# On the anniversary of Kind of Blue - essential Jazz albums?



## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

Touted as the one Jazz album everyone should own, assuming this is in the top 5 -what are the other four essential discs:

mine:

Louis Armstrong: Hot 5s & 7s (swing)
Monk: Brilliant Corners (bop)
Miles: Miles in the Sky (but hard to choose among 2nd Quintet, but want a post-bop)
Miles: Bitches Brew (fusion)


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

It's impossible to have just five "essential" jazz albums. At this point Kind Of Blue isn't on my list. I've heard it enough. But I'll pick five that are not all 60+ years old.

Bill Evans - Waltz For Debby
Thelonious Monk - Monk' Music
Sonny Rollins - Way Out West
John Scofield - Time On My Hands
Kenny Wheeler - Large & Small Ensembles


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2019)

Brubeck Quartet - Time Out
John Coltrane - Blue Train
Duke Ellington Orchestra - Ellington at Newport
Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus
Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz To Come


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2019)

Bwv 1080 said:


> Touted as the one Jazz album everyone should own, assuming this is in the top 5 -what are the other four essential discs:
> 
> mine:
> 
> ...


Love the Armstrong album! I have a lot of Miles Davis, but try as I might, I just can't bring myself to liking the fusion. My interest in him really tapers off after Kind of Blue.


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Too difficult ... most of the albums mentioned above seem essential.

The Original James P. Johnson: 1942-1945, Piano Solos ... stride
Charlie Parker Savoy Studio Sessions ... bebop
Miles Davis & Gil Evans - Miles Ahead ... big band
Jarrett/Peacock/DeJohnette - Still Live ... piano trio


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

Miles - Bitches Brew
Pharoah Sanders - Karma
Sun Ra ‎– The Futuristic Sounds Of Sun Ra
Charles Mingus - Let my children hear music

not sure if they are they the greatest, since my knowledge of jazz is limited compared to rock, but these are some I like most


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

DrMike said:


> Love the Armstrong album! I have a lot of Miles Davis, but try as I might, I just can't bring myself to liking the fusion. My interest in him really tapers off after Kind of Blue.


the fusion is difficult. I did with Bitches Brew the same that I did with Schoenberg, ie listened to it repeatedly till I "got" it. It takes some time till your brain picks patterns in the music, because at first it sounds like chaos for sure.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I can think of more great albums from 1959 alone - it was something of a banner year in my collection! But when it comes to picking four all-time greats to stand alongside _Kind of Blue_, I honestly don't think I could narrow it down that much.

Charles Mingus - _Mingus Ah Um_
Charles Mingus - _Mingus in Wonderland_
Miles Davis - _Porgy & Bess_
Ornette Coleman - _The Shape of Jazz to Come_
Duke Ellington - _Festival Session_
Dave Brubeck - _Time Out_
The Jazz Messengers - _Moanin'_
Thelonius Monk - _Thelonious Alone in San Francisco_


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Interesting video, thanks for posting. I don't listen to enough jazz yet to have 5 essential albums. I think my favorite jazz artists at the moment are Duke Ellington and Chick Corea.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

As one might have surmised from my username, this is one of my favorite albums. Unfortunately, I did not listen to it on the anniversary, but I'll have to give it a listen later today.

As for other favorites, these come to mind:

Oliver Nelson: The Blues and the Abstract Truth
Charles Mingus: The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
John Coltrane: My Favorite Things
Eric Dolphy: Out to Lunch

I could add another ten Miles albums that I think are just as essential as Kind of Blue, but I have to give the mention to my favorite, *In a Silent Way*.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Very personal favorites:

Ellington: "And His Mother Called Him Bill" - that band is cooking
Coltrane: "My Favorite Things" - my introduction to Coltrane, and a good choice as I grew up listening to the Great American Songbook
Rollins: "Way Out West" - because a proper (dry) mastering of that recording contains the most natural sounding acoustic instruments in my jazz library
Modern Jazz Quartet: Not sure which album - can I choose the Mosaic box? - because I love the sound of vibes

I too could add one of many Miles Davis albums. Let's say "In a Silent Way," although my appreciation for "Bitches Brew" is growing


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

Off the top of my head:

Mingus - Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
Dolphy - Out to Lunch
Monk - Brilliant Corners
Adderley - Somethin' Else


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

Jacck said:


> the fusion is difficult. I did with Bitches Brew the same that I did with Schoenberg, ie listened to it repeatedly till I "got" it. It takes some time till your brain picks patterns in the music, because at first it sounds like chaos for sure.


I personally don't even think Bitches Brew is the best of Miles's fusion period. I prefer both Jack Johnson and In a Silent Way. Bitches Brew has a lot of interesting stuff but can also sound like a chaotic mess at times. Both Johnson and Silent Way have much more singular, identifiable personalities and focuses.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Dolphy's Out There
Dolphy's Iron Man
Dolphy's Last Date
Dolphy's Out to Lunch
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus


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## Guest (Aug 27, 2019)

My jazz interest was heavily informed by my father, who was a huge fan of Dave Brubeck - I grew up listening to Time Out, and my high school jazz band even attempted Take Five (not successfully). Most of the other groups I came to later.


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## Ras (Oct 6, 2017)

*Ain't misbehaving ... only cheating a little bit...*

1. "Bird & Diz"
2. "Art Tatum with the Roy Eldridge Quartet"
3. Chet Baker : "As Time Goes by", 1986.

4. "Coltrane Plays the Blues"
5. Ben Webster: "King of Tenors"


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## DBLee (Jan 8, 2018)

Bill Evans _Sunday at the Village Vanguard_
John Coltrane _Blue Train_
John Coltrane _A Love Supreme_
_Clifford Brown & Max Roach_
Miles Davis _Cookin'_


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Brubeck’s Time Out has Take Five but his follow up album Time Further Out is even better, IMO, with some amazing solos by Paul Desmond — what an incredible ear he had — including his incredibly sensitive point-counterpoint ballade with Brubeck on Bluette. I’ve listened to TFO more but I consider both albums as a set. It could be argued that the group was at the height of its popularity when these albums were released...


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