Name 5 Jazz tracks you really love

I know we did a jazz albums poll a while back and it was great, but as with all these things you're going to get some clear consensus picks while other less known faves fall by the wayside. For jazz dilettantes like me it can be daunting having to wade through Miles Davis's career to get to the good stuff and I've found that often jazz can be about finding those brilliant moments of clarity on a record.

I'm not going to limit this to any specific era or style, so feel free to choose just five tracks, old, new, borrowed or blue which you personally really love.

John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman, "Lush Life"
Sarah Vaughan, "The Nearness of You"
Donald Byrd, "Think Twice"
Steve Swallow, "Some Echoes"
Phil Moore, "My New York Sweet"

"When," Graham Moncur III
"Some Other Time," Bill Evans
"Stolen Moments," Oliver Nelson
"The Awakening," Ahmad Jamal
"Milestones," Miles Davis & John Coltrane

Folk Forms I (Live At Antibes) - Charles Mingus
Jack The Bear - Duke Ellington
Don't Be That Way (from Spirituals To Swing) - Count Basie & Lester Young
Blue Moon (Jam Session) - Buck Clayton
Star Eyes - Charlie Parker

Stained Angel Morning - Ray Russell
Portrait of Linda in Three Colors, All Black - Sonny Sharrock
Eventually - Ornette Coleman
Huntington Ashram Monastery - Alice Coltrane
Ghosts: First Variation - Albert Ayler

Here are 5 of mine. Some of them are very obvious:

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme pt 2: Resolution
Abdullah Ibrahim - Water From an Ancient Well
Charles Mingus - Fable of Faubus
Pharoah Sanders - The Creator Has A Master Plan
Carla Bley - Battleships

Duke Ellington, “The Mooche”
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane, “Ruby, My Dear”
Gil Evans, “Time of the Barracudas”
Wayne Shorter, “Night Dreamer”
Charles Mingus, “The Shoes of the Fisherman’s Wife Are Some Jiveass Slippers”

Alice Coltrane - Prema (Live)
Gil Evans Orchestra - Where Flamingos Fly
Yusef Lateef - Love Theme From Spartacus
Ornette Coleman - Lonely Woman
Jackie McLean - Saturday and Sunday

xpost to dog latin - was just about to post my list with 'Fables of Faubus' at #5 before I saw yours!

Sonny Sharrock - Who Does She Hope To Be?
Frank Zappa - Blessed Relief
Anthony Braxton - Composition No. 40B
George Lewis - Homage to Charles Parker
Masada - Hobah

xpost to Gavin - I had the main theme from 'FoF' stuck in my head all day yesterday, which was probably the reason I started this thread. I tend to listen to Mingus Ah Um as a piece and because I'm only just discovering jazz properly right now and am listening to loads of stuff at the same time I was quite pleased to be able to identify which album it came from.

Mingus Ah Um was the first jazz album I really 'got' but that song always stood out to me, it's a total earworm.

Bill Dixon - Metamorphosis 1962-1966
John Coltrane - Sun Ship
Duke Ellington - Portrait of Mahalia Jackson
Thelonious Monk - Ruby My Dear
Cecil Taylor - This Nearly Was Mine

xpost Yeah it's such an easy album to love, really. I'd prob recommend it as the best one for anyone curious about jazz, above your Kind of Blues or 'easier' styles, certainly.

Dangit, William

St. James Infirmary Blues - Louis Armstrong
Who Does She Hope to Be - Sonny Sharrock
Watermelon Man - Herbie Hancock
Fleurette Africaine - Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach
Universal Indians - Albert Ayler

john coltrane - india
duke ellington - fleurette africaine
vince guaraldi trio - my little drum
sun ra - advice to medics
albert ayler - summertime

Monk - Darn That Dream (trio version on The Unique Thelonious Monk is the one, though the Solo Monk version is good too; I want this played at my funeral)

Sun Ra - Yucatan (Saturn Version)

Julius Hemphill - The Hard Blues

Freddie Hubbard - Suite Sioux

John Coltrane - India (Impressions version - Dolphy!!!!)

Miles Davis - Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)
Thelonious Monk - Bright Mississippi
Herbie Hancock - Hidden Shadows
Eric Dolphy - Hat And Beard
Hank Mobley - Soul Station

off the top of my head:

sun ra - a house of beauty
dudu pukwana - sonia
alice coltrane - isis and osiris
john coltrane - my favorite things (newport '63)
pharoah sanders - hum-allah-hum-allah-hum-allah
(would have had ghosts by ayler in there, but so many versions to choose from)

x-post

John Coltrane - My Favorite Things (Newport '63 Mix)
Thelonious Monk & Gerry Mulligan - 'Round Midnight
Sun Ra - Sound Spectra/Spec Kit
Matthew Shipp - Cosmic Shuffle
Ricardo Gallo - Ventanas

some good recommendations here as well:

"The Best Five Album Runs BEFORE TIME BEGAN" (Jazz poll voting thread VOTE HERE)

John Coltrane (w/Alice) - Infinity (she added the strings afterwards which was apparently controversial but I love them)

Miles Davis - He Loved Him Madly

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Live Medley

John Coltrane - Spiritual (from live At The Village Vanguard)

Sun Ra - The Magic City

Sidney Bechet - Nobody Knows The Way I Feel Dis Mornin'
Anita O'Day - No Moon At All
Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder
Clifford Brown & Max Roach - Parisian Thoroughfare
Art Ensemble Of Chicago - Dreaming Of The Master

A collaborative Spotify list for these might be fun, similar to the "your favorite 15 songs at the moment" one. Put up five, replace your own choices whenever, but a max of 5 at any one time for each participant.

gonna try and go with some unsung/personal classics -

Brian Blade Fellowship, 'Stoner Hill', 'Omni' (cheating here)
Billy Drummond, 'Dubai'
Kenny Garrett, 'Sing a Song of Song'
Mark Braud, 'When My Dreamboat Comes Home' (Hot Sausage Rag)
Herlin Riley, 'Trombone Joe'

john coltrane - my favorite things (newport '63)

― no lime tangier, Monday, December 30, 2013 9:00 AM (2 hours ago)

man, this is great. group has nice feel, the sort of 'catch n release' looseness of the playing. horn has great tone, too. woody, reedy

first five that came to mind:

Paul Bley - Ida Lupino (version on "Closer")
Bill Evans - My Foolish Heart
Thelonious Monk - Well You Needn't (on "Monk's Music")
John Coltrane - Chasin' the Trane (on Complete Live at the Village Vanguard)
Sonny Rollins feat. Jim Hall - John S.

Chet Baker, late period - My One and Only Love
Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson - My Heart Belongs to Daddy
Keith Jarrett - Landscape for Future Earth
Patricia Barber - Winter
Miles Davis - Chez Le Photographe du Motel

A collaborative Spotify list for these might be fun, similar to the "your favorite 15 songs at the moment" one. Put up five, replace your own choices whenever, but a max of 5 at any one time for each participant.

― oldbowie (WilliamC), Monday, 30 December 2013 16:57 (4 days ago) Permalink

Someone who knows how to use Spotify better than me please do this? Would be lovely

OK --

http://open.spotify.com/user/wmcrump/playlist/1oGN61m0OimFiZqhxFb37F

The playlist is collaborative, so anybody can add to it. My Braxton and Masada picks aren't on Spotify, so it only has 3 tracks on it so far.

xelab and uhwelluh have added to the playlist -- digging the Sidney Bechet right now.

I didn't think I needed another Brilliant Corners in my life but Braxton knows how.

I'll leave the playlist alone, but these are my five:

grant green - idle moments
john coltrane - alabama
ornette coleman - blues connotation
charles mingus - hearts' beat and shades in physical embraces
cecil taylor - jumpin' punkins

John Coltrane---Song of the Underground Railroad---or anything else from Africa Brass Sessions Volume 2
Gato Barbieri---India
Cecil Taylor---Bulbs
Charles Mingus---Goodbye Porkpie Hat
Sheila Jordan---Better Than Anything

The Spotify playlist is a good'un already. Added four of my picks - the Ray Russell isn't available, so substituted 'Mortgage On My Soul [Wah-Wah]', Keith Jarrett's funkiest track

Wes Montgomery - Blue n' Boogie
John Coltrane- Ole
Wayne Shorter- Speak No Evil
Charles Mingus- Moanin'
Bill Evans- NYC Is No Lark

oliver nelson - "stolen moments"
thelonious monk - "well you needn't"
ornette coleman - "una muy bonita"
eddie jefferson - "moody's mood for love"
miles davis - "my funny valentine"

Sun Ra & His Astro-Infinity Arkestra - "Love In Outer Space"
Miles Davis - "Frelon Brun (Brown Hornet)"
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonius Monk - "Blue Monk"
Pat Metheny/Dave Holland/Roy Haynes - "Solar"
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - "The Inflated Tear"

Decent amt of variety in the playlist -- Monk's the only featured name that's shown up more than twice. (I'm sure there are sidemen who show up on a bunch of tracks.)

nice call on the Ornette, m coleman. LOVE the way Don and OC play on the final few bars ; those few seconds brings it up a notch from great to sublime, imo

xxpopst

Ornette Coleman - Beauty is a Rare Thing
Herbie Nichols - Terpsichore
Louis Armstrong - Hotter Than That
Thelonious Monk - Pannonica
Zu + Ken Vandermark - Vegetalista

Just added my 5 to the play list. Thanks WilliamC.

Gabor Szabo - Bacchanal
Pat Martino - Baiyina
Steve Reid - Lions of Judah
Duke Pearson - The Phantom
Mor Thiam - Ayo Ayo Nene

Shit I forgot Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Sharrock, Alice Coltrane...

John Coltrane - Welcome
Keith Jarrett - In Front
Bill Evans - Some Other Time
Albert Ayler - Truth Is Marching In
George Russell ft. Eric Dolphy - Round Midnight

DL, I don't see the Abdullah Ibrahim track among yours. Is that one of those "tough luck, Americans" cases?

Dave Holland Quartet - "Conference of the Birds"
Charles Mingus - "Haitian Fight Song"
Albert Ayler- "Our Prayer"
Henry Threadgill Very Very Circus - "Little Pocket Sized Demons"
Joseph Jarman & Don Moye f. Johnny Dyani - "Mama Marimba"

> duke ellington - fleurette africaine

this is the track where the jazz light bulb flicked on for me. So, yeah.

Charles Mingus - Far Wells, Mill Valley
King Oliver - Deep Henderson
Bobby Brown Quartet - Venus Velvet
Thelonious Monk - Little Rootie Tootie

added to the Spotify

WilliamC it's in the queue im looking at. Although it appears to be a different version from the one I know.

i took it off. the version on Spotify is rubbish. I Couldn't find a Youtube either. Must be banned from the internet or somehting.

http://youtu.be/Pw5za2BBPkw

Alice Coltrane - Galaxy in Turiya
Pharoah Sanders - Upper Egypt Lower Egypt
Hal Singer and Jeff Gilson - Chant Inca
Duke Ellington & John Coltrane - In A Sentimental Mood
John Coltrane - Afro Blue (Live at Birdland)

Patty Waters - Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair

Had a Waters CD with that on it years ago and honestly it was just too much for me.

Some might be interested in this little Mixcloud thing I put together. It was really designed as a primer for people curious about jazz.

https://www.mixcloud.com/doglatin/goodbye-porkpie-hat-selected-jazz-cuts/

don cherry -- moving pictures for the ear
pharoah sanders -- harvest time
steve reid -- lions of judah
byard lancaster -- it's not up to us
sun ra -- sleeping beauty

its completely unfair to exclude pete la roca, freddie hubbard, andrew hill, grachan moncur, mtume, FUCKING MILES DAVIS, ornette coleman, john & alice, sonny sharrock, sunny murray, charles tyler, bill evans, jeanne lee, cecil taylor, don friedman, and UM a million others, but this is today's list

A lot of the classic stuff (pre-1980s) has already been mentioned, so I tried to add some more new(ish) favourites of mine to the Spotify list.

In chronological order:

Amina Claudine Myers Trio - Christine (1984)
Burhan Öçal & Jamaaladeen Tacuma - Nihavend longa (1999)
Marilyn Mazur's Future Song - Malibalo (2004)
Meshell Ndegeocello presents The Spirit Music Jamia - Aquarium (2005)
Ricky-Tick Big Band & Julkinen Sana - Ne burnaa (2013)

I guess "Christine" is the only "straight" jazz tune among those, though, the others include stuff like Turkish folk orchestrations and Finnish big band jazz-rap... I love straight jazz too, but it feels the classics serve that need well enough, with the newer stuff, hybrids are more interesting.

Couldn't find the 1960 version of "Straight No Chaser" on grooveshark --- searched a bit and could only find a :30 sec snippet on amazon uk -- nice vibes from Mike Mainieri.

another five switched--

Don Byas & Slam Stewart - I Got Rhythm (live 1945)
Dizzy Gillespie - Lover, Come Back To Me (big band 1947)
Sonny Rollins - I've Told Ev'ry Little Star (and The Contemporary Leaders)
Fats Waller - Ain't Misbehavin'/Two Sleepy People (V disc)
Coleman Hawkins - Thru' For The Night (with the Cozy Cole All Stars 1945)

Freddie Slack and Ella Mae Morse - "House of Blue Lights"
Joe Turner and Pete Johnson - "Roll 'em Pete"
Louis Jordan - "Beware"
Roy Brown - "Butcher Pete"
Louis Jordan - "Ain't That Just Like a Woman"

swapped for 5 more tracks--

Blind Willie Dunn's Gin Bottle Four (featuring Lonnie Johnson) - Jet Black Blues
Clifford Jordan - Take This Hammer
Count Basie (featuring Eddie Lockjaw Davis) - Paradise Squat
Coleman Hawkins & Shelly Manne - Me & Some Drums
Gerry Mulligan featuring Bob Brookmeyer & an obnoxious whistler - Limelight/Utter Chaos (live)

Switched mine out for some guitar playing.

Binky's Beam - John McLaughlin
Blues for Los Angeles - Bill Frisell
Ashes - Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society (Jack DeSalvo, Jef Lee Johnson, Stevie Salas on guitars)
Sonny Sharrock - The Princess Sonata: Like Voices of Sleeping Birds
Farewell, Farwell - Charles Mingus (Spotify has the song title wrong; Larry Coryell, guitar)

John Coltrane/Duke Ellington - In A Sentimental Mood
Miles Davis - Sanctuary
Tony Williams - Love Song
Bill Evans - Time Remembered
Eric Dolphy - Come Sunday (ok this is an Ellington-tune, but I really like this particular version)

cheat! for guitarists, this would be my top 5:

Frank Zappa - Sleep Dirt
Wes Montgomery - Snowfall
Sonny Sharrock - Once Upon a Time
Marc Ribot - Witches and Devils
John Abercrombie - Class Trip

another 5 on spotify--

Don Ellis - Turkish Bath
Cannonball Adderley - Inside Straight
Stan Getz - Body & Soul
World Saxophone Quartet - Let's Get It On
Ray McKinley - Hangover Square

Grant Green - Cantaloupe Woman
Bill Evans/Jim Hall - Stairway to the Stars
Kenny Burrell - Mule
Chet Baker - But Not For Me
Don Ellis - Two Autumns

Pharoah Sanders - Thembi
Horace Tapscott - The Dark Tree
Archie Shepp - Blase
Sam Rivers - Euterpe
Gil Evans - Las Vegas Tango

double otm!

https://www.npr.org/2019/05/15/723183103/facing-homelessness-and-crushing-medical-debt-a-renowned-jazz-guitarist-reaches-?t=1575578423202

depressing read on Kenny Burrell here :(

Gerry Mulligan Quartet - As Catch Can
Bill Evans - Milestones
Wayne Shorter - Super Nova
John Coltrane - The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
Sonny Rollins & Jim Hall - John S

Art Blakey New World
Dizzy Gillespie The Champ
Sun Ra Say
John Coltrane My Favourite Things (not sure which recording right now)
Pharaoh Sanders Creator Has A Master plan

Herbie Hancock – Sun Touch

Oliver Nelson – Stolen Moments

Grant Green – Jean De Fleur

Horace Silver – Kissin' Cousins

Paulinho da Costa – Toledo Bagel

https://www.npr.org/2019/05/15/723183103/facing-homelessness-and-crushing-medical-debt-a-renowned-jazz-guitarist-reaches-?t=1575578423202

depressing read on Kenny Burrell here :(

I remember chucking a few quid into that fund during the summer. I just had a look and it has raised a quarter of a million dollars when the goal was a hundred grand. So hopefully Kenny is living in a half-decent level of comfort.

good to hear

wow horrible stuff tho.

Mark Murphy - Stolen Moments
Jazzmeia Horn - Out The Window
George Shearing - Summertime
Coleman Hawkins - Body & Soul
Kenny Barron/Charlie Haden - Twilight Song

Africa Struggle - Mal Waldron Trio
Walk, Don't Run - Johnny Smith
Blues For Yolanda - Coleman Hawkins & Ben Webster
B Flat Blues - Bud Powell
Chazz (for Charles Mingus) - Lucky Four

Les McCann & Eddie Harris - Compared To What
Mingus - Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting
Jim Hall - You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
Clifford Brown & Max Roach - Joy Spring
Louis Armstrong - St James Infirmary

Wayne Shorter- Tom Thumb
Billy Harper- Priestess
Clifford Jordan- John Coltrane
Bill Evans- Gloria's Step
Bobby Hutcherson- Effie

off the top of my head

Miles Davis - Nefertiti
Ornette Coleman - Lonely Woman
John Coltrane - Africa
Sun Ra And His Arkestra - Ancient Aiethopia
Pharoah Sanders - Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord

Alice Coltrane - 'Turiya and Ramakrishna'
Donald Byrd - 'Kofi'
Lonnie Liston Smith - 'Rejuvenation'
Ornette Coleman - 'Street Woman'
Herbie Hancock - 'Wandering Spirit Song'

Donald Byrd - Cristo Redentor
Sun Ra - Springtime Again
Lee Morgan - Search for a New Land
Helen Merrill - Don't Explain
George Benson - Footin' It

bill evans - waltz for debby
rahsaan roland kirk - the black and crazy blues
wayne shorter - dance cadaverous
donald byrd - the emperor
isamu mcgregor - relentless

Philip Corhan & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble - The Minstrel
Bengt Berger - Bitter Funeral Beer
Rabin Abou-Khalil - Sahara
McCoy Tyner - Salvadore De Samba
Harold Alexander - Mama Soul

ornette coleman - rubber gloves
misha mengelberg trio - rollo 2
joey baron / barondown - i've been holding it all my life
henry threadgill - try some ammonia
eivind opsvik overseas - brraps

Bobby Hutcherson - Montara
Charles Lloyd - Forest Flower
Willie Bobo - Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries
Bobbi Humprey - Harlem River Drive
Cal Tjader - Los Bandidos

Ahmad Jamal Trio - "Snowfall"
Grant Green - "Idle Moments"
Duke Ellington - "Chelsea Bridge"
Coleman Hawkins - "Picasso"
Bobby Hutcherson - "Little B's Poem"

Carla Bley 5

Music Mecanique i
Two Banana
Song Of The Eternal Waiting Of Canute
Silence
The Girl Who Cried Champagne

Nice to see Bobby Hutcherson show up 3 times since the revive.

Duke Ellington - Such Sweet Thunder
Theloniuos Monk - Hackensack
Grant Green - Bedouin
Miles Davis - 'Round Midnight (love Coltrane on this version)
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - A Night in Tunisia

Hutch is one for the 'I always mix those two up!' pile, as I regularly add the Bobby Henderson playlist to my iPod by mistake instead of the Bobby Hutcherson playlist (or vice versa).

Duke Ellington - Such Sweet Thunder

this was my ringtone for years!

That Grant Green "Bedouin" song is either quoting from "So What", or it's just suspiciously similar. Great tune though -- never knew about this Matador album from him. Loving all these suggestions.

wish I had the time to compile all these. what a lovely thread. thanks everyone

I really like Battleship by Carla Bley

Played a while with a drummer and we were bonding over “Such Sweet Thunder” - he knew it from his high school marching band.

It must be a great school band number- a simple and direct riff, keep piling on the horns and percussion, might even gain some ferocity with sloppy playing.

It's a beautiful album, Lady Mac, Star Crossed Lovers to name some other ace tunes off there - the Ellington album era (late 50's to 70's) is one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century imo.

ok, off the top of my head:

pat martino - baiyina
raymond scott quintette - war dance for wooden indians
miles davis - circle in the round
cap'n john handy - ice cream
anne phillips - born to be blue

I'll name one, because I heard it for the first time today, but the McCoy Tyner tribute to Coltrane, "Bluesin for John C" (featuring Pharaoh Sanders, among others) knocked me on my butt today. At least I think that's what it was.

It's a beautiful album, Lady Mac, Star Crossed Lovers to name some other ace tunes off there - the Ellington album era (late 50's to 70's) is one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century imo.

― calzino, Wednesday, December 11, 2019 5:35 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

SST is one of the greatest records ever recorded by anybody, ever, imo

It must be a great school band number- a simple and direct riff, keep piling on the horns and percussion, might even gain some ferocity with sloppy playing.

i know that often HS bands will work from arrangements that are watered-down (so to speak), but you might be surprised by how many incredibly dissonant, very tricky and dense harmonies are written into those horn parts. that it so effortlessly comes off as this elephantine, lumbering riff is part of its majesty

wish I had the time to compile all these. what a lovely thread. thanks everyone
― YOU CALL THIS JOURNALSIM? (dog latin)

I created a Spotify playlist to start collecting these as I explore the suggestions on the list:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3yqzpKT3DBYiWQxlWruxEL?si=MRV2sApRTMySy6RJzSV6Ww

> surprised by how many incredibly dissonant, very tricky and dense harmonies are written into those horn parts

Was sorta hoping someone who knew more than me might say something like that.

I dunno that there's sufficient popular discussion around Ellington to say things have shifted, but when I was getting into him rather blindly in the 90s, I was surprised to see how old guard critics really saw everything after the 1940s as inferior. It was the album-era stuff that really drew me in. For me his peaks are evenly distributed, and I might even hold the very beginning (1920s sides) and end (Afro-Eurasian Eclipse) as my personal favs.