 | His Best Recordings 1926-1939 by Jelly Roll Morton
(1929-40) Way fun. Morton's music encompassed the whole range of early New Orleans ethnic styles. Self-proclaimed "inventor" of jazz. His nickname refers to a certain part of his anatomy.
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 | Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five & Hot Seven: 1926-1927 by Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five & Hot Seven
Buy used from: $44.95 (1926-27) He sang like a trumpet and played the trumpet like a singer. The first jazz virtuoso and a born entertainer. 24 tracks of Satchmo with his famous early groups.
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 | Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman
Buy used from: $3.43 (1935-38) Virtuoso clarinetist at home in both the jazz and classical world. His orchestra was known for its polish and hard swing. The first bandleader to bring black and white musicians together.
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 | Bird's Best Bop on Verve by Charlie Parker
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $0.74 (1950-53) One of the great innovators in American music. Here Parker burns with a number of great sidement, including Gillespie, Monk, and Roach.
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 | Body & Soul by Coleman Hawkins
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $4.84 (1939-56) Brilliant improvisor with a distinctive, warm tenor sax sound. Heard here with a variety of medium and large groups. Includes probably the most famous improvised solo ever.
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 | The Best of the Complete RCA Victor Mid-Forties Recordings by Duke Ellington
Buy used from: $1.48 (1944-46) Ellington continuously re-molded his compositions over a long career. These are brilliant arrangements of familiar tunes as well as segments of the "Black, Brown and Beige" suite.
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 | Jazz 'Round Midnight: Sarah Vaughan by Sarah Vaughan
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $2.43 (1954-67) Jazz singer par excellence--the enchantress gives her heart to 15 ballads, accompanied by orchestras and small groups, including sidement such as Clifford Brown and Cannonball Adderley.
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 | Sonny Side Up by Dizzy Gillespie
Buy new: $18.98 / Used from: $8.50 (1957) Jaw-dropping bebop tenor sax. Diz brought Stitt and Rollins together for a session that made history.
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 | At the Lighthouse by Cannonball Adderley
Buy new: $8.94 / Used from: $6.09 (c. 1960?) Live recording; tight quintet with brother Nat and pianist Victor Feldman. Cannonball's alto sax is perfection in tone, expressiveness, and effortless technique.
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 | Giant Steps by John Coltrane
Buy new: $13.96 / Used from: $4.75 (1960) Ecstatic, harmonically-conceived solos, advanced chord changes tumbling over one another, the tender "Naima", the tasteful Tommy Flanagan.... I could go on and on.
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 | Mosaic by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers
Buy used from: $2.36 (1961) Hard bop at its best. Blakey with Hubbard/Fuller/Shorter/Walton/Merritt. Compositions by the band members.
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 | Miles Smiles by Miles Davis
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $3.23 (1966) Difficult choice among many landmark Davis recordings. Here his tone and soloing were at their peak. A great quintet straddling the boundary between hard bop and modal.
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 | Now He Sings, Now He Sobs by Chick Corea
Buy used from: $12.99 (1968) Pianist with a bright, percussive sound and prodigious technique creates a set of intense, daringly original trio pieces with soulmates Vitous and Haynes.
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 | Bill Evans Album by Bill Evans
Buy used from: $12.44 (1971) Consumate pianist known for lush harmonies, long flowing lines, and impeccable rhythm. Check out the gorgeous "Waltz for Debby" and the compositional tour-de-force "T.T.T."
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 | Conference of the Birds by Dave Holland Quartet
Buy new: $11.99 / Used from: $13.50 (1973) The lovliest free jazz you will ever hear. Holland/Rivers/Braxton/Altschul create pieces with seamless transitions between the composed and the improvised.
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 | Birds of Fire by Mahavishnu Orchestra With John McLaughlin
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $4.59 (1973) Some of the most kick-a** jazz/rock fusion ever made. Great variety of textures, from blistering to serene. I was mesmerized when this first came out, and still am today.
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 | Changes Two by Charles Mingus
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $4.79 (1975) In a class by itself. By turns swingin', primitive, lyrical, and insane. The complex quintet arrangements leave plenty of room for some crazy soloing.
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 | Jaco Pastorius by Jaco Pastorius
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $3.99 (1976) At age 24, Jaco single-handedly created the fretless bass style so widely imitated to this day. 8 of the 10 widely diverse pieces are his, featuring the best NY sidemen in various groupings.
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![Old And New Dreams [1]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21qzBZpK6vL._SL75_.jpg) | Old And New Dreams [1] by Old and New Dreams
Buy used from: $22.96 (1976) A beautiful, spirited, exploratory album by piano-less quartet Cherry/Redman/Haden/Blackwell.
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 | Wynton Marsalis by Wynton Marsalis
Buy used from: $2.92 (1982) Marsalis's debut at age 19, with Hancock, Carter, Williams and brother Branford, this album is a delight. Compositions by the band members, amazing technique, thoughtful and expressive soloing.
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 | First Circle by Pat Metheny Group
Buy used from: $2.63 (1984) Pure joy. The Metheny group has created some of the most beautiful electric jazz ever. Rhythmic drive, lush harmony, accessible melody, and soaring solos. (Ignore silly track #1)
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 | Paquito D'Rivera Live at MCG (Manchester Craftsmen's Guild)
Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $2.98 (1997) Some of the best Latin big band jazz ever recorded. (This band was originally started by Dizzy Gillespie.) Fabulous players, interesting arrangements. Paquito is phenomenal.
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 | Two Blocks from the Edge by Michael Brecker
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $3.32 (1998) Edgy indeed. There is more going on here besides Brecker's big sound and big technique: complex tunes, tight rhythm section, and great solos all around.
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 | Nice Work by Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra & Jim McNeely
Buy used from: $11.14 (1998) The latest and greatest in contemporary big band. Compositions and direction by the great pianist Jim McNeely. The sound quality is pristine and powerful.
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 | Karta by Markus Stockhausen
Buy used from: $9.99 (2000) An expert blending of acoustic and electronic, this album shimmers and resonates in vast spaces, but it's still unmistakably jazz.
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