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100 Essential Jazz Albums

newyorker.com — There is a suggestion below of the dazzling scope of contemporary jazz, but the focus is on the classic jazz that is Schaap’s specialty.

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  • antivibe, on 05/13/2008, -19/+7ill dig anything from the new yorker. well, almost...
    • onionbagel724, on 05/13/2008, -1/+2to bad you are not from the new yorker
    • OwdenBowden, on 05/13/2008, -1/+2Do you know how I know you're gay...
    • rasterbator, on 05/13/2008, -4/+3"100" and "Essential" make the title an oxymoron.
      Give me a Top Ten and a separate expanded list for those who care to horde albums from this fringe genre.
      • bugsy187, on 05/14/2008, -1/+3How is Jazz a fringe genre? It has decades of material, massive influence, and worldwide popularity.
      • FinalPizzaHut, on 05/14/2008, -1/+1Fringe genre? Wow, learn a bit about music, then we'll talk.
  • karimg, on 05/13/2008, -2/+20Great list, I'm a big jazz fan, and this will allow me to dive even deeper into this genre.
    • trumpcard, on 05/13/2008, -0/+9I'm new to jazz,so i needed an article like this.
    • drexl, on 05/13/2008, -0/+5Love Jazz, especially Count Basie and Charlie Parker! If you want to listen to some good stuff that streams don't forget NPR's newly updated site.....the Jazz is wonderful.
  • MikeonTV, on 05/13/2008, -1/+5I love "Mozart Meets Cuba" & "Jazz Meets Cuba" by The Klazz Brothers. Check it out for a real original mashup!
    • MasterGrief, on 05/13/2008, -0/+3I found those at the Barnes and Noble a few months ago. Fantastic stuff! If you like Cuban music, you should really give those two albums a try.
  • tweez, on 05/13/2008, -6/+13Any list with a John Coltrane album gets my vote.
    • juniorb, on 05/13/2008, -0/+13That's every Best Of Jazz list ever.
      • tdaddy11, on 05/13/2008, -1/+3Coltrane=GREATEST EVER!
        • FunkstarDeLu, on 05/13/2008, -4/+3Davis > Coltrane
          Kind Of Blue > EVERYTHING EVER CREATED AND THAT EVER WILL BE CREATED
        • billyfalconer, on 05/13/2008, -1/+1Coltrane would be embarrassed by such a stupid statement. Just because you like someone's music doesn't mean you have to belittle others' music.
          • tdaddy11, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1Coltrane would be embarrassed with such a condescending prick ass response like yours. Go play in traffic.
    • jpb0104, on 05/13/2008, -0/+6This is great http://www.michalevy.com/giantsteps_download

      I can't believe Giant Steps isn't on that list. Neither is Monk's "Straight No Chaser".
    • mahdaeng, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2Any list without John Coltrane is a waste.
      • bugsy187, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1Where is Davis/Coltrane Live in Stockholm?
    • rifaco, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Have you ever seen a "Best of Jazz" list *without* a Coltrane album on it?
  • SeaweedWater, on 05/13/2008, -53/+4Silly blacks.
    • papastout, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Yeah, that's right Mister Jim Crow, you go ahead and make SURE we all know Jazz began in the culture of black america.

      ...racist *****
    • JudasConstant, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2When are they going to let you dig down users? And when is this going to be a V0 torrent?
      • SeaweedWater, on 05/13/2008, -2/+1About the same time people get a sense of humor.
  • grendelboogie, on 05/13/2008, -0/+13Any list without a McCoy Tyner album is incomplete.
    • diggSJaustin, on 05/13/2008, -0/+4He plays on "A Love Supreme," though... so at least you get that.
      • grendelboogie, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2Very true. Still, Inceptions and The Real McCoy are some of my favorites.
    • juniorb, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2Agreed. The Real McCoy is one of the all-time best, in my oh-so-humble opinion.
    • robotchant, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2Any list without a Hank Mobley album is incomplete.
    • papastout, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2Ditto that! Or Oscar Petereson for that matter.
  • Enderplayer1, on 05/13/2008, -2/+18Very classy digg I approve.
  • ehalasey, on 05/13/2008, -0/+31This is definitely a good list, but clearly only for the uninitiated. They completely stepped over some of the greats, like Herbie Hancock and Glenn MIller, and barely touched on some of the more influential acts like the Modern Jazz Quartet, Horace Silver, and the Dave Brubeck Quartet. I'd like to see the New Yorker take another shot at this one with a more, "If you liked the first list, here's some more." I'm just glad they were smart enough not to make this a "Top 100 Essential Jazz Albums" list.
    • DiscoLando, on 05/13/2008, -0/+10It looks like they selected everything during and before the bebop era... not much post-bop or fusion is on the list. Weather Report and Jaco's solo albums would be high up on the list if it were up to me!
      • petebot, on 05/13/2008, -4/+1Maybe it's because fusion sucks.
      • mahdaeng, on 05/13/2008, -3/+1Weather Report stink - imho.
      • ehalasey, on 05/14/2008, -0/+3Ya know, I don't know many people who are all that up on fusion, probably mostly because all the really good jazz stations tend to place a lot of focus on bebop, blues, and latin jazz. From what I can see in the article, even the guy who was asked to make the list didn't really know a damn thing about fusion, so I can see why they erred in favor of bop and left it at that. It's certainly always been the more accessible of the two, but that's clearly not a value judgement so much as it is a matter of what's radio-friendly and what isn't. I almost feel like, if the New Yorker wanted to really live up to expectations about the type of list they might create for this, they should make a list of essential jazz albums for music nerds/ snobs. Unfortunately, it might have to come with a disclaimer: listen at your own risk; only for those with a varied aural palate.
    • revrev, on 05/13/2008, -0/+3agree completely. they missed all of the avant-garde after ornette coleman. good list though for some of the more classic stuff.
      • ironlung, on 05/13/2008, -2/+2I listen to a lot of different genres of music. I got into jazz about five years ago.. and I still can not get myself to like the post bebop era. I have quite a few of these albums but this is the kind of list I was exactly looking for so thank you!
        • ehalasey, on 05/14/2008, -0/+2Nothing wrong with a good list . . . they just should've broken down the list by era, I think, because they definitely skipped quite a few of the best names, even in bop.
    • KMartSheriff, on 05/13/2008, -3/+3Herbie Handcock & John Mayer "Stitched Up".

      If you haven't heard it, you must. Amazing song.
      • mahdaeng, on 05/13/2008, -2/+4Buried because for the implied statement that John Mayer can produce anything worth listening to.
        • KMartSheriff, on 05/13/2008, -1/+3You haven't even listened to it have you? Your closed-mindedness amazes me.
          • mahdaeng, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1I see. I'm closed-minded because I don't like the same music you do. Nice. You are easily amazed.
    • Emmo213, on 05/13/2008, -1/+7I was definitely pleased to see Brubeck was on the list. Since this is just "100 jazz albums" and not a supposed ranking of the albums, it deserves a digg.
      • ehalasey, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1Brubeck is amazing. And I was glad to see they didn't really make any value judgements, either. I just wish they could've broken it down by era or limited each artist to only one or two entries, rather than naming like four or five Miles Davis albums and skipping Herbie Hancock entirely.
    • mahdaeng, on 05/13/2008, -1/+2I agree (and dugg your comment), but this list is supposed to be 100 essential albums, not all the essential albums. It is not an all-inclusive list, but those albums on the list are, indeed, essential.
      • ehalasey, on 05/14/2008, -0/+2That's why I said I was glad they didn't say, "Top 100."
    • jbmcb, on 05/13/2008, -1/+1+1. No head hunters? It's one of the most popular and influential jazz albums of all time.
  • Conwaysb0718, on 05/13/2008, -4/+5How ignorant of me to assume there wouldnt be this many jazz fans on digg as I found it totally odd that this made the front pa... oh, look who posted it... nevermind.
  • Nysul, on 05/13/2008, -3/+19320kbps torrent please :)
    • worthone, on 05/13/2008, -10/+3Torrents? Pah, only vinyls do justice to old jazz albums.
      • Eslamicolt3, on 05/13/2008, -1/+16Yah whatever, torrent please :)
  • manutd8611, on 05/13/2008, -0/+17Dugg for Django Reinhardt making the list... mmm gypsy jazz
    • DiscoLando, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1You say Django, I say Bireli.
      • KyloOb, on 05/13/2008, -1/+0Django had that technical talent like Birelli, but Birelli lacks the musical talent that made Django who he was.
    • Klaatu14, on 05/13/2008, -1/+0I'se muggin'
    • EpicSelekta, on 05/13/2008, -0/+3Django was a legend... who else could play like that without use of several fingers?

      I dugg for the abundance of Thelonius Monk.
    • mahdaeng, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1"I'm the greatest guitar player in the world....well, except for this gypsy in France."
    • MasterGrief, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1I just found Django recently.. After listening to most of his Djangology '49 album, I was thinking that his music sounded like the twinkly instrumental of "Beyond the Sea" played outside the bathysphere in the beginning of Bioshock. Sure enough, several tracks later on in that album, that exact piece came up.
    • CptBuck, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1For non-jazz diggers he's the one playing Le Mer (Somewhere beyond the Sea) in Bioshock. Great musician.
  • kermithefrogand, on 05/13/2008, -16/+7so where is...john..mayer?
    • spect3r, on 05/13/2008, -0/+6Playing Rock music as well as some blues
    • eatyourguitar, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1hahaha dugg.
    • sniffton, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1One of my favorite things to do at a record store, is move kenny g from the jazz section to the pop or easy listening section ....


      somehow it feels like I'm making things right in the world ...
  • RiMac, on 05/13/2008, -8/+2Big list. Couldn't narrow it down to, say, 10 must-haves...?
    • dsotmrw, on 05/13/2008, -1/+3That's like asking for 10 must-have classical pieces. There are way too many to just narrow down that far.
  • sodade, on 05/13/2008, -2/+19Bitches Brew? Check! Dugg.
  • nesagwa, on 05/13/2008, -0/+5Been trying to get into jazz a bit more and this list will certainly help. Good stuff.
  • henrymiller, on 05/13/2008, -1/+12A list of important jazz records without Herbie Hancock is no list at all.
    • Conwaysb0718, on 05/13/2008, -1/+1Herbie Hancock? The signature guy?
    • vfreak2, on 05/13/2008, -1/+1I couldn't believe Herbie Hancock was not in this list! What's more he was the first Jazz artist to win a Grammy Best Album in like 40 years this year. but that's irrelevant - he's a giant in the world of JAzz.
    • diggerdong, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1RTFA, man. FTA--"I thought it might be useful to compile a list of a hundred essential jazz albums, more as a guide for the uninitiated than as a source of quarrelling for the collector".
    • jimi089, on 05/14/2008, -0/+0Herbie's certainly an essential jazz artist but hardly an essential bandleader in jazz, IMHO.
  • ahoy, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2someone here reads The New Yorker? pimp.
  • meepzork, on 05/13/2008, -1/+1my favorite part was when Digg censored the name "Herbie Hancock"
    Also, Tony Williams FTW
  • ImYourRealDad, on 05/13/2008, -2/+5No Al Di Meola?!
  • Zcott, on 05/13/2008, -3/+6I take some exception to this list. While that list is great if you want to follow the progression of jazz from almost a hundred years ago to now, it doesn't really reflect well on contemporary albums. Brad Mehldau, one of the most influential pianists around today, is notoriously absent; there's no mention of Branford Marsalis or any of the contemporary guitarists like Kurt Rosenwinkel (whose Deep Song album influenced not just guitarists, but everyone).

    And not a single mention of Herbie Hancock, whose 1974 album "Head Hunters" became one of the biggest selling albums? Disappointing.
    • petebot, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Head Hunters is awesome. And that's coming from a rock dude.
    • mahdaeng, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2FTA: [[Since the nineteen-seventies, jazz has been branching out in so many directions that you would need to list at least another hundred recordings...There is a suggestion below of the dazzling scope of contemporary jazz, but the focus is on the classic jazz that is Schaap’s specialty.]]
  • dragazis, on 05/13/2008, -2/+2It is certainly a solid list, but nothing by Billy Strayhorn or Mary Lou Williams? I mean Billy Strayhorn composed Take The A Train (Duke Ellington only used it as his signature tune because Strayhorn was in his band). Mary Lou Williams was a piano godess. I'm also surprised to see nothing by Weather Report (maybe Heavy Weather) for the fusion of other styles including early electronic with jazz. Anyway it's a good list for those who don't know much about jazz to finally listen to some of the greatest jazz albums by some of the best jazz composers/musicians.
    • TrystTempleton, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Well, didn't Billy Strayhorn collaborate with Duke Ellington for many years? They would call each other at night after they had met to write music together, and they would finish a jazz tune the same way because they thought so similarly. Another great piece he wrote was definitely Lush Life, and also Passion Flower. I really like those two compositions he wrote.
  • TrevorBelmont, on 05/13/2008, -2/+5This list is so long and so vague that it is useless. A shorter list with examples/back stories/descriptions would be infinitely more useful for my purposes.
  • insonh, on 05/13/2008, -11/+1Best Jazz album of all time?

    KIZZ LIVE

    Best Jazz love song ever

    Ted Nuget: Stranglehold
  • IndiShukla, on 05/13/2008, -1/+7*starts up utorrent*
    • Jerky1312, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1It's moment's like these I wish I had What or Waffles. I'll be sure to search my local library and public trackers for these though.
  • lmhiatt, on 05/13/2008, -0/+13where's coltrane's giant steps?
  • gavin422, on 05/13/2008, -1/+13Does it bother anyone else that "The Complete Recordings" and other huge compilations qualify as albums? You might as well just say, "listen to this guy". I prefer the proper albums, like Ascension, Kind of Blue, etc.
    • dsotmrw, on 05/13/2008, -0/+3I agree 100%. The music should be listened to in the context it was originally intended.
    • JudasConstant, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2Well, keep in mind that many artists don't have complete artistic control until later in their careers. The context might not actually be what the artist intended, just what they could come up with at the time/what they were allowed to release.

      Additionally, you'd be missing out on some great singles if you turned your nose up at compilations.
    • bat-21, on 05/14/2008, -0/+2Jazz predates the album format. The first LPs were produced in 1948. For pre-WWII recordings, you're better off with compilations. Your only other option is to spend hundreds of dollars on a high-end turntable that can play 78s.
  • juniorb, on 05/13/2008, -1/+8Great list, but some sorely missed discs:

    Somethin' Else – Cannonball Adderley
    Thelonius Monk – Brilliant Corners
    George Russell – Ezz-thetics
    • rolan1bp, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Dugg for Cannonball. He's definitely one of my favorites.
    • terrya64, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Agreed, I have all those.
  • dsotmrw, on 05/13/2008, -2/+1Dugg for #94. One of my favorite albums of all time.
  • inajeep, on 05/13/2008, -5/+6I got a bunch of them on my iPod now. No Dizzy Gillespie?
    • pakruse, on 05/13/2008, -0/+5Was that a question? #35 and #36 on the list.
    • joebaloney, on 05/13/2008, -0/+6Dizzy Gillespie! Buried for not having read the list.
  • ninjasenses, on 05/13/2008, -8/+1Nu jazz is where its at.
  • johnkyoungoh, on 05/13/2008, -3/+8where the ***** is 'giant steps'.
  • pprovo1, on 05/13/2008, -0/+4Great list...I was surprised it was chronological.

    Anyone who's reading this, check out Soulive...they are the *****!
  • kaisang, on 05/13/2008, -6/+2Kind of Blue @ 43... WTF?
  • dmorel, on 05/13/2008, -1/+2Keith Jarret, Thelonious Monk (though they missed Standards, which is beyond fantastic), Dizzy, Miles, the bird, Modern Jazz Quartet... got to say this is a pretty decent list, great mix of obvious and not so obvious choices.
  • Kas70, on 05/13/2008, -1/+3I own a quite few on the list but this is good to get me better acquainted with this vast genre.
  • teambosun, on 05/13/2008, -1/+4great... there goes my money
  • rhythmchanges, on 05/13/2008, -2/+28This list is too hard to read... they should have put each album on a separate page and made a slideshow with ads.
  • kgsullivan, on 05/13/2008, -1/+2need to get some grant green up in that bitch
  • ChromaVita, on 05/13/2008, -0/+4Personally I think a pretty good start is Ken Burns Jazz series. 23 artists. Good stuff.
    • TrystTempleton, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Totally. I've seen it twice. Very educational.
    • rolan1bp, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Isn't that the one where Wynton Marsalis does most of the commentary?
  • whiteknives, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1No Dirty Dozen Brass Band. No New Mastersounds. Buried as Inaccurate.
    • jimi089, on 05/14/2008, -0/+0Those bands are both fine but can't hold a candle to any of the artists on this list when it comes to jazz.
  • DjOverEZ, on 05/13/2008, -6/+1Ok Kevin Rose. We get it, you're trendy. You don't need to pretend to like jazz for people to like you.
  • funk13, on 05/13/2008, -1/+8dugg for Dave Brubeck's "Time Out". Odd time signatures for the win.
    • joebaloney, on 05/13/2008, -2/+25/4 is not all that odd.
    • 10ofDiamonds, on 05/13/2008, -1/+6For really odd time signatures listen to some Zappa jazz.
      • loupanic, on 05/14/2008, -0/+3Like FZ says in the BeBop Tango "Jazz isn't dead, it just smells funny."
      • kitsua, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1You both win. FZ needs a list all of his own.
  • AlKo, on 05/13/2008, -2/+1There's a lot of newer jazz artists/albums that aren't even represented on the list. But he did say in the article "classic jazz." I'd have to agree that no full McCoy Tyner is sad as is lack of mention of other great Latin jazz albums. Tito is only mentioned in a compilation.
    Weather Report is probably not "classic" enough I guess nor is Pat Metheny.
    There's just so much in the "Jazz" umbrella. I do notice a heavy portion of "big band" jazz on this list...
  • Fullvinyl, on 05/13/2008, -0/+5I'm a little disappointed not to see anything from Antonio Carlos Jobim on that list, and as far as Sonny Rollins goes, the "Alfie" soundtrack HAS to be on there. It's only six tracks, but it's six tracks of pure gold.

    Good list, though. But Verve:Remixed and Verve:Unmixed should definitely be there as well. Excellent remixes and originals respectively.
    • joebaloney, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2Good point, there's a lot of good Latin stuff that's not represented. Maybe they were sticking to traditional Jazz.
    • diggerphelps, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2Sonny Rollins rules.
      And Cal Tjader should be on the list as well.
  • frostbyt, on 05/13/2008, -13/+6Jazz = Crappy music old people listen to.


    Next.
    • diggerphelps, on 05/13/2008, -0/+6What are you, three?
      Have fun with your Wiggles and Barney albums.
      • frostbyt, on 05/13/2008, -3/+1Def people's favorite music just happens to be Jazz.
    • moolaismyfriend, on 05/13/2008, -3/+2LOL it's a gutter culture apologist.
    • Sroek, on 05/13/2008, -0/+10Almost every musician today is influenced by Jazz. Congratulations on being a prime *****-head.
      • frostbyt, on 05/13/2008, -4/+2Just because every bad musician today is influenced by Jazz does not make Jazz good music.

        So that is why all the music today sucks.
        • Sroek, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Without Jazz, there would be no Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, The Mars Volta, etc.

          I don't know what music you're listening to today, but there's always quality music to be found. You just have to know where to look.
      • JudasConstant, on 05/13/2008, -0/+4So you don't like Jazz, you don't like modern music, you don't like music old people listen to, which precludes enjoying anything recorded before the advent of jazz. What exactly do you listen to?
    • Coffeedemon, on 05/13/2008, -1/+5"Oh, oh: you see, the kids, they listen to the rap music which gives them the brain damage. With their hippin', and the hoppin', and the bippin', and the boppin', so they don't know what the jazz…is all about!"
    • AROZ, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2Jazz was important in the modernist movement in music. Through blues and jazz, people got used to hearing more dissonance and different chord progressions in music. These movements changed Western music significantly and can be appreciated by anyone. It's a matter of finding a facet of the genre that you can listen to, some particular genres or composers, then moving outwards.
  • derekjhunt, on 05/13/2008, -3/+5Sigh, No Joe Pass, Larry Coryell, Larry Carlton, or John McLaughlin. Where is Jaco? Where is Methany, or Holdsworth? Crimeny, end this anti-guitarist non-sense. I saw Django, but that is not enough. Inner Mounting Flame is older than several of the albums on that list. Note to self, take a set of flat wounds and make several garrots to dispose of the morons at the New Yorker. Also, save one to hang myself for reading an article from the New Yorker.
    • rufusdog, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2Are you a guitar player perhaps?
    • FreakyPhil31, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1Don't forget John Scofield and Bill Frisell...
  • TipsyMcDoodle, on 05/13/2008, -3/+1My favourites are #50 and 51. Brownie is the money.
  • Bowski, on 05/13/2008, -0/+4This is an outrage! Only one Bill Evans album???
  • ohmysac, on 05/13/2008, -11/+3Jazz is four musicians each playing a different song.
    • moolaismyfriend, on 05/13/2008, -1/+9Only if you are musically and intellectually challenged would you say something so incredibly retarded.
      • ohmysac, on 05/13/2008, -3/+2Wow, just as generalized as my original statement. Hi Mr. Pot, I'm Mr. Kettle.
  • moolaismyfriend, on 05/13/2008, -3/+3I don't know man. That list is like the same ***** the local Philharmonic plays. (Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Wagner) All great stuff but there is so much more essential listening.

    This jazz list is the same old standard ***** that you can buy in your jazz section at the local Borders store. They leave out so many amazing albums that truly changed the direction of harmony and our musical vocabulary.

    Ohh well, don't want to challenged the cultured readers of the New Yorker too much.
    • mahdaeng, on 05/13/2008, -0/+3[[All great stuff but there is so much more essential listening.]]

      I agree, but how long do you want the list to be?
      • moolaismyfriend, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1It's the usual suspects. Why not throw in Jan Garbarek, Bill Frisell, Brandford Marsallis, Kenny Garret, Wayne Krantz, John Zorn, Brad Mehldau?

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