 | Kind of Blue by Miles Davis
Buy new: $8.49 / Used from: $2.75 This is the jazz album at the top of eveyone's list, and it was the first one I went for. It is a pure masterpiece, and the perfect introduction to new initiates (like myself).
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 | Blue Train by John Coltrane
Buy new: $9.97 / Used from: $5.75 One of the all-time great "late night" albums. As far as jazz recordings go, this is one of the tightest. Coltrane's sax playing coupled with Lee Morgan's trumpeting are the definite highlights.
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 | Two Blocks from the Edge by Michael Brecker
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $5.00 Michael Brecker is one of my favorite modern jazz artists, and this is by far his most polished album. Up-beat and heavy on the sax solos, this is pure gold.
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 | The Essential Dave Brubeck by Dave Brubeck
Buy new: $24.98 / Used from: $4.79 How can you capsulate a 50 year career into two CD's? Well, this compilation does very well. Brubeck is one of the great piano virtuosos, and this is a solid introduction.
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 | Pure Ella by Ella Fitzgerald
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $3.54 I am not a fan of vocal jazz, lest of all swing, but really enjoy this CD. I love her voice, and her choice of songs (a lot of Gershwin) makes this CD a winner.
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 | Verve Jazz Masters 17 by Nina Simone
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $1.65 Another gifted vocalist, with more range in the soul and jazz area. This compilation is hardly the best, focusing more on her 60's output, but it has some of her strongest tunes mixed with lesser ones
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 | Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn by Joe Henderson
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $1.73 This was Joe Henderson's most commercially successful album, and one of the first that I bought into. Well suited to late nights and cocktail hours, and not a single weak track.
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 | The Essential Thelonious Monk by Thelonious Monk
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $7.69 My one regret is that this is my only Monk CD. But it is a good, albeit limited, collection of his works (all from his 1960's Columbia output).
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 | A Night in Tunisia by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $6.83 Being an enthusiast of drummers, it is no shock that I warmed to Art Blakey very quickly. This is perhaps his best work, and the drum solos are to die for.
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 | At Newport by Dizzy Gillespie
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $4.74 A stellar live recording from 1957, and another benchmark that jazz newbies should start with. Further proof that jazz is best appreciated live.
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 | In a Silent Way by Miles Davis
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $5.00 This one was a challenge, but it won me over eventually. This album, along with Kind of Blue, B*tches Brew and Birth of Cool, will make one killer jazz collection.
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 | A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $6.50 Another Coltrane masterpiece (equal to Giant Steps).
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 | Jazz Odyssey by Oscar Peterson
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $3.48 A great starter package for the Canadian pianist, made to coincide with the release his autobiography. A solid retrospective of his career, though by no means complete.
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 | Louis Armstrong: Ken Burns JAZZ (The Definitive) by Louis Armstrong
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $2.39 One of the stronger Ken Burns compilations, this has all of the Louis Armstrong I need (again, I am not a vocal jazz fan).
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 | Complete Jazz at Massey Hall by Charlie Parker
Buy used from: $12.20 This legendary and highly influential recording has Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charles Mingus sharing a stage. In one work: Essential.
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 | Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock
Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $5.99 One of Hancock's earlier recordings (1965), it seamloessly fuses standard jazz with more hard-bop tones.
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 | Buhaina's Delight by Art Blakey
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $7.41 Another masterpiece from Blakey, with some of his strongest drum solos ever.
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 | Go! by Dexter Gordon
Buy new: $8.97 / Used from: $5.00 Another hard-bop masterpiece. I will definitly look into Gordon's back catalogue after this one.
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 | Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Dizzy Gillespie by Dizzy Gillespie
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $3.00 Like all of the Ken Burns CD's, this is more of a taster than a "Best of". Still, it has perhaps the best recording of "A Night in Tunisia" that I have heard.
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 | The Essential Miles Davis by Miles Davis
Buy new: $22.99 / Used from: $7.99 I bought this collection before getting "Bith of Cool" to get a more comprehensive collection of his works. A little shoddy in it's choice of songs (more for what is excluded), but still a great combo
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 | Dream Come True: The Best of the Acid Jazz Years by Brand New Heavies
Buy used from: $2.84 I love jazz fusion, and I consider the Brand New Heavies to be the best of the Acid Jazz artists. This CD compiles most of their essentials.
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 | Tourist by Saint Germain
Buy new: $17.98 / Used from: $5.02 Another jazz fusion piece from Canada, I bought this one after hearing it being played in a bistro. Great soundtack to your next party.
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 | The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $6.50 Worth getting just to hear Mingus's finger-breaking bass work.
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 | The Complete Birth of the Cool by Miles Davis
Buy new: $10.97 / Used from: $3.95 I opted for this CD because of the additional live tracks, recording in 1948. Another jazz essential.
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 | Music Evolution by Buckshot LeFonque & Branford Marsalis
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $0.74 Files this one under "strange but true". This album fuses jazz, jazz fusion, rock and hip-hop. I like it.
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