TOP 100 Jazz Albums

[sparkysings]

I could really get carried away with this list, as I'm you all could. Heres the best I can do. I would probably be better at the top 25

1. Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
2. Giant Steps - John Coltrane
3. Time Out - Dave Brubeck Quartet
4. Getz/Gilberto - Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto
5. Weaver of Dreams - Don Grolnick
6. Birds Are Returning - Marilyn Lerner
7. 8:30 - Weather Report
8. Electric Band - Chick Corea
9. Extra Extra - Manteca
10. Fast Forward - Spyro Gyro
11. Word of Mouth - Jaco Pastorius
12. The Real McCoy - McCoy Tyner
13. Speak No Evil - Wayne Shorter
14. John Patiticci - John Patiticci
15. Birth of the Cool - Miles Davis
16. Stella By Starlight - Miles Davis
17. Bitches Brew - Miles Davis
18. So Near So Far - Joe Henderson

[bakerbazi]

Here are just some other non guitar led jazz albums

Oliver Nelson - The Bues and the abstract truth
Charles Mingus - Ah Um
Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Collossus
Miles Davis - Relaxing with the Miles Davis Quintet
John Coltrane - Blue Trane
Sonny Rollins - The Bridge
Bill Evans - Explorations
Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch
John Coltrane - A love supreme
Chick Corea - now he sings now he sobs
Joe Henderson - Page one
Ornette Coleman - The shape of jazz to come
Cannonball Adderley - Soemethin' Else
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Red Garland - Red Garlands' piano

[aschwartz12]

John Coltrane A Love Supreme and all the other posted to date

[AG129]

Sonny Rollins - The Bridge
Bill Evans - Conversations with Myself
Ferenc Nemeth - Night Song
Coltrane - Blue Trane
Coltrane - Soul Trane
Speak No Evil - Wayne Shorter
Swingin' Easy - Sarah Vaughan
Miles + Bird - Birdsong
Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius
Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Miles - Four and More

JUst a few cant name em all.

[Texas Bob]

I love all the selections but my favorite of all and no one has mentioned:
Duke Ellington - Afro Eurasian Eclipse - it's more than a religoous experience. Duke with a small band, sweet.

[duncm]

for the young cat who wants to sink his teeth in to or get started on the groove i would recommend bands such as weather report,steely dan.miles smiles.return to forever.art tatum to start. then grow from there.

[Kasperovich]

Hartman and Coltrane should be #1, #2 & #3
Bill Evans - any
Modern Jazz Quartet
Miles - Sketches of Spain
Joshua Redman
Nat King Cole
Sinatra (Crying in his beer period)- Songs for Swinging Lovers, In the Wee Small Hours; Sings fo Only the Lonely

[TruespinBoy]

These are 10 of my favourite albums. I don't care if they're original, historically important or not.

Charles Mingus - Ah Um
John Coltrane - Blue Train
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Bill Evans - Waltz for Debby
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else
Chet Baker - Chet Baker & Crew
Keith Jarrett - Standards I (1983)
Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool
Nat King Cole - Unforgettable (best of)
Tony Bennett - The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans album

[TruespinBoy]

Originally Posted by Kasperovich

Hartman and Coltrane should be #1, #2 & #3

You Should listen to Kurt Elling's rendition, or rather reinterpretation of their work. It has its moments.

[tonedeaf]

If I could only have one album it would be:
1) Jazz at the Santa Monica Civic '72
Ella Fitzgerald (at her prime, just amazing)
Count Basie
Oscar Peterson
Stan Getz
Roy Eldridge
Eddie Davis
Ray Brown
Harry Edison
Al Grey
Tommy Flanagan
Ed Thigpen
Keeter Betts

My favorite sing artist album (amazing artistry, musicianship, production, etc.)
2) Digital Works
Ahmad Jamal

[ChazM]

Here are five:

The Sermon- Jimmy Smith
Saxophone Colossus- Sonny Rollins
Live at the Village Vanguard- John Coltrane
Blue Train- John Coltrane
Coltrane- John Coltrane

[blackwingchai]

chick corea and the return to forever

[RichardFrance]

Randy Weston - Spirits of our ancestors
Dave Holland - What goes around
Chick Corea - Trio music live in Europe
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage, Headhunters
Bill Evans - Village Vanguard
Mingus - Ah Um
All Billie Holiday - but I like the later, Verve sets (Lady in autumn etc)
Miles Davis - Bitches brew
Patricia Barber - Mythologies

[jelle99]

Hi guys,

I guess this is a good thread to do my first post. I'm actually a bass player... I hope that's okay! :-)

Kind of blue - Miles
Best of chet baker sings
Yardbird suite - Charlie (or Savoy and Verve)
Song for my father - Horace
Someday my prince will come - Miles
Genius of modern music - Monk
Bags meets Wes (does this count ?)
M² - Marcus Miller
Cool Struttin - Sonny clark
The inn crowd - ramsey lewis
Bud Powell - live at the blue note
Habana - Roy hargrove
Turn it out - soulive
Charles Mingus - Mingus ah um
Kenny Dorham - quiet kenny
Abdullah Ibrahim - Cape town revisited
Oscar Peterson - jazz round midnight
Chameleon - Herbie

[StraightNoChaser]

1.Miles Davis;Kind of Blue (anyone who does not have this,can't be really interested !)
2.Cannonball Adderley;Somethin' Else
3.Miles Davis All Stars;Walkin'
4.John Coltrane;Blue Train
5.Lee Morgan;Sidewinder
6.Hank Mobley;The Turnaround
7.Sonny Clark;Cool Struttin'
8.Cannonball Adderley;San Francisco
9.Jimmy Smith;Home Cookin.
10.Dexter Gordon;Go

These are just a few current but long standing Favorites.....of course we all have our own,and it can change to suit your life at whatever time or because you are chasing a particular tune

[joe pass jr]

Just a few that come to mind.

Karin Allyson - In Blue
Miles Davis - Kind of blue
Gary Burton - Good Vibes
Wayne Shorter - Speak no evil
Louis Armstrong - what a wonderful world
MJQ - Concorde
Sonny Rollins - Colossus & Live at the Village Vanguard
Joe Lane - Killer Joe
Dizzy Gillespie - Dizzy atmosphere
Joe Henderson - So near so far

[abracadabra]

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Miles Davis - Bag's Groove
Sonny Rollins - Tenor Madness
Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus
John Coltrane - Giant Steps
John Coltrane - Blue Trane
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else
Charlie Parker - The Essential Charlie Parker
Getz/Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto
Thelonius Monk - Alone in San Francisco
Thelonius Monk - Brilliant Corners
Dexter Gordon - One Flight Up
Dexter Gordon - Our Man in Paris
Dexter Gordon - Go!
Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder
Modern Jazz Quartet - Concorde
Dizzy/Rollins/Stitt - Sonny Side Up
Lester Young - The Essential Lester Young

[french outsider]

ok ! here is my first post...

this are the first jazz albums that I really loved... they belong to my top 100 jazz albums favorites...

sun ra: the futuristic sounds of sun ra
miles davis: kind of blue
duke ellington: the far east suite
john coltrane: a love supreme
rabih abou-khalil : al jadida
art ensemble of chicago : nice guys
jon hassell: vernal equinox
charle mingus: ah uhm
old and new dreams: old and new dreams
charlie haden: the golden number
miles davis: on the corner
anthony braxton: 5 piece for orchestra
cecil taylor: conquistador
michel pilz quartet: melusina
naked city: absinthe
eric dolphy: out to lunch
ornette coleman: tone dialing
billie holiday: with lester young...
pharoah sanders tahuid
thelonious monk : misterioso
codona: codona.
miles davis: in a silent way.

ok, it's a already a lot of records...
I would like to add 3 more recent records...
Itaru OKI : paris-ohrai (with michel pilz, alan silva, and sunny murray)
paul motian: time and time again
terry riley : the padova concert.

the deal was no guitar leader on the list...

[Maxim]

John Coltrane - Giant Steps
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come
Gary Thomas - Found on Sordid Streets
Tino Tracanna - 292
Joe Lovano - Landmarks
Sun Ra - Lanquidity
Kenny Wheeler - The Widow in the Window
Soft Machine - Fourth
M-Base collective - Anatomy of a Groove

[DMatthewsBand07]

No particular order...



Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Sonny Rollins - Saxaphone Colossus
The Quintet - Jazz at Massey Hall
Charles Mingus - His Final Work
Quincy Jones - Quintessence
Bill Evans and Jim Hall - Intermodulation
John Coltrane - Giant Steps
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Something Keith Jarrett. Don't know that I could choose.

[BigZed]

Live At the Hollywood Bowl - Chuck Mangione
Romantic Warrior - Return to Forever
If this Base Could Talk - Stanley Clark
Buena Vista Social Club - Ry Cooder
Flood - Herbie Hancock

[bagheera]

john coltraine : Blue Note

[jspringky]

No particular order- depends on the time of year/day and state of mind

Miles Davis- Kind of Blue
Milt Jackson- Sunflower
Michael Brecker- Pilgrimage
Herbie Hancock- New Standard
Roy Hargrove- With the Tenors of Our Time
Weather Report- Mysterious Traveler
Wynton Marsalis- Black Codes (From the Underground)
Frank Sinatra- Nothing But the Best
Bill Evans- The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings
Antonio Carlos Jobim- Wave

[healthy_scratch]

Here are some of mine in no particular order that I do not think I have seen mentionned here above yet but I could be wrong. A couple of them obviously include guitar players but they seem to me to be clearly sidemen and not really the driving force behind the outing - much like what I saw others had done (i.e. Joshua Redman Wish and Joe Henderson So Near So Far etc.)

Horace Silver - Cape Verdean Blues
Jimmy Smith - Back At The Cicken Shack
Ella Fitzgerald - Live in Berlin
Wayne Shorter - Adam's Apple
Miles Davis - Miles Smiles
Michael Brecker - Time Is Of The Essence (yes I know Pat Metheny is on here but hell it is such a phenomenal outing being steared by the late great MB)
Bela Fleck - Live Art
Jaco Pastorius - The Birthday Concert
Herbie Hancock - Thrust
Stanley Turrentine - Sugar
Freddie Hubbard - Red Clay
Horace Silver - Song For My Father
Rickie Lee Jones - Pop Pop
Miles Davis - Round About Midnight
Art Blakey - Moanin'
Joe Henderson - Lush Life (The Songs of Billy Straythorn)
Oscar Peterson - Night Train

Cheers

-HS

[Johnny b]

Duke Ellington - Live at Newport '56. This is perhaps THE greatest jazz album of all time.
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Moanin'
Oscar Peterson Trio - Night Train
Charles Mingus - Ah Um
Miles Davis - Milestones
Dave Brubeck - Time Out
Sonny Rollins - Our Man in Jazz and Saxophone Collosus
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else
Charlie Parker - Yardbird Suite
Horace Silver - Song for my Father
Lambert, Hendricks and Ross - The hottest new group in jazz
Ray Brown Trio - Live at the Loa
Ornette Coleman - Change of the century/Shape of jazz to come/This is our music
Gene Harris Quartet - Black and Blue
Wynton Marsalis - Big Train
Quincy Jones - Walkin' in Space
Branford Marsalis - Footsteps of our Fathers
Cyrus Chestnut - Soul Food
John Coltrane - Blue train
Jeff 'Tain' Watts - Watts

[Johnny b]

Dear Jazzers,

I know this is for fun only but I am absolutely gobsmacked that no one has mentioned: Duke Ellington Orchestra live at Newport 1956. Maybe folks are not aware of the gig but please check it out as many jazz historians and jazzers alike cite the music on this album as close as to jazz perfection as you can get (whatever that is?). Just listen to the Newport Suite and Jeep's Blues and Crescendo and Diminuendo in Blue. Wow, oh wow, oh wow!

[Balulalow]

Here is what I love to hear:

Miles Davis: Kind of blue
Charlie Mingus: Ah Um
Charlie Mingus: Mingus plays piano
Miles Davis: Straight no chaser
Bill Evans & Jim Hall: Undercurrents
Bill Evans & Jim Hall: Intermodulations
Bill Evans: You must believe in spring
Duke Ellington: The Great Paris Concerts (1966)
Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges: Back to back
Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
Duke Ellington: Piano reflections
Dr. John: Plays Ellington
Hans Ulrik: Slow procession
Jacob Dinesen: Dino
Jens Winther European Quartet: Directions/New directions
John Coletrane: Giant steps
Keith JArret trio: Tokyo concert 1996
Kenny Werner & Jens Soendergaard Duo: Love letters
Michel Petrucciani & NHOP
Spacelab: The champ
Esbjoern Svensons trio: Leucocyte

Cheers!

[dougal]

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Oscar Peterson - The Trio
Oscar Peterson - Canadiana Suite
Brubeck - Time Out
Brubeck - Time Further Out
Bill Evans - Portrait In Jazz
Cannonball Adderley - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
Stan Getz - Getz Plays Jobim
Art Tatum - 20th Century Piano Genius
Billie Holiday - Easy Living
Lambert, Hendricks and Ross - Everybody's Boppin'
Lester Young - Lester Young With The Oscar Peterson Trio
Mel Torme - The Duke Ellington and Count Basie Songbooks
Stephane Grappelli - The Intimate Grappelli
Thelonoius Monk - Monk's Dream
Tony Bennett - Duets

[derek]

There are jazz albums without guitars? Who knew?

[RichardFrance]

I admit I've posted once already, but straightaway felt uneasy that the suggestions were falling into a pattern of choosing a smallish number of favourites that are mostly well known, recorded some time ago, and form part of the 'Jazz canon'. Should a list do this? ISn't there room for a more dynamic selection? What could be the alternative? How about a list just from the last ren years - otherwise it seems we have all stopped buying new records, or at least stopped listening to them.