U-Discover Mag Lists The 50 Greatest Jazz Albums


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U-Discover magazine just issued their list of the 50 greatest jazz albums of all time. Well, everbody's got an opinion, and I don't totally agree with their list..but at least they've got a list. I checked their list and I own 15 of the albums on the list.

How many albums on the list do you own?

What albums do you feel are glaring omissions from the list?
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Showing 7 responses by frogman

You know, as this sort of inevitably incomplete list goes, this is probably the best one I have ever seen. Pretty comprehensive from a chronological standpoint except for the fact that (and also it's main glaring omission) there isn't a single recording done after 1977; as if jazz has stood still since 1977. Not!
As Ohnwy said, any list can be nit picked to death; so, I would be careful about missing the forest for the trees. Don't know if anyone read the description of how they actually compiled this particular list; this might bring a somewhat different perspective to the table. These were the albums that received the most votes on all other available lists of its kind. Also, remember that, as has been discussed many times re this topic, "greatest" means different things to different people. Greatest is often considered to be the most influential or representative of an era, while to someone else it may mean the best executed representation (as far as the playing) of a particular era or style while not necessarily being the most influential. Case in point: "Something Else". Great record, fantastic playing....influential? Not really; very little on that great record that hadn't been done before.

While I agree that the omission of Tatum is suspect, I can understand why someone might make that decision. Tatum was actually, and incredibly, considered by some to not be a real jazz player and his very ornate playing no more than filigree; and an argument could be made that he was simply an extension of Fats Waller's stride piano style. From a pianistic standpoint his incredible virtuosity and influence cannot be argued. Re Wearher Report: unless one is prepared to dismiss the validity of the entire genre of jazz-fusion, there is no question that they deserve to be on the list. IMO.
Undoubtedly great recordings, but with the possible exception of "Light As A Feather", imo they don't have the historical relevance of the ones in question. When there are so many "greats" to choose from, I think that "greatest" should be reserved for those that are not only great performances, but are also very important bynbeing landmark recordings in the evolution of the music. "Headhunters" was a masterpiece of the genre and incredibly influential with funk grooves that are still being sampled today. For better or for worse, hip-hop as we know it today would be very different had there been no "Headhunters". The addition of Jaco Pastorious to Weather Report's lineup would forever change the way that the electric bass was played and its role in a rhythm section. The influence of Jaco, not to mention the band, cannot be overstated. I like the choice of "Light As A Feather" for bringing the "Spanish" flavor to fusion-jazz; something that would become very prevalent.
Chuck Mangione? Earl Klugh?!?! They made pleasant fusionjazz-lite
recordings; but, better than "Bitches Brew" and "Headhunters" (even
putting aside their influence)? We are all entitled to our opinions, but this is
clearly a case of Mars and Venus.