I had originally intended this blog as a guide to novice jazz collectors. I have no idea whether it is serving that purpose. Most of my comments are from folks who have pretty decent collections already. But I am a classical thinker by training, so making lists is something I do like dogs chew bones. As Christmas approaches, a top fifty jazz recordings list might do someone some good, and it is fun to think about it.

I have assembled a top twenty five list. Here is my top ten:

You may notice that, while KOB is first, the rest of the nine are in alphabetical order. KOB comes first as I hold that it is the most perfect jazz recording I have ever heard. I alphabetized the rest of the list to avoid any suggestion that number six is a little better than seven but not quite so good as number five. It seems silly to me to cut it that fine. The reader should bear in mind that I am not claiming these are the ten best jazz recordings of all. My focus is rather narrow: hard bop to avant garde jazz, mostly recorded in the fifties and sixties.

I am sticking here to single disc recordings that have had a major impact on me and that show up on a lot of similar lists. I avoided repeating artists. Someone who had just these ten, and listened attentively and with devotion, would have a pretty good idea what the jazz idea is. Many Coltrane fans will object that A Love Supreme ought to come before Giant Steps. That may be so, but ALS is a rather unrepresentative recording, and I think that GS had much more influence on the history of the music. Likewise my choice of Far Cry to represent Dolphy is somewhat idiosyncratic. Brilliant Corners might be the most questionable choice, but if you had one Monk recording, that would be it. All of Monk’s genius is in it. Or maybe Henderson’s State of the Tenor looks most out of place. I admit that it is actually a two disc recording, but I plead that one can fit it on one CD. I really think that this belongs in the top ten, and I am sure that Joe deserves a place there.

Here is the rest of the top twenty-five on my list.

Here I allowed myself some repeat artists, and so got ALS in. Miles may be said to have made it in twice, as Adderley’s Something Else might really have been a Davis recording. With Davis, the problem I have is that I think his best documents are the multi-disc live recordings at the Plugged Nickel, the Black Hawk, and the Stockholm recordings. But I honestly think that ESP is Mile’s second best single disc recording. His second great quintet, and the pervasive influence of Wayne Shorter makes it an immortal recording.

Well, I expect to be returning to this theme in coming days or weeks. Completing a list of fifty will be a challenge. I am open to suggestions.