Here I humbly UPDATE and offer my favorite jazz albums. This is not a best of all time list (if that were the case, I would have consider Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings indispensable). Some of these are obscure, and some of them are the lesser-known works of well-known artists. My life has been richer having been acquainted with these artists and works. I guarantee you will be 7% cooler if you listen to these.
Presented in no particular order, enjoy:
Miles Davis Music from Siesta (1987)
Soundtrack from the movie Siesta, possibly the most underrated album in Miles Davis' extensive discography. Produced by Marcus Miller, this gothic beauty updates the Gil Evans collaborations with tasteful synthesizer-based arrangements. I'm told the movie isn't that good, but stars Isabella Rosselini.
Of Davis' "classic" Gil Evans collaborations my favorite is Porgy and Bess (1959), slightly edging out the celebrated Kind of Blue (1959). Although Kind of Blue launched the modal revolution, Porgy and Bess captures the feeling of Charleston, South Carolina, more than any other recorded music: the swampy, sticky melancholy feeling experienced at the end of a torrid August day. According to Allmusic, "No observation or collection of American jazz can be deemed complete without this recording." I agree.
Gabor Szabo Spellbinder (1966)
Sexy and sinewy, listeners will recognize "Gypsy Queen" from the Carlos Santana version. Very underrated guitarist merging jazz and Hungarian folk themes.
I would also pick up Szabo's Dreams (1968). Sometimes described as "third stream" but I'm not convinced that label fits, Dreams sounds like the album he always wanted to make.
Grant Green The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark (1997) [1961/1962]
Two hard bop virtuosos together on a couple of early 1960s dates, breathing new life into pop and jazz standards. Both artists preferred clean, uncluttered melodic lines and phrasing which makes this album enjoyable over repeated listenings. Great pick for dinner parties.
Herbie Hancock Inventions and Dimensions (1963)
Latin-tinged, rhythmic hard bop from an artist perhaps better known for crossover and pop hits, this album demonstrates his consistent mastery over many genres of music over several decades. Hancock is a national treasure.
Lee Morgan Search for a New Land (1964)
This album is not as well known as Morgan's The Sidewider (1964), but as enjoyable and I actually prefer it because of the presence of all-stars Shorter, Green, Workman, and Higgins. A bit more colorful sonically, with the same level of composition. Morgan should be mentioned in the same breath as Davis and Coltrane.
If increasing appreciation of Morgan's genius calls for another selection, I would reach for Blue Note's current reissue of Cornbread (1967).
If increasing appreciation of Morgan's genius calls for another selection, I would reach for Blue Note's current reissue of Cornbread (1967).
John Zorn Lucifer: Book of Angels Volume 10 (2008)
Despite the intimidating title, this is Jewish chamber music that swings! I prefer his Bar Kokhba Sextet music on Bar Kokhba (1996) and The Circle Maker (1998), and any of the Book of Angels releases. I also like Stolas: Book of Angels Volume 12 (2009) with Joe Lovano. Baal (2009) and Ipos (2010) are also worth checking out. Anything by Zorn's Masada String Quartet is worth the price of admission. Zorn is unquestionably one of the most important composers of our time.
Stan Getz Bossas and Ballads The Lost Sessions
(2003) [1989]
(2003) [1989]
With five compositions by piantist Kenny Barron, this album is a fresh, contemporary take on the bossa nova idiom by a jazz master in the twilight of his career.
Arthur H Adieu Tristesse (2005)
A highly underrated world artist, Arthur H seemlessly combines elements of jazz, world music, pop, and the French bal-musette tradition. An exciting live performer combining swag, humor, and pathos, also see Show Time (2006).
Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra (1961)
Said to be an influence over Miles Davis' modal excursions, this live album showcases Jamal's economical playing in an intimate, live setting.
Oscar Peterson Soul Espanol (1966)
Better in terms of musicianship and interest than the more commercially successful Night Trane (1963).
Willie Bobo Uno Dos Tres 1-2-3 (1966)
I like this album a little more than the better thought of Spanish Grease (1965). And who can resist some "Fried Neck Bones and Some Homefries."
Twin Danger Twin Danger (2015)
Late night noir-style jazz that pairs Stuart Matthewman of Sade and Vanessa Bley. Beginning with Sade's 1984 debut Diamond Life, Matthewman certainly knows how to create atmosphere and Bley's phrasing is impeccable.
Fela's London Scene (1971)
Towering horns, propulsive Tony Allen drumming, and aggressive chord changes on a dime, music was many years ahead of its time. Try to find the Father of Afrobeat's two-fer compact disc London Scene/Shakara.
Bebel Gilberto Bebel Gilberto (2004)
Bebel Gilberto's body of work has introduced new classics to the bossa nova genre with a bar was set high by Jobim and others in the 1950s and 1960s. This time, however, the combination of new tunes with electronic and hip hop elements takes this album to a whole other level. Bebel Gilberto Remixed (2013) is an important companion piece to the album and an important contribution to world music as a template for mixing traditional forms with electronica.
Horace Silver Quintet The Jody Grind (1966)
Defines "finger poppin'". Although even the most novice jazz fans will recognize the open chords of "Song For My Father" (1964) on the album of the same name, this album is equally as brilliant and perhaps a little more consistent in terms of climatic peaks built up from a solid foundation of hard bop grooves. I also like The Cape Verdean Blues from 1965. I would say these three albums constitute a "classic period" for Silver, every bit as interesting as Davis's Miles Ahead (1957) to Sketches of Spain (1960) period.
Cal Tjader Soul Sauce (1964)
The great vibraphonist offers an enjoyable if lightweight, set of fun tunes appropriate for almost any occasion. Sauce for the soul, indeed.
Of Tjader's vast catalog, I also like Solar Heat (1968). Kitschy fun, one guest said it sounded like the closing credits music to the 1960s sitcoms Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie. What a compliment! However, underneath the surface is a smooth mix of jazz, funk, and latin groove. A sampler's paradise, grab the Sundazed reissue with colored vinyl.
Of Tjader's vast catalog, I also like Solar Heat (1968). Kitschy fun, one guest said it sounded like the closing credits music to the 1960s sitcoms Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie. What a compliment! However, underneath the surface is a smooth mix of jazz, funk, and latin groove. A sampler's paradise, grab the Sundazed reissue with colored vinyl.
Solar Heat also includes the jazz standard "13" or "13 (Death March)" written by his one time label mate Gary McFarland and also covered by Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith.
Di Meola, de Lucia, and McLaughlinThe Guitar Trio (1996)
Three guitar masters join forces and produce some of the most "pure" music you will ever hear. Only these masters can weave three guitars together to produce one voice.
The "Cat in the Hat" Argentine jazz composer and saxoponist Gato Barbieri (with Lonnie Smith) delivered a vastly underrated mystical journey into the heart of Latin America, with, uh, oh yea, Stanley Clarke on bass and Bernard Purdie on drums! Picked this one up from the cut-out bin and I've never put it down.
Wes Montgomery Bumpin (1965)
Although these mid-1960s Creed Taylor produced works are deemed not as important as his earlier Indianapolis-based work solo or with his brothers, this album's lush scoring (and Tequila from 1966) recall a dreamlike world one-part Camelot and the other part urban despair.
Various Artists The Original Mambo Kings: An Introduction to Afro-Cubop 1948-1954 (1993)
A great place to start with beginning jazz fans interested in the origins of the "latin tinge" and Gillespie's and Parker's association with Cuban bandleaders. Check out the incandescent version of Gillespie's "Manteca" suite with its breathtaking hard bop turnaround. I like songs that fall back into themselves like "Manteca" and the Beatles' "Here, There, and Everywhere." In the newer Latin Jazz vein, I also like the late Roy Hargrove's Crisol, Habana (1996).
If you choose to stay with classic Blue Note hard bop, you can't go wrong with Kenny Dorham's Afro-Cuban (1955), one of the earliest (and best) adaptation's of the "latin tinge."
Cassandra Wilson New Moon Daughter (1995)
Perhaps the greatest jazz vocalist our our generation. On New Moon Daughter (1995), Wilson demonstrates the best way jazz vocalists can adopt pop standards--make smart song choices and let strong lyrics and melodies stand on their own without overinterpretation or excessive instrumental embellishment. Find the Japanese version with two extra songs that fit in with the overall mood, one of which is "Moon River."
On Belly of the Sun (2002), Wilson takes us back to the roots of jazz in folk, country, and blues. Sometimes its necessary to start all over again refreshing the wellspring of ideas before moving forward again.
