It goes without saying that the following is only my opinion, and you may not agree with all of my choices, but what follows are the musicians and the albums that I feel everyone should hear. There isn’t a single recording on the list that I feel less than 100 per cent confident in recommending. I own most of these records, I have listened to each of them more than once, and I sincerely believe that they represent the best that recorded jazz has to offer a new listener or an intermediate collector. I’ve tried to limit myself to a maximum two recordings per artist. If you’d like more recommendations for anyone in particular, please feel free to contact me using the link at the bottom of this page. I’m feeling better, so I’ll include comments this time.
Gordi’s Essential Jazz Recordings Part II: J through P
Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers
Milt Jackson (Vibes) – Wizard of the Vibes: His stuff with Thelonious Monk is pure classic jazz.
Hank Jones (Piano) – Upon Reflection: With his brother Elvin on drums, playing the music of their late brother, Thad. ‘A Child is Born’ is a sad and beautiful gem.
Rahsaan Roland Kirk (Three saxophones at once, etc.) – Does Your House Have Lions?: An excellent two-CD collection on Rhino. This is wildly original stuff.
Wynton Marsalis (Trumpet) – Standard Time vol. 1: Marsalis sometimes seems to be more about the pursuit of perfection than about the freedom of spontaneous creation, but this is undoubtedly impressive playing.
John McLaughlin (Electric Guitar) – Live in Paris: A fantastic band, caught on a very good night.
Carmen McRae (Vocals) – Finest Hour: A very good compilation of an excellent singer. McRae sounds more like a tough and sardonic survivor than a vulnerable victim.
Charles Mingus (Bass, Piano) – At Antibes: A fierce and demanding live set that captures genuinely new creation as it’s happening. – The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady: Very hot and sexy, even filthy, and highly original music.
Modern Jazz Quartet (Small Group) – The Complete Last Concert: More of a witty and urbane, rather than a fiery, approach to live jazz.
Thelonious Monk (Piano) – Brilliant Corners: An amazing band comes together around the genius’ music. – With John Coltrane: Partly for Monk’s tunes, partly to hear ‘Trane finding himself.
Lee Morgan (Trumpet) – The Sidewinder: One of the few legitimate jazz hit records, and deservedly so.
Jelly Roll Morton (Piano) – Birth of the Hot: Jazz’ Genesis 1:1.
Gerry Mulligan (Baritone Sax) – The Original Quartet: Mulligan’s sax, Chet Baker’s trumpet, a bass, and drums. It’s one of the great pleasures of jazz to listen to this warm and subtle music.
Fats Navarro (Trumpet) – On Blue Note and Capitol: The stuff Navarro recorded with Tad Dameron’s band is pure and joyful bebop, and it’s absolutely wonderful.
Charlie “Bird” Parker (Alto Sax) – Bird’s Best Bop: You’ve got to start somewhere, and this single Verve disc is a safer investment than the big Savoy or Dial box sets. Parker is, of course, a true musical genius and his music is genuinely essential. The Ken Burns Jazz disc is also an excellent collection.
Jaco Pastorius (Electric Bass) – Punk Jazz: I’m including this to throw a bone to any bass players that might be reading.
Art Pepper (Alto Sax) – Meets the Rhythm Section: A truly legendary set, where a wasted Pepper showed up to record with Miles Davis’ Rhythm section without knowing any of the tunes. Against all odds, they produced a classic record together.
Oscar Peterson (Piano) – Piano Moods: Yet another “Best Of” Compilation. If you enjoy piano jazz, this is two disc’s worth of the good stuff.
Bud Powell (Piano) – The Amazing vol. 1: Sonny Rollins on sax, Fats Navarro on trumpet, several versions of ‘Bouncin With Bud’ to compare, and Powell at his intense, pre-breakdown best.
Monk
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