The following chronological list of jazz recordings is based on years of serious listening and professional reviewing. It is not meant to be exhaustive, but merely suggestive of the scope and richness of jazz. It was designed especially for the novice.

The Revised Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, Various, Smithsonian Institution.

This is the ideal set for the one-stop shopper interested in a single purchase that's a combination "history of jazz" and "greatest hits" package. The multi-CD boxed set includes 95 selections reflecting the breadth and evolution of jazz from the ragtime of composer-pianist Scott Joplin to the World Saxophone Quartet's rhythm section-less synthesis of post-modern and traditional elements. An accompanying 120-page booklet contains a brief history of jazz and track annotations.

The Genius of Louis Armstrong, Louis Armstrong, Columbia

Trumpeter Louis Armstrong, the first great soloist in jazz, gave the music a new direction with a stunning series of records he made in the '20s with hand-picked studio groups known as the Hot Five and Hot Seven. This two-disc set—which includes major contributions by pianist Earl " Fatha" Hines—documents how Armstrong, with dazzling originality and assurance, closed the door on the collective style of New Orleans jazz, introduced the concept of the virtuoso soloist and raised jazz from a form of popular entertainment to an original American art form.

The Complete Decca Recordings, Count Basie, MCA

The Count Basie Orchestra of the late-30s and early-40s epitomized big band swing. The hallmarks of the band's style were a relaxed, springy beat (courtesy of its All-American Rhythm Section), simple call-and-response, riff-based arrangements, and superb soloists. Two of the best players were Basie, with his epigrammatic piano style, and tenorman Lester Young, whose light, vibrato-less, highly melodic approach fostered a whole new school of playing.

The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Vol. 2, Billie Holiday, Columbia

Duke Ellington: The Blanton/Webster Band, Duke Ellington, RCA

Composer/pianist/leader Duke Ellington had a number of periods of inspired creativity and many excellent orchestras over his long career, but he reached a new plateau in both respects in the early-40s. The many incomparable compositions from this period illustrate Ellington's painterly use of the unique, individual " voices" of his players; the ingenious solutions to musical problems; and a willingness to experiment. These musical masterpieces will endure as classics of American music.

The Genius of Charlie Christian, Charlie Christian, Columbia

During the big band era the guitar was consigned almost exclusively to a rhythmic role because it wasn't loud enough to solo over the sound of a band. Christian changed that with an electric guitar he played in a style that owed more to saxophonists than fellow guitarists. And his smooth, single note solo lines were ripe with daring musical devices that later became part of the vocabulary of bop. This recording of superb Swing Era chamber jazz also features Benny Goodman, under whose leadership these tracks were recorded.

Solos (1940), Art Tatum, MCA

Pianist Art Tatum may be the greatest virtuoso jazz has yet produced. His startling, high-speed runs; an eagerness to leave no harmonic stone unturned; and an ability to change keys and tempos at the drop of a downbeat generated wonder and amazement in musicians, both jazz and classical alike.

Bird/The Savoy Recordings, Charlie Parker, Savoy.

As Armstrong redirected jazz in the '20s, so did alto saxophonist Charlie Parker in the '40s. "Bird" used chord substitutions, unconventionally placed rhythmic accents, superhuman instrumental technique, and a blues-based melodic conception to fashion the revolutionary jazz language called "bebop" or, simply, "bop." These recordings feature the searing emotional intensity of Parker's alto, along with a young and tentative Miles Davis and innovative drummer Max Roach.

The Amazing Bud Powell, Bud Powell, Bluenote

Bud Powell is the prototypical bop pianist. His style of playing--which reached a creative peak in the late '40's and early '50's (the period during which these recordings were made)--emphasized irregularly-placed, jabbed chords and a fluent right-hand that spit out swirling, high-speed figures. The most influential pianist of his era.

The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, et. al., OJC

This live set was recorded in May, 1953 when Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, drummer Max Roach, pianist Bud Powell and bassist Charles Mingus were invited to perform as an all-star bop super group in Toronto. Parker and Gillespie, the major attending midwives of bop, were at the top of their form and legend has it that there was a simmering feud between the two front-liners that evening. Whatever the reason, these titans battled ferociously all night long; Zeus would have been proud.

Clifford Brown - Max Roach, Clifford Brown, et. al., Emarcy

The mid-50's quartet co-led by trumpeter Clifford Brown and drummer Max Roach was one of the most admired and exciting hard bop groups. Their music--a witch's brew of seductive lyricism and smelting heat--derives much of its power from Brown's warm, robust tone; supremely confident technique; and imaginative, long-limbed solos. The whole effect is galvanized by Roach's tuneful drumming and the simpatico relationship between the co-leaders.

Brilliant Corners, Thelonious Monk, Riverside

Pianist/composer Thelonious Monk is a category unto himself. Present at the creation of modern jazz, Monk went his own way with a quirky, highly individualized style. His piano playing can be jarringly dissonant, humorous, or awkwardly lovely and his melodies are child-like in their catchiness, yet complex in their rhythms. The original release of this 1956 recording put Monk on the jazz map after nearly a decade of neglect.

Alone in San Francisco, Thelonious Monk, Milestone

This solo piano set is chock full of lingering melodies and spicey tunes filled with odd intervals, unusual note placements and jagged runs. Monk makes it abundantly clear as he explores both originals and standards that jazz, at its best, is an art of personal statement.

Saxophone Collossus, Sonny Rollins, Prestige

Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, who has been described as the greatest living improviser, is a master musical architect. His improvisations, played with a big, muscular tone and plenty of fire, are supreme examples of thematic development. The way Rollins takes apart a motif, examines it from every angle and puts it back together again has a "Bach to the future" formal beauty. His classic compositions "St. Thomas" and "Blue Seven" are here.

Porgy and Bess, Miles Davis, Columbia

This is Miles, the superbly expressive trumpeter with the white-hot, understated horn, exploring the Gershwin folk opera over the dramatic, variegated orchestral textures provided by the gifted arranger Gil Evans. The integration of Davis' stylized soloing with the orchestra, and the jazz rhythms that infuse the work, breathe a new and appropriate life into the opera. Ol' George--who was a great admirer of early jazz--has to be looking down and smiling.

Mingus Ah Um, Charles Mingus, Columbia

Bassist/composer/bandleader Charles Mingus was, like Monk and Boston cabbies, sui generis. This small group recording of original material displays Mingus' imaginative approach to form and his ability to seamlessly integrate composed and improvised music. This recording is wonderfully textural, explosive, spontaneous and "down home" loose, with shouts and hand-clapping often used to raise the emotional ante. Mingus was a passionate man and it shows through in his music.

Kind of Blue, Miles Davis, Columbia

This deservedly popular album is filled with breathtaking solos governed by modes (scales) rather than standard chord changes. One of the greatest small groups ever assembled, the Miles Davis Sextet included altoist Cannonball Adderley, tenorman John Coltrane, pianist Wynton Kelly, drummer Jimmy Cobb and bassist Paul Chambers (for this recording, pianist Bill Evans substituted for Kelly on all but one track). Kind of Blue is, arguably, the greatest jazz album ever.

Giant Steps, John Coltrane, Atlantic

Tenor saxophonist John Coltrane took the concept of improvisation based on chord changes--playing the changes--to its ultimate on this release. His daunting version of the title track is still a right of passage for up-and-coming sax players. But he also explores the modal approach to improvisation (which required very few chord changes) on several tracks. As such, this 1959 recording was a summary of his recent past and a harbinger of his brilliant future.

The Artistry of the Modern Jazz Quartet, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Riverside

No group in jazz has bowed so deeply toward the formal structures of European classical music and retained improvisation, a blues feeling, and a sense of swing. The shimmering quality of the music is courtesy of Milt Jackson's vibes and the tight ensemble feel results from the group's long tenure. This is exquisite modern chamber jazz.

Sunday at the Village Vanguard, Bill Evans, Fantasy

Bill Evans, the most important pianist to come along after Bud Powell, has influenced such contemporary players as Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. This legendary live session from 1961 is an unsurpassed example of Evans' introspective, lyrical inprovisations, the melodicism of bassist Scott LaFaro (who died shortly after this session), and the telepathic drumming of Paul Motian. This music is as pretty as a snowfall, yet as complex as a snowflake.

The Shape of Jazz to Come, Ornette Coleman, Atlantic

The title of this 1959 release might sound arrogant, but it turned out to be prophetic. Alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman, the fountainhead of "free jazz," turned the jazz world on its head by freeing the music from pre-set chord changes, modes, key, standard pitch, tone, tempo, and meter. Thus, its moniker. Coleman's superb compositional frameworks--particularly their melodic and emotional content--and the musicans' sensitivity to each other hold everything together during the collective improvisations.

Heavy Weather, Weather Report, Columbia

Fusion proved to be a musical dead-end, but it yielded some worthy music from Miles Davis, guitarist John McLaughlin and the innovative group Weather Report. The group--which consisted of Joe Zawinul on keyboards, saxman Wayne Shorter, virtuoso electric bassist Jaco Pastorius, percussionist Badrena and drummer Alex Acuna--is heard to good advantage here. Zawinul's famous composition "Birdland," which was later covered by Manhattan Transfer, gets it's inaugural reading on "Heavy Weather."

Koln Concert, Keith Jarrett, ECM

Keith Jarrett is an enormously gifted pianist who has ignored the urgent whisperings of electronic fashion and followed his own muse. He plays only acoustic piano and many of his recorded concerts, including this one, consist of long, untitled improvisations which are created and then forgotten. Jarrett's spontaneous performances- which are lyrical, daring and hypnotic- strive for romantic ecstasy and transcendent beauty. "Koln Concert" succeeds more often than not. (Alternate choice: Standards, Volume 1, ECM)

Dances and Ballads, World Saxophone Quartet, Nonesuch

This 1987 release by the original members of the World Saxophone Quartet is their most accessible recording of all original material. The four saxmen - tenorman David Murray, alto saxophonists Julius Hemphill and Oliver Lake and baritone saxman Hamiet Bluiett - operate without a rhythm section and sound like a cross between the Ellington reed section and free jazzer Ornette Coleman. The music is full of energy and spirit, whether the subject is dances or ballads. (Alternate choice: World Saxophone Quartet Plays Ellington, Nonesuch)

An additional dozen classic jazz recordings

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Robert Derwae © copyright 2000