Jazz Listening List

Jazz, a quintessentially American art form, is about 120 years old, give or take. Fortunately, the development and evolution of jazz coincided with the popularization of recording and the selling of records to the public. This means that many jazz recordings are readily available for public consumption. While this abundance can be overwhelming, it also presents an exciting opportunity for fans to delve into a near-endless supply of music. For those new to jazz, it can be daunting to know where to begin. This list is designed to provide a starting point and some essential historical context, empowering you to embark on your jazz journey.

I have intentionally included many compilations from the Ken Burns documentary series Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns. I suggest viewing the series as soon as possible. However, I should mention that I feel the Burns series has flaws, the main problem being its conservative viewpoint on who makes up the jazz canon (the irony that this list is just another form of the same pretentious gatekeeping is not lost on me). That said, Burn’s documentary and related book are an excellent overview of basic jazz history. I also feel that the CD compilations the producers put together for the series were well-curated, if incomplete. I checked these compilations out on CD when they came out; now they are available on Spotify and YouTube. For many artists, one-disc compilations offer only a few examples from long, varied careers. They will be inherently incomplete. For artists like Miles Davis, who have such a large and diverse recording output, a single compilation may only confuse new listeners. But as a starting point, they will get your ears acclimated to the sounds of jazz. I have also included many multi-disc compilations to check out once you have found some artists you enjoy and want to explore further. Compilations are a convenient way to hear a musician's output. However, many musicians still like to refer to their favorite albums. If you enjoy an artist's work, get to know the specific albums on which their music was previously released. I understand that in this age of streaming playlists, albums have begun to lose their impact on younger generations, but older generations still associate artists with their albums. As your understanding grows, please try to dig deep into the artists, their history, and their recorded output. Wikipedia.com is an excellent source for further information about the music, the musicians, and their history.

I should note that this list will reflect my biases and focus on the records I consider most important for drummers. My interest in jazz is primarily in small-group instrumental music, especially from the 1940s to today. Therefore, this list does not include many examples of vocalists, big band music from beyond the 40s, third-stream music, and other vital areas of jazz. I recognize that this list is not perfect. At least, I hope these suggestions and the very general historical context allow you to begin your exploration of jazz.  

Early Jazz: 1920s

New Orleans was the birthplace of jazz and home to the early jazz pioneers. Prohibition in America led to speakeasies (illegal drinking establishments), where early jazz music was first performed. This period would be termed the “Jazz Age” and ended either with the stock market crash in 1929 or the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Early jazz blended ragtime, blues, spirituals, marches, and vaudeville music. Louis Armstrong dominated this era. Other critical early artists include King Oliver, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Sidney Bechet, and Jelly Roll Morton. Some influential jazz drummers of this time include Zutty Singleton, Warren “Baby” Dodds, and Paul Barbarian.

1) Louie Armstrong: Ken Burns Jazz: Louie Armstrong. For a more detailed look at Armstrong’s New Orleans jazz, check out The Complete Hot 5’s and 7’s.

2) The Engine Room: A History of Jazz Drumming from Storyville to 52nd Street. This is a four-CD box set import. It covers music from the 20s through the 40s and includes a booklet with drummer biographies and history. It is a genuinely incredible package for anyone interested in the history of jazz drumming.

Swing: Big Bands in the Late 1920s-late 1940s

Big band music thrived after jazz became the dominant form of popular music in America in the late 20s. As the great depression kicked in, big band music became America's first youth-oriented musical style. This era became known as the “Swing Era.” Significant musical changes that swing music brought include changing the beat from a 2-feel, popular during the New Orleans jazz era, to a driving 4-feel. Instrumentation changes include adopting the upright bass in place of the tuba, the guitar in place of the banjo, and saxophones in place of clarinets, as well as generally expanding the size of the wind section.

One of the most influential drummers of this era was “Papa” Jo Jones, drummer with Count Basie’s band. Jo Jones helped make playing the hi-hats and ride cymbal the primary drivers of the rhythm. Gene Krupa, the drummer with the Benny Goodman Orchestra, became the first celebrity drummer. Other influential big band drummers from this era include Chick Webb, Dave Tough, and Sonny Greer.

1) The Smithsonian Collection Recordings: Big Band Jazz From the Beginnings to the Fifties.

2) Chick Webb: Spinnin’ the Webb-The Original Decca Recordings.

3) Duke Ellington: Ken Burns Jazz-Duke Ellington. 

4) Count Basie: Ken Burns Jazz-Count Basie. For more, check out The Complete Decca Recordings.

5) Benny Goodman: Ken Burns Jazz-Benny Goodman.

 Bebop: 1940s-mid 1950s

World War II drastically changed the American music scene. Many musicians were enlisted into the military, while metal, rubber, and gasoline rationing made touring nearly impossible for big bands. A recording ban by the Musicians' Union from 1942 to 44 was another disruption to musicians' working lives. By the war's end, many big bands had dissolved, while other band leaders, such as Louis Jordan, began playing early jump blues, a new form of R&B, with smaller groups. Jump blues became America's dominant popular dance style and soon set the stage for rock & roll. Another change was the rise of popular singers. Former big band singers like Frank Sinatra and Doris Day began solo careers, which heralded the rise of singers as celebrity musicians (before this, instrumental musicians such as Benny Goodman and Count Basie were celebrities in the music business). As World War II raged and job prospects dimmed amid declining big band touring, jazz musicians in New York City sought new creative outlets to challenge themselves. This led to the emergence of bebop. Bebop typically comprises small groups (quartets and quintets), dense melodies and harmonies, extreme tempos, and an emphasis on soloing. Saxophonist Charlie Parker, trumpet players Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, pianists Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, and drummers Kenny Clarke, “Big” Sid Catlett, Max Roach, and Stan Levey spearheaded the bebop movement. Kenny Clarke, in particular, was crucial to the evolution of timekeeping that bebop brought to drum set playing. Saxophonists Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, important swing-era musicians, also contributed to the bebop movement.

6) Charlie Parker: Ken Burns Jazz–Charlie Parker. Because Charlie Parker recorded so many tracks for small, independent labels during his career, compilations are the best way to access his music. Drummers Max Roach, Don Lamond, and Roy Porter are featured in this compilation. For a more in-depth look at Parker, I would recommend the box sets Bird: The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve, Charlie Parker on Dial: The Complete Sessions, and The Complete Savoy Sessions.

7) The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall. This live recording features most of the critical Bebop innovators on stage: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Bud Powell, and Max Roach.

8) Thelonious Monk: Thelonious Monk – Ken Burns Jazz.

9) Dizzy Gillespie: Dizzy Gillespie-Ken Burns Jazz. 

10) Bud Powell: Jazz Giant and Time Waits.

Hard Bop: mid-1950s

 As bebop became the cutting-edge jazz style, the music became more tightly arranged and performed. It also began incorporating more blues and gospel influences, and this became known as hard bop. In 1955, Miles Davis formed his First Great Quintet, which is considered one of the finest hard bop groups of the time. Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Group, Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, John Coltrane, J.J. Johnson, Oscar Peterson, Ahmed Jamal, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, and Paul Chambers are all influential hard bop musicians. The critical hard bop drummers include Max Roach, “Philly” Joe Jones, Shelly Manne, Joe Morello, Art Taylor, Jimmy Cobb, Ed Thigpen, Vernel Fournier, and Art Blakey.

1) Miles Davis: Milestones. Miles Davis' First Great Quintet set the standard for hard bop in the 50s. Other critical albums by Davis from this era include Workin’, Cookin', Steamin’, and Relaxin'. Check out the eight-disc compilation Chronicle: The Complete Prestige Recordings 1951-1956 and The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis with John Coltrane for a more complete overview of Davis’s work from this era. 

2) Clifford Brown/Max Roach: Clifford Brown and Max Roach. Max Roach and Clifford Brown had a short-lived but acclaimed group. Although I recommend all the Clifford Brown/Max Roach albums, the two-disc compilation Alone Together: The Best of the Mercury Years will give you an excellent, if incomplete, overview of that group. The 4-disc compilation The Complete Max Roach 1958-1962  is an excellent way to learn about Max’s drumming style and work during the late 1950s.

3) Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus and Sonny Rollins Plus 4.

4) Cannonball Adderley: Somethin’ Else.

5) John Coltrane: Blue Train. To hear more of Coltrane’s work from this era, check out the five-disc compilation Coltrane ’58: The Prestige Recordings or the sixteen-disc compilation The Prestige Recordings (which includes Coltrane’s sideman work for other Prestige artists).

6) Kenny Clarke: Klook’s the Man. If you can find it, this four-disc import compilation showcases Kenny Clarke's musical drumming. 

7) Teddy Wilson Trio with Jo Jones: The Complete Studio Recordings. After leaving Count Basie’s band in the late 40s, “Papa” Jo Jones had a career resurgence as an occasional bandleader and session musician. This compilation shows Jones’s skills as a small-group drummer.

8) Duke Ellington: Ellington Uptown. This recording features Louis Bellson on drums.

The Class of '59

1959 was an incredible year for jazz albums. Some of the most critically acclaimed jazz records were released that year.

1) Miles Davis: Kind of Blue. Considered one of the most important jazz records ever recorded, Kind of Blue is a must-own.

2) Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out. For more, check out The Columbia Studio Albums Collection.

3) Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: Moanin’.

4) John Coltrane: Giant Steps. To get the complete picture of Coltrane’s work from this era, check out the seven-disc compilation The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings.

5) Ornette Coleman: The Shape of Jazz to Come. Early free jazz. This takes some getting used to.

6) Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um.

Hard Bop/Modal Jazz/Post-Bop/Free Jazz/Big Band: the 1960s

The 1960s are considered one of jazz's most fertile and creative decades. The bands of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, and Cannonball Adderley were important small groups of the '60s. Hard bop remained an important style while John Coltrane’s and Miles Davis’s groups began incorporating more adventurous musical concepts, including free playing and modal vamps. A short list of other critical post-bop musicians includes Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Jackie McLean, Horace Silver, Eddie Harris, Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Donald Byrd, Larry Young, Grant Green, Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Stan Getz, Hank Jones, and Booker Ervin.

Drummers Tony Williams (with Miles Davis’s Second Great Quintet), Elvin Jones (with the John Coltrane Quartet), and Paul Motion (with the Bill Evans trio) revolutionized the drummer's role in a jazz band. Buddy Rich and his big band also enjoyed success during the 60s. Other influential small-group drummers of the 60s include Billy Higgins, Joe Chambers, Louis Hayes, Ed Blackwell, Roy Haynes, Alan Dawson, Clifford Jarvis, and Pete LaRoca.

1) Miles Davis: Miles Davis Quintet 1965-’68: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings. This six-disc compilation collects all of Davis’s Second Great Quintet studio work (the albums E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, and Nefertiti), rehearsal takes, and other odds and ends together chronologically. Tony Williams's drumming on these recordings needs to be studied by all drummers. Also, check out the Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965, The Complete Concert- My Funny Valentine + Four and More, and The Miles Davis Quintet Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1 to hear Tony Williams playing live with Miles Davis.

2) John Coltrane Quartet: A Love Supreme and Crescent. John Coltrane's recordings represent some of Elvin Jones's finest playing. I would even recommend the eight-disc The Classic Quartet: The Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings, where you can hear this incredible band's evolution. If you enjoy the studio recordings, check out Coltrane’s live albums on Impulse, including The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings.

3) John Coltrane: Meditations and Interstellar Space. Near the end of his life, Coltrane embraced free jazz as his form of expression. These records are excellent examples of Coltrane’s free jazz work. I feel free jazz has merit, and Coltrane’s is some of the best free jazz out there. That said, I also think you should only approach this music if you understand how his playing evolved to bring him to this mode of expression.

4) Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: Free for All and Indestructible. I also recommend the six-disc The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Art Blakey’s 1960s Jazz Messengers. Blakey had a very long career, and his discography spans the late 40s through the 80s. While the 60s Jazz Messengers are considered the iconic era, you should also check out as many of their albums as possible.

5) Bill Evans: The Complete Riverside Recordings. This twelve-disc compilation features drummers Philly Joe Jones, Paul Motian (the set does include the iconic Waltz for Debby, Sunday at the Village Vanguard, and Explorations recordings), and Larry Bunker.

6) Wayne Shorter: Juju, Night Dreamer, and Speak No Evil.

7)  McCoy Tyner: The Real McCoy.

8)  Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder and Cornbread.

9)  Chick Corea:  Now He Sings, Now He Sobs.

10)  Joe Henderson: In & Out and Inner Urge.

11)  Herbie Hancock: The Best of Herbie Hancock: The Blue Note Years.

12)  Dexter Gordon: Go!

13)  Freddie Hubbard: Hub Cap, Ready for Freddie, and Hub-Tones.

14) Buddy Rich: Swinging New Band, Big Swing Face, and Mercy, Mercy. These records show Buddy Rich and his big band at the height of their powers.

15) Frank Sinatra with the Count Basie Orchestra: Sinatra at the Sands. This record includes many of the definitive versions of Sinatra’s classic hits. This record is a must-know if you are going to work with jazz vocalists.

Bossa Nova-60s

Another important musical stream opened up in the 60s with the popularization of the Brazilian style of Bossa Nova. It was created in the late 50s in Rio de Janeiro by musicians who felt that the dominant music style in Brazil at the time, samba cançaó, had become diluted by too much influence from other cultures. Bossa Nova came to prominence in the U.S. when Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd began incorporating it into their recordings.

1)   João Gilberto: Chega de Saudade.

2)  Antônio Carlos Jobim: The Composer of Desafinado Plays.

3)  Stan Getz and João Gilberto: Getz/Gilberto.

4)  Cannonball Adderley: Cannonball’s Bossa Nova.

Fusion: Late 60s-70s

By the end of the 60s, rock had entirely supplanted jazz as America's dominant popular music style. Jazz musicians then began incorporating elements of rock, R&B, and world music to revitalize jazz's appeal to youth. When Miles Davis began releasing recordings with electric instruments (beginning with Miles in the Sky), he popularized the musical movement known as fusion. Many conservative historians, critics, and fans consider this the end of jazz. Jazz changed drastically by incorporating straight 8th-note grooves and electric instrumentation while abandoning traditional song forms. Fusion still draws heavily on traditional jazz: group improvisation and blues-derived musical vocabulary keep this music grounded in the jazz tradition. In contrast, fusion expanded the sonic palette available to jazz musicians. As the 70s progressed, fusion became more heavily arranged and virtuosic in its execution. Weather Report, Return to Forever, Chick Corea’s solo albums, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Larry Coryell, and Gary Burton are influential fusion artists.

The drummers in Miles Davis's band, including Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Cobham, and Lenny White, are among the most crucial fusion drummers. Other fusion drummers include Alphonse Mouzon, Eric Gravatt, Leon ‘Ndugu’ Chancler, Steve Gadd, and Alex Acuna.

1) Miles Davis: Bitches Brew and In A Silent Way. For those interested, both these albums have been reissued in the box sets The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions and The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions. These two records are credited with mainstreaming fusion music.

2) Miles Davis: Live in Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2. I recommend all the Bootleg Series recordings to hear the unedited versions of Miles Davis’s groups during this era. It was a wild time in Miles Davis’s career. Shortened and edited versions of concerts like these would later become Davis’s records like Miles at Fillmore and Live-Evil. I suggest checking out the raw recordings in Miles at the Fillmore 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3 and The Complete Cellar Door Sessions 1970 to hear this music before the edited versions. However, this music is challenging, not for the faint of heart.

3) Tony Williams Lifetime: Emergency! Many critics and historians point to this record as the first legitimate blending of jazz improvisation with rock music's energy and sonic profile. The compilation Lifetime: The Collection includes much of Lifetime’s mid-70s music.

4) Billy Cobham: Spectrum.

5) Weather Report: Weather Report and Heavy Weather. Weather Report has undergone many personnel and stylistic changes over its tenure. The first record, Weather Report, is an excellent example of collective improvisation combined with 20th-century art-music concepts such as musique concrète. By the time of Heavy Weather, the group had embraced a more composed and arranged aesthetic. The three-disc compilation Forecast: Tomorrow offers a good overview of Weather Report’s evolution as a band.

6) Mahavishnu Orchestra: Inner Mounting Flame and Birds of Fire. The Columbia Original Album Classics box set includes all of Mahavishnu Orchestra's essential albums.

7) Return to Forever: Return to Forever and Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy. Like Weather Report, Return to Forever underwent several personnel and stylistic changes over its lifespan. The first two records, including Return to Forever, feature a strong Brazilian influence. Later records would feature a more composed approach. Return to the Seventh Galaxy: The Anthology is an excellent two-disc overview of Return to Forever’s work.

8) Herbie Hancock: Mwandishi.

ECM: 70s

Founded in the late 1960s, the German record label Edition of Contemporary Music (shortened to ECM) became popular in the 1970s. ECM recordings are known for their mellow moods, genre-blending, and artists who often ignore many traditional ‘rules’ of jazz performance and composition. Influential ECM jazz artists include Keith Jarrett, John Abercrombie, Ralph Towner, Charles Lloyd, and Jan Garbarek. Important drummers associated with ECM include Jack DeJohnette, Peter Erskine, Jon Christensen, and Paul Motion.

1) John Abercrombie: Timeless, Gateway, and Gateway 2.

2) Ralph Towner: Solstice.

3) Keith Jarrett: Belonging.

4) Peter Erskine: Time Being.

Contemporary Jazz: 1980s-Today

Contemporary jazz has a vast well of ideas from which to draw. You can still hear all forms of jazz, including New Orleans dixieland, big band, bebop, hard bop, free jazz, and fusion being performed and recorded today. Contemporary jazz musicians may also draw on world music, classical, film, 20th-century avant-garde, electronic, or any other traditions they feel best suit their musical visions. Some modern players, like Wynton Marsalis, could be considered traditionalists, adhering closely to older, narrower definitions of jazz. This does not mean their music is lacking; it is often brilliant. Other musicians like Keith Jarrett or Wayne Shorter might combine radical ideas like free playing with more traditional styles to create their own distinctive, eclectic jazz. That is neither a condemnation nor confirmation of their music, merely an observation. It will be up to each individual to decide what jazz streams and artists resonate with them.

This list is not in any order and is more representative of my tastes than historical relevance. It is hard to know what records will be considered essential years from now. Consider the following recommendations as just my thoughts on what is worth exploring.

1)  The Bad Plus: It’s Hard and Prog.

2) Keith Jarrett Trio: Whisper Not, My Foolish Heart, The Cure, and Standards in Norway.

3) Brad Mehldau Trio: Ode, Where Do You Start, and Seymour Reads the Constitution. 

4)  Branford Marsalis: The Dark Keys, Braggtown, and Contemporary Jazz.

5)  Wynton Marsalis: Popular Songs: The Best of Wynton Marsalis.

6)  Chick Corea: Friends, Three Quartets, and Remembering Bud Powell.

7)  Chick Corea Akoustic Band: Alive, Live at the Blue Note Tokyo, and Live.

8)  Chick Corea Trio: Trilogy, Trilogy 2, and Trilogy 3.

9)  Wayne Shorter: Without A Net.

10) Vijay Iyer Trio: Break Stuff.

11) Charles Lloyd: Mirror and Hyperion with Higgins.

12) Miguel Zenón: Esta Plena and Sonero.

13) David Sánchez: Obsesión and Carib.

14) John Scofield: En Route, Groove Elation, Past Present, Country for Old Men, and Combo 66.

15) Pat Metheny: Question and Answer and The Unity Sessions.

16) Pat Metheny Trio: Trio Live and Trio 99/00.

17) Gary Burton: For Hamp, Red, Bags, and Cal.

18) Michael Brecker: Tales from the Hudson, Time is of the Essence, and Pilgrimage.

19) Jerry Bergonzi: Lineage and Just Within.

20) Joe Lovano: Live at the Village Vanguard and Trio Fascination.

21) Roy Hargrove: With the Tenors of Our Time and Nothing Serious.

22) Eliane Elias: Dance of Time.

23) Geri Allen Trio: Twenty-One and In the Year of the Dragon.

24) Fred Hersch Trio: Alive at the Vanguard.

25) Eric Reed: The Baddest Monk.

26) Steve Smith, George Brooks & Prasanna: Ragabop Trio.

27) Vital Information: Come On In.

28) Alan Pasqua, Dave Carpenter & Peter Erskine: Badlands and Standards.

29) James Farm: James Farm.

30) Danilo Pérez: Panamonk and Providencia.

31) Chucho Valdés: Live at the Village Vanguard and Bele Bele En La Habana.

32) Michel Camilo: Thru My Eyes, Live at the Blue Note, and Rendezvous.

33) Gonzalo Rubalcaba: Supernova and Paseo.

34) Jeff Hamilton Trio: Live!

35) Bob Mintzer: In the Moment.

36) Bob Mintzer Big Band: Gently.

37) Burton/Corea/Metheny/Holland/ Haynes: Like Minds.

38) Bill Bruford’s Earthworks: The Sound of Surprise and A Part and Yet Apart.

39) John McLaughlin: After the Rain.

40) Tony Williams: The Story of Neptune.

41) Scolohofo: Oh!

42) Mike Stern: Play and Give and Take.

43) Stanton Moore: All Kooked Out and Conversations.

44) Dana Hall: Into the Light.

45) Ignacio Berroa: Codes and Heritage and Passion.

46) Diana Krall: Live in Paris.

47) Kenny Garrett: Songbook, Trilogy, Pushing the World Away, Beyond the Wall, and Seeds from the Underground.

48) Joshua Redman: Trios Live, Elastic, Momentum, Compass, and Still Dreaming.

49) Jim McNeely: Boneyard.

50) Donny McCaslin: Casting For Gravity.

51) Joe Henderson: So Near, So Far.

52) Christian McBride: Gettin’ to It, People Music, and Out Here.

53) Larry Goldings/Peter Berstein/Bill Stewart: Moonbird and Earth Tones.

54) David Kikowski: Consequences.

55) Benny Green: Greens and Testifyin’.

56) Bill Charlap: Live at the Village Vanguard.

57) Uri Caine: Live at the Village Vanguard.

58) Nicholas Payton: From This Moment and Payton’s Place.

59) Trio da Paz: Somewhere.

60) Duduka Da Fonseca: Samba Jazz Fantasia, Plays Dom Salvador, and New Samba Jazz Directions.

61) Matt Wilson: That’s Gonna Leave A Mark.

62) Tommy Flanagan: Let’s Play the Music of Thad Jones and Jazz Poet.

63) Donald Harrison: For Art’s Sake.

64) Tommy Igoe and the Birdland Big Band: Eleven.

65) Django Bates: Summer Fruits (and Unrest).

66) Bobby Sanabria Big Band: Multiverse and Big Band Urban Folktales.

67) Bill Frisell: With Dave Holland and Elvin Jones.

68) Paul Motion: On Broadway, Vol. 1.

69) Herlin Riley: Cream of the Crescent.

70) Luciana Souza: The New Bossa Nova.