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20 This is one of the first vintage jazz LPs I ever got my hands on and an incredible mono recording made at Rudy Van Gelder’s Hackensack home studio. The room sound is breathtakingly dry, and all the musicians sound close, present, and natural. “My Funny Valentine” |
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19 I was a latecomer to appreciating Wayne Shorter, but watching the “Zero Gravity” documentary cemented my adoration, appreciation, and respect for him. “Speak No Evil” was an obvious early standout, but in recent years it has been surpassed by the vast majority of the other tunes as album favorites. There is a mellowness here that really speaks to me. |
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18 I’m not usually a fan of big bands, and while this septet is far from that, they manage to tastefully toe the line between swing and modern styles. This version of “Summertime” gets heavy rotation when in season, and Frank Foster’s even-handed, precise delivery here made me into a follower. |
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17 Not all my favorite jazz artists were great “album artists”, but Coltrane was, and it’s the reason he has more albums on this list than any other artist. I don’t love every album deemed a jazz classic by the consensus, but Giant Steps has always had high replay value with me. “Naima” |
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16 This album is a wonderful mixture of bebop, hard bop, ballads, and blues, and it is a quintessential example of Silver’s style. Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley front Silver in a rare collaboration, and Louis Hayes successfully steps in for Silver’s former co-leader, Art Blakey. “Shirl”, “Enchantment” |
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15 Somehow I bought and sold a copy of this before realizing how brilliant it is. Fuller’s writing is emotive, Sonny Clark is in top form, Farmer’s trumpet provides somewhat unexpected harmonic balance, and Louis Hayes makes his presence fully known. “Carvon”, “It’s Too Late Now” |
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14 I discovered this album early on in my collecting and it spoke to me immediately. Though many collectors praise this album I still feel it is underrated. I’m not very familiar with Leo Wright but I love him on this album, and Duke Pearson excels as the album’s primary composer. “So Sweet My Little Girl” |
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13 A latecomer to the list, my interest in McLean has developed alongside my increasing interest in post bop. The minimalist arrangement, great compositions, and inspired, extended soloing makes this is near-perfect record in my mind. Drummer Clifford Jarvis crushes it and is very well-recorded. “Poor Eric” |
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12 This is another album recommended to me by way of It’s a Raggy Waltz, and another rare appearance of a ’70s album in my list. This is the only Tjader album I own and it showcases just how fun and easy his music was. I wish I knew more bop albums that used electric piano. “Leyte”, “Cubano Chant” |
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11 This is one of those albums where the mood is so consistent start to finish that I neglect learning the song titles, and thus I find it hard to choose favorites. Sam Rivers plays surprisingly “in”, Elvin Jones mans the brushes for the majority of the songs, and Larry Young’s style of organ playing is the sonic version of air conditioning on a hot summer day. |