however raised in Los Angeles – created a singular model that melded driving exhausting bop with plaintive blues cries and sanctified gospel cadences. His biggest creation was this, his 1959 debut for Columbia, on which propulsive uptempo songs (“Better Git It In Your Soul”) have been balanced with lovely shimmering ballads (“Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” an elegy for saxophonist Lester Younger, who had died earlier in 1959). The album additionally had a biting political edge because of the observe “Fables Of Faubus,” which attacked Arkansas Governor Orval E Faubus, who resisted racial integration in American colleges.
Key observe: “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”
3: Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out (Columbia)
Launched in 1959 – the yr that Ornette Coleman produced his game-changing free jazz manifesto, The Form Of Jazz To Come – California pianist Dave Brubeck proved that jazz didn’t need to be wild and approach out to be revolutionary and progressive. Time Out album finds Brubeck’s traditional quartet (that includes the eloquent Paul Desmond on alto sax) experimenting with a spread of unorthodox time signatures however nonetheless managing to steadiness sonic exploration with an accessible collection of tunes. The album spawned an unlikely hit single in 5/4 time (the jaunty, Desmond-written “Take Five”) and went on to promote over 1,000,000 copies.
Key observe: “Take Five”
2: John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (Impulse!)
Launched in 1965, jazz mystic and saxophonist/composer John Coltrane’s four-part hymn to God stays deeply influential and is thought to be the album that birthed what turned often called religious jazz. A Love Supreme was the primary time {that a} musician had efficiently used the language of jazz to discover deeper metaphysical issues. Assisted by pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and über-drummer Elvin Jones, Coltrane takes us on a journey into the realm of spiritual exaltation. He leaves the listener exhausted – the music can appear virtually overwhelming because of its emotional depth – but in addition blissfully contented after the ultimate chord has sounded. Although Coltrane recorded a number of landmark albums each earlier than and after A Love Supreme, this game-changing 1965 LP sealed his immortality and sits rightfully among the many greatest jazz albums of all time.
Key observe: “Part One: “Acknowledgement’”
1: Miles Davis: Form Of Blue (Columbia)
Topping our checklist of the 50 greatest jazz albums ever is that this timeless, transcendent traditional from the good Miles Davis. It celebrates its sixtieth birthday in 2019 however nonetheless sounds as cool and hip because the day it was first recorded. The session discovered Miles main an all-star sextet that included saxophonists John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley, in addition to rising piano star Invoice Evans. Right here, Miles and his cohorts relinquish bebop’s febrile depth for a looser, relaxed vibe to create a sequence of prolonged grooves that got here to outline modal jazz. The most effective-selling jazz album of all time, Form Of Blue created a brand new musical language that was vastly influential not solely within the jazz world however for quite a few rock and pop musicians as nicely, assuring the album’s rightful place on the head of any checklist of the best jazz albums in historical past.
Key observe: “So What”
Construct your jazz vinyl assortment with traditional titles and under-the-radar favorites.
