Sam's list

Sam Eliot Stern

May 4 at 5:41pm

Hey JD,
I'm ready for your top 20 jazz records of all time. Pull no punches my friend.
-Sam

Justin Desmangles

May 6 at 10:39pm

This list does not rank individual songs but "records", in other words 33- 1/3 rpm lp's from 1951 to the present. There are many individual songs, Coleman Hawkins original recording of Body & Soul for example, that are far more important than any of the below listed. There are also many individual improvisations that are not listed here, such as Lionel Hampton's percussion solo on Jack the Bellboy, that are of overwhelming importance. Louis Armstrong's Potato Head Blues would meet both the above criteria. All three were originally issued as 78's

Top 20
Trumpets
Kenny Dorham – Quiet Kenny – New Jazz
Lee Morgan – Candy- Blue Note
Saxophones
Sonny Rollins – Way Out West – Contemporary
John Coltrane – Soultrane – Prestige
Pianos
Bud Powell – The Scene Changes – Blue Note
Thelonius Monk –Brilliant Corners-Riverside
Basses
Charles Mingus – Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus – Candid
Drums
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers – Indestructible – Blue Note
Vocalists
Sarah Vaughn –Sarah +2 – Roulette
Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings – Count Basie Orchestra – Verve
Betty Carter – Inside Betty Carter – United Artists
Large Groups
Duke Ellington - . . . and his mother called him Bill – RCA
Small Groups
Charles Mingus – Tijuana Moods –RCA
Quintets/Sextets
Miles Davis –Milestones-Columbia
Eric Dolphy – Far Cry – New Jazz
Quartets
Modern Jazz Quartet – Blues at Carnegie Hall – Atlantic
Trios
Bill Evans Trio –Sunday at the Village Vanguard-Riverside
Duos
Ron Carter & Jim Hall – Live at The Village West- Concord
Solo
Thelonious Monk – Thelonious Himself-Riverside
Collectives
The Art Ensemble of Chicago –Nice Guys-ECM