“The 100 Greatest Jazz Albums of All Time - Our [amazon.com] editors put their stamp of approval on the 100 best-ever albums from the ever-changing world of jazz. “ I dunno. This list smacks of a list by a committee -- the free jazz guy's choices get knocked down, so they have to give him a couple. One editor insists on a weird choice by a great player. As usual, with lists by critics, there are some bizarrely obscure/unworthy choices (like the way Captain Beefheart always turns up on rock lists). I make some of my own suggestions, and grey out the ones I don't think belong. I'm not going to make my own list--mainly because blogger already seems to be chokings on the formatting of this list...
A sampling of egregious omissions:
Charles Lloyd – Forest Flower? a tragic omission.
Charles Mingus Ah Um or Live at Antibes?
Miles – Milestones? Jack Johnson?
Anything by Joe Williams?
Anything by Nat King Cole?
Miles’ In a Silent Way? Birth of the cool? Miles Ahead? Seven steps to heaven?
Trane’s Giant Steps? My favorite things? Impressions? Ballads? Or that work of genius/trane wreck, Live In Seattle?
No John McLaughlin?
No Nina Simone!
No Jimmy Smith (The Sermon would have been nice)?
What about the Beau Hunks?
Bud Powell?
McCoy Tyner?
Bix?
1. The Shape Of Jazz To Come by Ornette Coleman
2. A Love Supreme by John Coltrane. Duh.
3. Bird And Diz by Dizzy Gillespie - It’s a good album. Very good. But also seriously flawed by the drumming of Buddy Rich. He was not a be-bop master and he’s an odd pairing with Bird & Diz. This album needed Max Roach, or Elvin Jones…someone on that order. In fact a review on Amazon says as much. Buddy could keep the time, no doubt, but he couldn’t keep the bop. One more thing that makes the album a questionable greatest—only the first six songs (around 20 minutes) are final takes. The other 18 tunes are outtakes of the first six songs. Yeah, hearing all the false starts and set aside takes of Leap Frog is fascinating. But ten? How many times will anyone listen to all ten versions?
4. Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis – Yeah, this album should be here. But it is tragically overplayed. As good as it is, we’ve all heard it too much.
5. Ella and Louis by Ella Fitzgerald. Yes.
6. Getz/Gilberto by João Gilberto. Sure, not bad.
7. Concert By The Sea by Erroll Garner. A wonderful album.
8. The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus, Wrong! They should have included Ah Um, or Live at Antibes instead. Or three or four other Mingus recprdings.
9. Speak No Evil by Wayne Shorter
10. Straight, No Chaser by Thelonious Monk
11. The Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett. I love this album. I don’t know if it is jazz. It’s improvisational and it’s like jazz…
12. Moanin' (The Rudy Van Gelder Edi… by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
13. Chet Baker Sings by Chet Baker. I own this album and listen to it once a year or so. I still don’t know what I think if Chet’s singing. I like it because it’s so different from any other jazz singer. Does that mean it belongs in the 100 best?
14. Blue Train (Rudy Van Gelder Edit… by John Coltrane. I like this album, but maybe Giant Steps belongs here instead.
15. Out To Lunch (The Rudy Van Gelde… by Eric Dolphy. Yes.
16. Piano Starts Here by Art Tatum. Is this the right Tatum?
17. Go! (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition) by Dexter Gordon, Not so sure.
18. Count Basie At Newport by Count Basie. You had to have something by the Count.
19. Journey in Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane. I dunno?
20. Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Why not?
21. Everybody Digs Bill Evans [Keepn… by Bill Evans. There are several better candidates.
22. Duke Ellington & John Coltrane by Duke Ellington. A sweet record.
23. Naked City by John Zorn. I like JZ—100 best? Cough cough.
24. Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy by Louis Armstrong And His All-Stars. I’d have put in one of the Hot 5’s and 7 comps.
25. At Carnegie Hall by Thelonious Monk Quartet . With ‘Trane, one of the best albums of all time…pretty much rediscovered only recently. Wow.
26. Clifford Brown And Max Roach by Max Roach
27. Afro by Dizzy Gillespie
28. Sketches Of Spain by Miles Davis
29. Karma by Pharoah Sanders
30. Straight Ahead by Abbey Lincoln.
31. Charlie Parker With Strings: Com… by Charlie Parker. Yuk. Bird with strings is great Bird (if you ignore the orchestra)
32. Somethin' Else (Rudy Van Gelder … by Cannonball Adderley
33. Lady in Satin by Billie Holiday. Sure, but there are many others albums in the running. This seems arbitrary.
34. Body & Soul by Coleman Hawkins
35. A Night in Tunisia (The Rudy Van… by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers. Well, you had to have something by Blakey.
36. Afternoon In Paris by Stephane Grappelli. I think I’d have picked another album, but yeah, he should be here.
37. Compulsion by Andrew Hill. Who?
38. Monk'S Dream by Thelonious Monk Quartet
39. Suspicious Activity? by The Bad Plus. Who?
40. Bitches Brew by Miles Davis. Ok I guess…but no Milestones? No Jack Johnson?
41. Takin' Off (Rudy Van Gelder Edit… by Herbie Hancock. Should have picked Maiden Voyage.
42. The Famous Carnegie Hall Jazz Co… by Benny Goodman
43. Oscar Peterson Trio At The Strat… by The Oscar Peterson Trio
44. The Sidewinder (The Rudy Van Gel… by Lee Morgan
45. The Great Summit - The Master Tapes by Duke Ellington & Louis Armstrong. Yes!
46. Gershwin Plays Rhapsody In Blue by George Gershwin, Honestly, I like Leonard Bernstein’s version more. And really—is this jazz at all?
47. Idle Moments by Grant Green
48. Secrets of the Sun (1962) (Ocrd) by Sun Ra & His Solar Myth Arkestra, Should have picked Cosmic Tones!
49. Mythologies by Patricia Barber. Who?
50. Charles Mingus Presents Charles … by Charles Mingus
51. Such Sweet Thunder by Duke Ellington
52. The Great American Songbook by Carmen McRae
53. Once Upon A Summertime by Blossom Dearie
54. Unit Structures by Cecil Taylor
55. Hamp & Getz by Lionel Hampton
56. Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley by Nancy Wilson And Cannonball Adde…
57. Song Of Innocence by David Axelrod. Who? Am I just going to assume this Axelrod is NOT the Obama henchman!
58. Heavy Weather by Weather Report. I’d have picked Mysterious Traveller, although most people would opt for one of the albums with Jaco Pastorius.
59. Slug's Saloon (disc 1) by Albert Ayler
60. Trio Jeepy by Branford Marsalis. Yes!
61. We Free Kings by Roland Kirk
62. Travelin' Light by Shirley Horn Not a fan.
63. A Night At The Village Vanguard … by Sonny Rollins Sonny is good but overrated.
64. Live In Paris by Diana Krall
65. Clifford Brown With Strings by Clifford Brown
66. Bags & Trane by Milt Jackson & John Coltrane
67. Midnight Blue (The Rudy Van Geld… by Kenny Burrell
68. Don't Go To Strangers by Etta Jones
69. Ellis In Wonderland by Herb Ellis
70. Jazz Impressions Of Black Orpheus by Vince Guaraldi Trio
71. Blue Rose by Duke Ellington & His Orchestra R…
72. Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section by Art Pepper
73. Helen Merill by Helen Merrill
74. The Blues and the Abstract Truth by Oliver Nelson
75. School Days by Stanley Clarke
76. Elegiac Cycle by Brad Mehldau
77. Wish by Joshua Redman
78. Artist In Residence by Jason Moran
79. Ahmad's Blues by Ahmad Jamal
80. Sax Pax For A Sax by Moondog
81. Black Codes (From The Underground) by Wynton Marsalis
82. The Right Touch by Duke Pearson
83. The Astrud Gilberto Album by Astrud Gilberto
84. Return To Forever by Chick Corea
85. Blues Dream by Bill Frisell
86. One Night Stand - The Town Hall … by Sarah Vaughn & Lester Young
87. Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, I like this album, but I am not sure a fully charted album like this is really jazz at all.
88. Full Force by Art Ensemble Of Chicago
89. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones by Bela Fleck & The Flecktones
90. Mood Indigo by Jimmy Scott
91. Elis & Tom by Elis Regina
92. Offramp by Pat Metheny Group
93. Stan Getz And The Oscar Peterson… by Stan Getz
94. Husky by Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet
95. Come Play With Me by Cuong Vu
96. Five Compositions (quartet) - 1986 by Anthony Braxton
97. Careless Love by Madeleine Peyroux
98. Jaco Pastorius by Jaco Pastorius
99. M'Boom by Max Roach
100. In My Element by Robert Glasper, Who???
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