The Ultimate List of 15 Jazz Albums You Can’t Miss

Jazz music is such a continuous process; one generation seems to feed off its previous one and build on concepts and styles while adding its own dimension to the sound. This makes jazz “The sound of surprise,” given the freedom and scope of improvisation.

Thus, an essential list of jazz albums becomes an exciting prospect.

There is always something for everyone in it. The agony of having to choose 15 top jazz albums is not in the selection as much as it is in having to leave out so many! Jazz has an ocean of great recordings available and so it is the shortlisting that is a conundrum.

However, 15 albums it is going to be and we have created a guideline for this selection. We will attempt to have a representative cross-section of jazz with some vocal and other instrumental recordings. We have interspersed best-selling albums – obviously popular with some classics with some relatively unknown great ones. This list should have something for every jazz taste.

As always with “Best of” lists, there will be several opinions and alternatives suggested. 

It would be interesting to get your feedback, dear reader. If you like something from the list, tell us what aspect of the album was appreciated; if you are not happy with the list and have alternate suggestions, we would like to know your perspective as well. Do write to us.

Just a note about our jazz list. The music in this list is, in our opinion, evergreen and sounds contemporary whenever it is heard, unlike a lot of popular music which might peak for a while and then fade into obscurity in a short time. The listing of the 15 albums is in no specific order. Thus, the album listed first is not necessarily better than the rest and so on.

Our list of the 15 best jazz albums:

Charles Mingus – Blues & Roots 

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Mingus was an upright, acoustic bass player and was also a brilliant composer and band leader. This album features insights into the strong influence of gospel music on jazz. Jazz has emerged from the blues and has church (gospel) music strains in its development. Thus the album title.

Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue

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This is the highest-selling jazz album ever. Miles Davis has created a masterpiece in simplicity. Each tune is based on repeated chords around which each musician is asked to improvise. With Davis on trumpet, John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley on alto saxophone, this is a star-studded lineup. 

The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out 

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Close in popularity to Kind of Blue, listed above, this album contains perhaps the most ever recognizable jazz number “Take Five,” a tune written and arranged by Paul Desmond who plays alto saxophone on this album.

Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings Duke Ellington

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Ella Fitzgerald, arguably the greatest ever female jazz vocalist sings the music of the maestro, Duke Ellington. The backing is by the Ellington Orchestra with the Duke at the piano and conductor of the band.  

Louis Armstrong – Satch Plays Fats 

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One of the great pillars of jazz, Louis Armstrong (pet name Satch) plays trumpet and sings the compositions of another jazz icon, pianist and composer Fats Waller. The music is rich in composition and the treatment is superb. Louis Armstrong played from around 1925 to 1970 and has never had a disappointing recording, but this might be his best.

Carmen McRae – The Great American Songbook 

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Carmen McRae, a fabulous jazz vocalist with a great sense of timing and song delivery is at her peak in a live recording at a nightclub. She sings a spectrum of songs from jazz standards to popular tunes and gives it a delightful jazz treatment in the company of a fine trio led by pianist Jimmy Rowles. McRae’s phrasing and timing in her singing is superlative; watch out for it in this album.

John Coltrane – A Love Supreme

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One of the most significant ever Jazz albums, A Love Supreme is composed and performed by tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. This is music inspired by Coltrane’s reaching for a spiritual connect with a divine spirit. Played in four different movements, the album features pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones.

Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell and Max Roach – Jazz At Massey Hall

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The album boasts of being “The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever”, seemingly a rather audacious claim, but looking at the four giants of jazz playing on the album and the compositions performed, one should look seriously at its content!

Charlie Parker, on alto saxophone and Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet are the pioneers of the sound in jazz called Bebop – a sound that changed the music forever. Both are also arguably the best exponents on their instruments. Backed by two other giants, pianist Bud Powell and drummer Max Roach, they form one of the most formidable jazz groups of all time. The concert was recorded at a performance by the band at Massey Hall in Toronto.

Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers – Moanin’

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Drummer Art Blakey is a jazz institute in himself, creating opportunities for young, promising jazz musicians. In the process, he has unearthed several gems. In this album, he has featured on trumpet Lee Morgan and Benny Golson on tenor saxophone. Playing piano is Bobby Timmons who has also composed the title track. This is an inspired recording with all players at their peak.

Billie Holiday – Velvet Mood

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A most significant voice in the history of jazz was that of Billie Holiday. Her voice always communicated emotion and it sounded like she was telling the listener a tale. In this album, she is backed by Benny Carter on saxophone and Barney Kessel on guitar as she sings a few masterpieces.

A most significant voice in the history of jazz was that of Billie Holiday. Her voice always communicated emotion and it sounded like she was telling the listener a tale. In this album she is backed by Benny Carter on saxophone and Barney Kessel on guitar as she sings a few masterpieces.

Stan Getz, João Gilberto – Getz/Gilberto

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Unusually, these are two albums, bracketed together. They are both from tenor saxophonist Stan Getz who brought the sound of the Brazilian Bossa Nova into jazz and added a brilliant dimension to the music. The Latin sound from Brazil combines melody with a bossa nova beat. These albums first introduced evergreen tunes like “Desafinado” and “Girl from Ipanema” into jazz. These are now jazz standards. These albums feature Antonio Carlos Jobim (considered the father of the bossa nova), Joao Gilberto and vocalist Astrud Gilberto.

Chick Corea – Light As A Feather

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Pianist Chick Corea combined the sound of the electric piano (keyboards) with Latin influences in his unique style of playing jazz. He also composed the new jazz standard “Spain”,  the original version of which is heard on this album. The delightful flute solo heard on this piece is from Joe Farrell. 

Dizzy Gillespie, The Double Six Of Paris – Dizzy Gillespie & The Double Six Of Paris

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This is truly a double-value album. Trumpet player John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie, teamed up with pianists Bud Powell and Kenny Barron is just magnificent in this album. The Double Six of Paris is a skilful vocal group singing in the style of vocalese, where the voices are used as musical instruments. This combination of the jazz legends with this vocal group is pure dynamite, each feeding off the brilliance of the other. 

Thelonius Monk – Brilliant Corners

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One of the most iconic jazz pianists, Thelonius Sphere Monk was also one of the great jazz composers. His piano playing was unlike any other pianist in jazz history. In this album he has a star-studded lineup, with Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone and Clark Terry on trumpet and the music is a collection of all Monk compositions, except one. 

Sarah Vaughan – Sarah Vaughan With Clifford Brown

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An all-time great jazz vocal album where “Sassy” Sarah Vaughan is at her best. She is also in stellar company with the trumpet great Clifford Brown, flutist Herbie Mann, saxophonist Paul Quinichette and pianist Jimmy Jones. 

Sunil Sampat is a jazz critic and Contributing Editor of Rolling Stone India. Write to Sunil at jazzwala@gmail.com