Building a Jazz Library
This is intended to be a listing of artists and recordings deemed to be essential in building a basic jazz library. Some of the recordings are simply a best of recording, so as to introduce a collector to an overall composite of the artist's work, not necessarily the most historic recording. Numbers don't determine importance of one recording over the other.
| ARTIST |
ALBUM |
PUBLISHER |
| Miles Davis |
Kind of Blue |
Columbia |
| Dave Brubeck |
Time Out |
Columbia |
| Count Basie |
April in Paris |
Verve |
| Bill Evans |
Portrait of Jazz |
Fantasy |
| Stan Getz/Joao |
Getz and Giberto |
Verve |
| Duke Ellington |
Blues in Orbit |
Columbia |
| Oscar Peterson |
The Lost Tapes |
Verve |
| Ella Fitzgerald |
Sings the Blues |
Pablo |
| Sarah Vaughn |
The Best of |
Pablo |
| Nat King Cole |
After Midnight |
Capitol |
| Stan Kenton |
Retrosepctive-4 |
Capitol |
| Erroll Garner |
Magician & Gersh. |
TelArcive |
| Hi-Lo's |
Columbia Years |
Koch |
| Mose Allison |
Allison Wonder |
Atlantic |
| Louis Armstrong |
Decca Highlight |
Decca |
| Ben Webster |
Jaz Round Midnight |
Verve |
| John Coltrane |
Gentle Side of... |
Impulse |
| Clifford Brown/Max |
And Max Roach |
EmArcy |
| Billie Holiday |
Billie Songbook |
Verve |
| Benny Goodman |
Slipped Disc 1945 |
Columbia |
| George Shearing |
Best of 1960-69 |
CapitolCD |
| Modern Jazz Quartet |
Dedicated to Connie |
Atlantic |
| Gerry Mulligan |
Concert Jazz Band |
Verve |
| Gill Evans/Miles Davis |
Porgy & Bess |
Columbia |
| Lester Young |
Blue Lester |
Savoy |
| Johnny Hartman |
With Coltrane |
MCA/Impulse |
| Nancy Wilson |
Swingin's Mutual |
Capitol |
| Herbie Mann |
Evolution of Mann |
Atlantic |
| Woody Herman |
Thundering Herds |
Columbia |
| Shirley Horn |
Here's to Life |
Verve |
| Lionel Hampton |
Reunion Newport |
RCA/BlueBird |
| Art Blkey |
Best of Messengers |
BlueNote |
| Art Tatum |
Best of Tatum |
Pablo |
| Coleman Hawkins |
In a Mello Tone |
Prestige |
| Ella & Duke Ellington |
Ella & Duke |
Verve |
| Maynard Ferguson |
Chris Connor 2s |
Capitol |
| Keith Jarrett Trio |
Standards Live |
ECM |
| Red Garland Trio |
Groovy |
Prestige |
| Art Pepper |
No Limit |
Contemporary |
| Milt Jackson |
Reverence & Compass |
Qwest |
| Charlie Parker |
Bird-Origin Recs |
Verve |
| Chet Baker |
Chet |
Riverside |
| Dizzy & Bird |
Jazz at Massey Hall |
Fantasy |
| Thelonious Monk |
Best of |
BlueNote |
| Bud Powell |
Best of |
BlueNote |
| Horace Silver |
Song for Father |
BlueNote |
| Wes Montgomery |
Plays the Blues |
Verve |
| Joe Pass |
Appassionato |
Pablo |
| Basie & Williams |
Swings/Sings |
Verve |
| Sonny Rollins |
Best of BlueNote |
Capitol |
| Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong |
Verve |
This listing could easily have numbered in the hundreds, but this grouping gives an enthusiast a basic introduction into some of the important movers and shakers of the jazz scene.
|
