 | Harold in the Land of Jazz by Harold Land
Buy new: $8.97 / Used from: $5.98 CARL PERKINS. Best known as a member of the great West Coast combo under the leadership of bassist Curtis Counce, Perkins brought his swinging attack to a number of albums before he died young of a heroin overdose.
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 | Reflections: Steve Lacy Plays Thelonious Monk by Steve Lacy
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $10.98 MAL WALDRON. Mal led a lot of great sessions, but his greatest contribution was as the in-house pianist at Prestige Records in the 1950s, where he composed and arranged tunes and added tasteful, spare piano to countless records. This album demonstrates Waldron's genius as he puts his own stamp on the work of another great pianist, Thelonious Monk.
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 | The Trance by Booker Ervin
Buy used from: $47.24 JAKI BYARD. When Jaki and Booker played together, it was like travelling to another dimension. See The Space Book and The Freedom Book, as well as this album. But Jaki also brought his free-wheeling command of the jazz vernacular to great works by Mingus and Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
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 | Good Old Broadway by Coleman Hawkins
TOMMY FLANAGAN. Flanagan was all over recorded jazz in the 1950s and 60s before finally becoming a leader, belatedly, in the 1970s and 80s. But his lasting work is as a sideman, where he could swing hard or (as here) with a gentle elegance.
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 | In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete by Miles Davis
Buy new: $107.98 / Used from: $55.88 WYNTON KELLY. Here's the pianist who inspired this list. Kelly's joyous, ringing sound and intense swing made him the ultimate sideman.
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 | Ben Webster at Montmartre 1965-1966 by Ben Webster
Buy new: $18.98 / Used from: $13.75 KENNY DREW. His most famous appearance as a sideman was on Blue Train, but check out how he lifts Ben Webster into the modern age on this great album.
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 | Portrait of Art Farmer by Art Farmer
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $6.44 HANK JONES. The epitome of tasteful accompaniment on countless great albums.
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 | At the Blackhawk, Vol. 5 by Shelly Manne & His Men
Buy new: $8.97 / Used from: $6.95 VICTOR FELDMAN. Feldman's greatest sideman moment came when he subbed for Shelly Manne's regular pianist, Russ Freeman, for these monumental live recordings at San Francisco's Black Hawk.
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 | Songs for Distingué Lovers by Billie Holiday
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $4.64 JIMMY ROWLES. Part of being a great accompanist is being able to support a vocalist. Nobody could do it like Jimmy
Rowles.
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 | Wisdom of Uncertainty by David S. Ware Quartet
Buy new: $16.98 / Used from: $6.99 MATTHEW SHIPP. With his heavy block chords, Shipp could cut through the heaviest weather the avant garde could throw at him. Just listen to his work with the monumental David S. Ware Quartet. Few pianists since Cecil Taylor have left as strong an impression on improvised music.
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