Top 10 Favorite Jazz Records

So it was requested that I do a Top 10 Blue Note Records list and I was more then willing to oblige. But going through my massive collection I found that I don’t have a lot of Blue Note albums. Sorry. So instead I’m going with a Top 10 favorite jazz records. I love listening to jazz. It can be both soothing and chaotic. This list will seem a tad repetitive because while I love and can listen to jazz all day, I really have only ever bought record from a handful of artist whom I absolutely love. So here we go.

10. Cab Calloway & His Orchestra – Volume 2 1935-1940

I got this box set for Christmas one year. And it took me a while to really dig into it. 4 cds featuring 107 songs I s a lot to digest. I don’t know if it’s the greatest introduction to Cab Calloway but it’s a fantastic collection of songs.



9. Dizzy Gillespie – For Musicians Only

For Musicians Only is jazz played at a break neck pace. 5 songs of frantic jazz. It’s not out of control or chaotic, just played fast.



8. Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington – Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington

Listening to Duke Ellington play is a great way to unwind. His trumpeting is so smooth and relaxing. Combine that with the vocal stylings of Louis Armstrong and you have a great combo. This is their first recording together and it’s such a nice and laid back listen. Very chill, very good.



7. John Coltrane – Blue Train

As far as Coltrane records go Blue Train might be one of the more subdued albums. It’s not as frenetic as some of his later recordings.




6. Thelonious Monk – Underground

While Underground is a very chill record, there’s something off about it musically. It’s off kilter just slightly. The musicians never seem to be in the same room. The piano and drummer are almost always playing in different time signatures and the bass player just takes his bass for a walk that doesn’t always seem to fit. But each piece compliments each so nicely and fills your stereo with a nice array of sound that unless you’re giving a critical listen, you’ll just hear a beautiful album.



5. Miles Davis – Birth of The Cool

Birth of the Cool is one of those classic must own jazz records. With minor exceptions it’s not a fast tempoed, get on the floor and dance album. The songs all come in under three and half minutes giving each song it’s own space. It’s nothing long-winded or repetitive, just a quality jazz album.



4. John Coltrane – A Love Supreme

A Love Supreme is a variation on a theme. It plays like something you might hear from Phillip Glass or Steve Reich if they were jazz musicians. This is the frenetic Coltrane I was talking about. A Love Supreme has fantastic movement and flow. It’s intricate and interesting. And the album’s closer, Psalm, is so sexy. Coltrane’s finest.



3. Ornette Coleman – The Shape of Jazz to Come

Whenever I asked for recommendations of jazz records to check out, The Shape of Jazz to Come was always a record I needed to have. So I got it. It’s completely out of control. Ornette Coleman slays on the saxophone. Eventually is just pure chaos. The albums moves from beautiful jazz standards to complete destruction of anything resembling jazz.



2. Vince Guaraldi - A Charlie Brown Christmas

While I might take some flak for having this record on this list and this high, it still ranks as one of my favorites. It’s a simple record full of joy. A Charlie Brown Christmas is the greatest Christmas special of all time and it’s soundtrack still holds as a standard for Christmas music. Linus and Lucy has to rank as one of the most iconic pieces of music ever written.



1. Miles Davis – Bitches Brew

Bitches Brew is the Dillinger Escape Plan of jazz music. While it might be one of the hardest jazz records to listen to, I think it’s also one of the most rewarding. The songs are all long, with wanky guitar parts and crazy blasts from horns coming out of nowhere. It’s a trippy album and it pushes jazz to the limit and completely rewrites the book on what jazz has to be. People hate it, I love it.