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Help me build up a jazz album collection. Can you suggest a must have album?

Just got back into analog after not having a turntable for 38 years. That was a Thorens TD 320. Now I have a VPI. Building a jazz album collection now since jazz seems to be what I enjoy now. I have barely 12 albums from Miles Davis, Art Blakey, King Curtis, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Ike Quebec and Illinios Jacquet. Can you suggest a must have album? I generally like great sax, and percussion and sometimes a good vocalist, but I am open to anything that sounds GREAT. Also, if there is a particular label, issue or type of album. Thanks in advance.

2psyop
kymanor1
126 posts
 

Many contributors said Art Pepper

audioguy85's avatar
audioguy85
2,049 posts
 

Ken McCullough of stereophile can help you there. He has lots of videos on the youtube.

kahlenz's avatar
kahlenz
300 posts
 

To understand jazz you need to go back to 19th century black American culture and the use of "code" words and expressions to obfuscate their meaning to anyone but those that "get" it. Ragtime music and piano rolls opened up new musical awareness and possibilities, and novelty acts and "jass" bands started to appear, often for the amusement of white Americans. Hip young college students were quick to embrace the music; the music had a status of "either you get it or you don’t". The cool kids got it.

New Orleans was already a musical center, and its multi-cultural cross-currents provided a fertile environment for jazz to fluorish. New Orleans was also a cultural touch spot where it was acceptable for white Americans observe and mingle in black culture (gambling, prostitution, and music being some of the big draws).

I would recommend Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings as a good intro to jazz. Go back and become familiar with ragtime, then just go up the river to Chicago., Soon, regional flavors of jazz were sprouting in metro centers all over the country.

Take it from there!
 

willyht
83 posts
 

"Katanga" Curtis Amy/Dupree Bolton.

gownaus_king
5 posts
 

Duke Ellington, The Great Paris Concert. Someone mentioned Modern Jazz Quartet at Carnegie Hall. 

There are a couple of boxed sets on Pablo that I love, everyone who was anyone during those times was there. Great recordings too.
Montreux '77: The Art Of The Jam Session, and
Montreux '77: The Collection
 

The ECM label specializes in very cerebral jazz, well recorded. 

 

As mentioned, a lot of great Blue Notes have been re-issued. 

By just listening to LPs, you are blocking out the greats of today. If you like female jazz singers, there are a bunch. This list seems unaccountably unfriendly to current African American singers such as Samara Joy, Cecile McLorin Salvant, and  Corinne Bailey Rae, but it's a start.

https://www.radioart.com/blog/today-s-remarkable-female-jazz-singers

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