 | 25 Greatest Hot Fives & Sevens by Louis Armstrong
Buy used from: $12.94 (1925-29). Where modern jazz began in the mid-1920s. This is a "best of" disc that draws from a larger four CD box set of material from Louis's groups during the 1920's.
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 | Best Of Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $3.93 (1956-57). A remarkably soulful pair, Ella and Louis were magic together. They released several discs, this single CD is a great place to start, or you can buy the complete 3 CD collection.
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 | Moanin' by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $5.98 (1958). It's almost impossible to pick just one Messengers album, but here's my best shot. Art Blakey is one of my favorite drummers, who mentored an entire generation of jazz musicians.
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 | Cool Struttin' by Sonny Clark
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $4.88 (1958). Sonny on piano with arguably the best rhythm section in jazz - the incomparable Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums.
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 | Blue Train by John Coltrane
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $2.98 (1957). Coltrane was one of the most influential tenor sax players (or musicians in general) in jazz history. One of the earlier, more traditional Coltrane recordings.
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 | Soul Meeting by King Curtis
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $9.94 (1960). R&B tenor player King Curtis crossed over to straight jazz on this album, joined by veterans Nat Adderley on cornet, Wynton Kelly on piano, and Paul Chambers/Sam Jones sharing the Bass duties.
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 | Kind of Blue by Miles Davis
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $2.30 (1959). Perhaps the greatest album in jazz history, Miles asked piano genius Bill Evans to join the quintet and implemented George Russell's modal framework (rather than traditional chord changes).
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 | Sunday at the Village Vanguard by Bill Evans Trio
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $6.05 (1961). A must have CD. The "First Trio" with Paul Motian on drums and young genius Scott LaFaro on bass, they recorded this remarkable music live over two sets at the Vanguard.
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 | The Best of the Song Books by Ella Fitzgerald
Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $1.17 (1956-64). Producer Norman Granz guided Ella through a remarkable series of "songbooks", where over almost a decade she recorded a series of 12 LPs dedicated to the songs of eight composers.
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 | Go! by Dexter Gordon
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $4.99 (1962). As hard a bop groove as you'll ever hear. Gordon left the U.S. for Europe only a few days after recording Go, where he found the audiences and societal environment more hospitable.
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 | Idle Moments by Grant Green
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $5.91 (1963). The standout on this CD is the 15 minute title cut, which is an exquisite use of a lag tempo to invoke an idle summer day where the only time that matters is right now.
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 | A Blowin' Session by Johnny Griffin
Buy new: $8.94 / Used from: $5.10 (1957). Tenor greats Johnny Griffin and Hank Mobley were on the way to the session when John Coltrane bumped into them and asked to sit in. Result: one of the great tenor battles of all time.
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 | Takin' Off by Herbie Hancock
Buy used from: $4.87 (1962). Hancock's first album as leader, one of the easiest recordings for listening to how a melody and solo unfold. The playing is brilliant, but sparse and simple, making it a classic.
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 | We Three by Roy Haynes
Buy used from: $6.69 (1958). Haynes is one of the great jazz drummers of all time, and this trio with piano phenom Phineas Newborn and master bass player Paul Chambers is not widely known, but swings from top to bottom.
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 | In 'n Out by Joe Henderson
Buy new: $8.94 / Used from: $6.25 (1964). In front of an unstoppable groove from Elvin Jones on drums, Richard Davis on bass, and McCoy Tyner on piano, Henderson and Kenny Dorham really stretch out.
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 | Songs for Distingué Lovers by Billie Holiday
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $5.57 (1957). A classic from one of the great voices in jazz history. Billie enters your soul.
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 | Ready for Freddie by Freddie Hubbard
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $6.79 (1962). My favorite from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, he is joined by McCoy Tyner on piano, drum great Elvin Jones, and Wayne Shorter on tenor.
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 | Smokin' at the Half Note by Wes Montgomery
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $10.98 (1965). An amazing live recording with some truly remarkable soloing by Wes Montgomery on guitar.
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 | Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
Buy new: $7.98 / Used from: $5.28 (1959). Mingus was one of the great innovators on bass, with a sound all his own. Don't miss "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat".
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 | Straight, No Chaser by Thelonious Monk
Buy new: $7.98 / Used from: $4.03 (1966). For Monk, rhythm and syncopation was as important as melody, and he experimented with many unorthodox chords. Charlie Rouse's Tenor playing is phenomenal.
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 | The Blues and the Abstract Truth by Oliver Nelson
Buy new: $18.98 / Used from: $5.93 (1961). You really must own this album. Right after Kind of Blue and Sunday at the Village Vanguard on the desert island list. If you don't get it on your first play, give it some time, it's worth it.
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 | Diz 'N Bird at Carnegie Hall by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
Buy new: $9.93 / Used from: $1.99 (1947). The first five tracks are a remarkable quintet that featured Gillespie and Parker. It's easy to forget that the Carnegie Hall album was recorded live in 1947, the quality is that good.
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 | Saxophone Colossus (20 Bit Mastering) by Sonny Rollins
Buy used from: $4.28 (1956). Rollins was known for a great tone, and a great sense of groove. One of his best albums, with Max Roach (drums), Tommy Flanagan (piano) and Doug Watkins (bass) a formidable rhythm section.
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 | The Real McCoy by McCoy Tyner
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $5.50 (1967). This album combines a great swing with the newer groove of the late 60s. One of the last of the classic jazz albums of the period, as the genre was overrun by rock in the popular realm.
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 | Swingin' Easy by Sarah Vaughan and Her Trio
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $6.19 (1954). What a voice. With this rare small trio backing instead of her more normal full orchestral backup, she takes on an even more musical quality.
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