Comments on: 10 jazz albums that should be in every music lover’s collection

By: Bret

Bret — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 23:06:57 +0000

Point well taken, but I did already have two of Miles’s albums on the list. Not that having Miles make up 30% of the collection is wrong, but I did want to squeeze in a few more artists if I could, and I have a weakness for Jaco.

By: Eddie Rich

Eddie Rich — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 19:47:48 +0000

I can get behind everything on this list. I would make one change on mine though. In place of Weather Report, I would probably go with something like Miles Davis’ “Bitches’ Brew” or “On the Corner.” They all predate “Heavy Weather,” many of the musician were Miles Davis alumni, and I think it’s unlikely that Weather Report would have ever existed without Miles.

By: Devin

Devin — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 20:18:13 +0000

You’ve got to admit that “Rikki” has a slightly more interesting harmonic progression than “Song For My Father” though… lol

By: sam chell

sam chell — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:23:02 +0000

Nice list of 10 indispensables. I’d agree with 60% of them (unusual), and the acumen of selecting “Giant Steps” ahead of the cultish and very popular “My Favorite Things” or “A Love Supreme.” Weather Report and Ornette for illustrative purposes. “Song for My Father” is Silver’s most successful, but it changed Silver from a potential Ellingtonian composer to a mere riff master. “The Jazz Messengers” on Columbia (not Blue Note) is Horace’s best arranging, making a 5-man group sound like a big band (dig “Ecarole”) and with monster tunes like “Nica’s Dream” plus the redoubtable, untouchable Hank Mobley (1955-1965), not the harmonicist or pyrotechnician that Coltrane was but an extemporaneous, responsive melody-maker of the first order. Or on Blue Note, “Further Explorations” is also Horace at his best, with Art Farmer and Clifford Jordan plus compositions like “Moon Dreams.” Admittedly, for educational purposes, “Song for My Father” gives kids something they can all play.

By: Beginner Sax

Beginner Sax — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:55:18 +0000

Impressive list… some of them are already a part of my collection.

I really appreciate the notes you made with each selection. They were informative and entertaining and I enjoyed reading them all.

The little gold nugget I’m leaving with which is now on my list of ‘next to get’ is “The Quintet”: Jazz at Massey Hall. I can’t believe I never heard of it before.

Thanks for putting the list together!

By: Bret

Bret — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:59:56 +0000

Hmm, good point, Geoff. Also: John Coltrane = “Trane”

By: Geoff Allen

Geoff Allen — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:39:23 +0000

Nice list. I might have chosen a different 10, but I can’t argue with these, either.

One thing you forgot on “How to sound smart…” when talking about Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie: Always refer to Parker as “Bird” and Gillespie as “Dizz”. “Man, Dizz really tore it up on that last chorus.” “Oh yeah, Bird is smokin’ on this one!”

Geoff