Top and best jazz of the 50's

What albums you recommend; and which jazz albums of the 50’s you listen and listen, over and over again?

These top favorites on your list.

I start with Miles Davis kind of Blue and something else by Cannonball Adderley.

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I’m not going to hunt down the release date of each of these, because they’re either gonna be late 50s or early 60s…

Dexter Gordon: Go, Dexter Calling
Blue Mitchell: Blue Soul, The Thing to Do
Bill Evans: Explorations, Sunday at the Village Vanguard
Kenny Burrell: The Cats, Midnight Blue
Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane (that’s the title)
Hank Mobley: Workout, Soul Station
Sonny Clark: Cool Struttin
Herbie Hancock: Takin off
Art Pepper: Meets the Rhythm Section
Chet Baker/Art Pepper: Picture of Heath
Chet Baker: Chet is Back
Stanley Turrentine: Complete Blue Hour Sessions, Look Out!
Grant Green: First Stand, Matador, Solid
Miles Davis: Workin’
Dave Brubeck: Take Five
Cannonball Adderly Quintet in Chicago
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane
Art Blakey: Moanin, At the Jazz Corner of the World.

uhhh that’s a good start anyway :flushed:

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Those of us 50 and under started with Miles, Coltrane, and also, Chick Corea and Al Di Meola. Now, I’m much better versed in Jazz thanks due to the “What Are You Spinning” Forums. I’m glad that it’s not categorized into different musical Genre’s. This is way, we all can see what people are “into” at that moment.

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My 50s jazz albums would have to include all of Thelonious Monk’s Riverside albums. You can get them individually, start with the Ellington album. Or you can buy every note Monk recorded for Riverside in one CD collection.
That’t not to say that his Columbia albums of the 60s aren’t good, they are. Charlie Rouse was his longest running and most sympathetic partner.

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You should check Phineas Newborn Jr. amazing skills. Just like Art Tatum.

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amazing stuff !!

i still am on the way of organizing my music but for now i start with these:

Miles Davis - Blue Haze 1954
Miles Davis - Bags’ Groove 1954
Miles Davis - Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants 1954
Miles Davis - Dig 1956
Miles Davis - Miles Davis And Horns 1956
Miles Davis - ASCENSEUR 1957
Miles.Davis-1955.All-Star.Sextet-Quintet.with.Milt.Jackson.
Miles.Davis-1955.The.Musings.of.Miles.
Miles.Davis-1955.The.New.Miles.Davis.Quintet.
Miles.Davis-1956.Cookin’.with.the.Miles.Davis.Quintet.
Miles.Davis-1956.Relaxin’.with.the.Miles.Davis.Quintet.
Miles.Davis-1956.Steamin’.with.the.Miles.Davis.Quintet.
Legrand Jazz 1958
Kind of Blue 1959
PORGY AND BESS 1959
MOANIN 1959
Bill Evans - Portrait in Jazz 1959
Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um 1959
Thad Jones - The Magnificent Thad Jones 1956
The Dave Brubeck Quartet (1952) Brubeck-Desmond , Time Out 1959
Ray Charles some tracks from the 50’s and many tracks from blue note by Hank Mobley, Sidney Bechet blue, Stanley Turrentine, Thad Jones, Horace Parlan, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey and Jay Jay Johnson

ps. amazing how that 1959 year came with so many great favorites

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The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Herbie Nichols on Mosaic Records, Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers on Blue Note Records, The Complete EmArcy Recordings of Clifford Brown

Just to be specific to the OP and list those I play over and over. . . .

Duke Ellington “Ellington Indigos”
Count Basie “Breakfast Dance and Barbecue”
John Coltrane “Crescent”
Miles Davis “Sorceror”
Thelonious Monk “Genius of Modern Music Vol. 2”
Billie Holiday “Songs for Distingue Lovers”
“Carmen McRae Sings the Great American Songbook”
Charles Mingus “East Coasting”
Wayne Shorter “Night Dreamer”

and many more actually. I do repeat some albums a lot. … even though I have thousands to choose from.

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Hey Lon
I love Crescent. Is there a best-of recording on cd? Japanese?

There is a new UHQCD/MQA cd released last month in Japan that most who have heard it say is the best–it’s a new DSD mastering. I haven’t heard it yet, I ordered mine with other releases coming out in a few weeks so have to wait.

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Thank you, Sir!

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As lonson wrote…too many…so I left out Kind of Blue, a ton of Bill Evans and Monk…then here what I could identify as real favorites quickly. I guess it’s all 50s, didn’t verify. You might be surprised to not find too many of the most most well known or typical blowing sessions :wink:


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Both recorded 1959

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1957

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1959


1950

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1959

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1959

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The above is a Delmark reissue originally issued on Transiton in 1957 as:

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The above is the El Saturn records 1959 release, whereas below is the mor common ABC Impulse reissue:

Then there is the Saturn record reissue: