Do you like jazz?

In an attempt to enhance my career (ie, boost my salary) way back in the 1990s, I started reading a lot of Visual C++ books. Visual C++ is a coding language used for creating applications and remains a sought after skill. To be sure, that particular skill’s had a dramatic impact on my life’s trajectory. Anyway, while I do enjoy reading such books, the task requires serious focus. Back in the day, upon spending increasing time in a favorite book store perusing various Visual C++ books, I couldn’t help but detect some low key jazz consistently playing in the background. Upon Google search, there’s plenty of hits as it relates to an association of improved reading comprehension while being exposed to certain music genres. Personally, and curiously, that book store’s subtle jazz music supported Google’s findings. Now, many years later, as I scrutinize code, there’s likely to be some saxophone, trumpet, and piano sounds playing, helping me to make sense of it all. The following’s my jazz album favorites list (each tier’s listed alphabetically, otherwise in no particular order). Links below deliver you to Spotify’s album offerings and presently sign up’s free (if you can live with the occasional advertisement). Also, I’ve viewed plenty of sites listing best jazz albums. This link’s an excellent source, offering a summation of 37 such lists. What’s missing from my rankings below? Reach out and let me know!

Top 10:

1. Joey Alexander: Eclipse <- Might declare Alexander my favorite up and coming jazz musician. Except he’s clearly arrived. Believe he’s been publishing music since ~2015.

2. The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out <- Elegant, classy jazz.

3. John Coltrane: Blue Train <- A pleasure. Often leave it playing for days.

4. Miles Davis: In A Silent Way <- Zenful jazz. Haven’t come across else anything quite like it.

5. Miles Davis: Kind of Blue <- There’s a reason it’s largely declared the greatest jazz album. Like, ever.

6. Christian McBride & Edgar Meyer: But Who’s Gonna Play The Melody <- It’s a lotta bass. Some piano. But mainly just acoustic bass, making this very unique. Rarely do I buy “new” music (moreso typically used offerings). But, bought this new and as I’ve now been listening to it daily for 2 weeks straight, have no misgivings. It’s outstanding. Track “Solar” is a favorite.

7. The Vince Guaraldi Trio: Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus <- Ever wonder if Guaraldi did anything great unrelated to Charlie Brown’s Christmas theatre production? (Yes, he did.)

8. Hank Mobley: Soul Station <- Mobley’s Wikipedia page states, “one of the most underrated musicians of the bop era…”. He’s smooth, a positive joy.

9. The Thelonious Monk Quartet: Monk’s Dream <- One of the first jazz album’s in my collection. For me, not every Monk album is as consistently good. This remains a favorite.

10. Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus <- Justifiably, Mr. Rollins regularly appears at the top of most saxophonist rankings.

Tier 2:

1. Joey Alexander: Continuance <- Track “I Can’t Make You Love Me” takes me right back to Bonnie Raitt’s version. It’s good. Everything Joey does is good.

2. Joey Alexander: Countdown <- Noticing I’m referring to more and more albums as just outside my top 10. Perhaps at some point 10 moves to 25.

3. Joey Alexander: My Favorite Things <- I’ll let you know when Alexander puts out something sub par. This isn’t it. At all.

4. Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers: Moanin’ <- Again, just shy of my top 10.

5. Michael Brecker: Tales from the Hudson <- Refreshing change. Different sounding from so many of the greats, more contemporary.

6. Clifford Brown and Max Roach <- Very solid jazz offering that I often leave spinning for days at a time. Soothing.

7. The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Further Out <- Lacks the magic of it’s predecessor “Time Out”. Still, a worthwhile listen.

8. Cannonball Adderley: Somethin’ Else <- Most of it’s quite good. But has at least one very bluesy sounding track (prefer non-bluesy sounding jazz). Miles Davis & Art Blakey take top billing. 🤩

9. Bill Charlap: Stardust <- It’s good. Tony Bennett making a surprise offering. That said, I prefer his “Live At The Village Vanguard” album.

10.Bill Charlap Trio: And Then Again <- Easy listening jazz dominates w/ the occasional juiced bop medley to make things lively.

11.Bill Charlap Trio: Live At The Village Vanguard <- The album’s jacket portrays a description of each song that reads like poetry, rendering laughable my summary attempts on this page. The piano dominates with welcome interjections of drum and bass. It’s really, very good jazz. Track 3 Godchild’s a pleasure.

12. Charlie Christian: The Genius Of The Electric Guitar <- Evokes an association with “the good old days” of past generations.

13. Ornette Coleman: Change of the Century <- Prefer this to his “The Shape Of Jazz To Come”.

14. John Coltrane: Giant Steps <- Steady saxophone goodness. A solid Coltrane contribution.

15. John Coltrane: My Favorite Things <- Track 1 alone, Coltrane’s rendition of “My Favorite Things” made this a worthy purchase.

16. Chick Corea: Now He Sings, Now He Sobs <- Nothing terribly distinctive about it. Good, even jazz. Piano centric.

17. The Best Of Miles Davis & Gil Evans <- Still great but prefer their “Sketches of Spain” pairing (see above).

18. Miles Davis: Bitches Brew <- For me, similarities in sound to his “In a Silent Way”, which is in my top 10. Here, he’s moreso “In A Strange Way”, occasionally more peculiar sounding.

19. Miles Davis: Highlights From The Plugged Nickel <- Performed by a group that included (but was not limited to): Monk, Davis, Hancock.

20. Miles Davis: Milestones <- Reliable Miles doing his thing.

21. Miles Davis: Seven Steps To Heaven <- I’ve a ~dozen Miles Davis albums. This one ranks in the top half of them.

22. Miles Davis: Sketches of Spain <- Of course, Spanish sounds resonate here. It’s unique (and GOOD)!

23. The Miles Davis Quintet: ‘Round About Midnight <- Happened by an old music store. Wasn’t seeking anything specific, so just went with something from Miles (good move).

24. Bill Evans: The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 <- Magnificent piano playing jazz (3 disks worth). Like you’d anticipate hearing upon walking into a fancy hotel’s lobby. It’s lovely.

25. Bill Evans: Everybody Digs Bill Evans <- Not at the same level as the “Village Vanguard Recordings” and can at times come across as not terribly lively. Still, a worthwhile Bill Evans production.

26. Kenny Garrett: Happy People <- Song #8 has me reminiscing about the 2009 Disney film Princess & the Frog.

27. Dexter Gordon: Go! <- Gordan blasts away on the saxophone. Not a bad track on the album.

28. Grant Green: Idle Moments <- Extraordinarily chill, low key vibes. Green’s offering reinforces my contention that, in general, there just isn’t enough guitar in the jazz world.

29. Joe Henderson: Inner Urge <- Successful mix of instruments (sax, piano, bass, drums).

30. Ahmad Jamal: But Not For Me <- A very classy album. Miles Davis once said, ‘all my inspiration comes from Ahmad Jamal.’ Is it possible to receive a better compliment in jazz land?

31. Keith Jarrett: The Koln Concert <- While it doesn’t come across (to me) as particularly “jazzy”, the piano playing is outstanding.

32. Diana Krall: Line In Paris <- Has me doubting my long-held general dislike for jazz with vocals. Her remake of Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are” (track 12) had me reminiscing.

33. Christian McBride: Family Affair <- Equal parts easy listening & hard bop jazz. Includes vocals which consistently strike me as peculiar in jazz music. Love the cello inclusion.

34. Christian McBride: Fingerpainting <- McBride’s cello playing to Herbie Hancock’s classic song list. Groovy.

35. Christian McBride: Gettin’ To It <- As of this writing, McBride’s a nine-time grammy-winning bassist. His is such a good, unique jazz sound. Cannot get enough of it. Track “In A Hurry” gives my day a boost.

36. Wynton Marsalis: Black Codes (From The Underground) <- Serves as a reminder to sometimes seek out the unknown. Refreshing. Different. Solid.

37. Pat Metheny: Bright Size Life <- Jazz fusion: “…in its original form was a fusion of Jazz, Funk, Soul, and Rock music. It’s very rhythm and groove driven and utilizes many electric instruments.”. Pretty much sums this up.

38. Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um <- Commonly appears on “must-have” jazz album. For me, a solid Tier 2 listen. Can be overly bluesy (& I prefer more lively).

39. Hank Mobley: The Turnaround <- Lively. Start your day off right with fun Track 1, “The Turnaround”.

40. Hank Mobley: Workout <- Mobley’s one of my favorite jazz artists. That said, “Workout” comes in a peg below “The Turnaround”, and most certainly below “Soul Station”.

41. Wes Montgomery: Smokin’ At The Half Note <- Few things are as chill as Montgomery strumming away on his guitar. Still, I put his “The Incredible Jazz Guitar” as slightly better.

42. Wes Montgomery: The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery <- Montgomery receives much deserved praise due to his talents as a guitarist (not a jazz commonality).

43. Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder <- Hard bop at it’s finest.

44. Oliver Nelson: The Blues And The Abstract Truth <- Includes Bill Evans and Eric Dolphy (re: “Out To Lunch”). Here, they’re better together.

45. Charlie Parker with Strings: The Master Takes <- Composed between 1947 – 1952, emitting sounds equal parts jazz and classical.

46. Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section <- Upbeat. A mood booster.

47. The Oscar Peterson Trio: Night Train <- Track: “Now Is The Time” does have a locomotive vibe to it.

48. The Oscar Peterson Trio: Stratford Shakespearean Festival <- The vocals on track “How High The Moon?” are just silly. However, altogether, good old school classic jazz from back in the day doesn’t get any more authentic.

49. Joshua Redman: Joshua Redman <- Redman’s take on Dizzy Gillespie’s “Salt Peanuts” is fun. “I Feel Good”, too. The album can at times be loud, brash, as well as bluesy.

50. Eric Reed: Pure Imagination <- Steady, even, classical sounding, piano-based jazz. It’s good. That said, nothing particularly stands out about it.

51. Sonny Rollins: A Night At The Village Vanguard <- Initially, this Rollins’ offering did little for me. I’ve had a change of heart.

52. Sonny Rollins: The Bridge <- Has an interesting story behind it.

53. Sonny Rollins: Way Out West <- Got a hitch in your giddy-up? Here, Rollins helps with that.

54. Horace Silver: Song For My Father <- Track 1, “Song For My Father”, instantly recognizable.

55. McCoy Tyner: The Real McCoy <- For me, another album whose stock has risen over time.

56. Weather Report: Heavy Weather <- Solid. Different, which is nearly always a good thing (enough already of jazz artists doing their renditions of historical jazz artist’s ballads). Definitely ’70s sounding.

Tier 3:

1. Joey Alexander: Joey. Monk. Live! <- For me, this resembles just as much classical music as it does jazz. I’ve at least a handful of his albums, this one doesn’t shine as bright as the others.

2. Count Basie/The Complete Atomic Basie <- Possibly the hardest hard bop jazz I’ve come across. Apparently that’s not my favorite thing.

3. Michael Brecker: Now You See it…(Now You Don’t) <- For me, very 80’s sounding vibes. Harkens back to the distinct jingles you’d hear from that era’s drama or crime TV shows. Still, his “Tales from the Hudson” is a better product.

4. Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers: A Night in Tunisia <- Too many loud, brash, overwhelming sounds that I just can’t get into.

5. Ornette Coleman: The Shape Of Jazz To Come <- Uneven noise. Don’t quite get the hype. Meh.

6. Erroll Garner: Concert By The Sea <- Classic rhythms from long ago. Rapid fire, piano-based jazz.

7. Miles Davis: Birth Of The Cool <- The vocals in track “Darn that Dream” are too comical (not to be inferred kindly) for this album to be ranked any higher.

8. Miles Davis: Nefertiti <- Miles’ trumpet playing had me wanting to rank this higher. However, his work can occasionally be just too gloomy.

9. Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage <- Consistently ranked as a top jazz offering but doesn’t particularly move me. Pleasurable noise yet plain.

10. Christian McBride: Number Two Express <- It’s more chill than his other albums in my collection. Occasionally, Miles-Davis-groovy sounding. But it can be brash, too noisy. Resultingly placing in Tier 3.

11. Wayne Shorter: Speak No Evil <- A worthwhile addition to any jazz collection. That said, nothing about it really stands out.

Not For Me:

1. Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers With Thelonious Monk <-Portions of it are just too bluesy for my liking.

2. John Coltrane: A Love Supreme <- Coltrane’s capable of great things (“Blue Train” album’s outstanding). This offering falls far short, and yes, full acknowledgment that my view here isn’t commonly shared.

3. The Best Of The Miles Davis Quintet (1965 – 1968) <- Not terribly lively, too dreary, no thank you.

4. Eric Dolphy: Out To Lunch <- Inconsistent, broken rhythms. Recommended by so many. Frankly, find that odd.

5. Thelonious Monk: Brilliant Corners <- My opinion of Monk is far ranging.

6. Thelonious Monk: Genius Of Modern Music, Volume One <- A far cry from “Monk’s Dream”.

7. Bud Powell: A Portrait of Thelonious <- Yes, it resembles Monk’s style, but high hopes for this album dashed! Did I mention I’m not a fan of jazz with vocals? Apparently, “…that’s his signature.“. In this particular case, Powell comes across throughout as only slightly audible (and is resultingly annoying).

Lastly:

During the holiday season, Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas is a must! 🎄

Other noteworthy holiday jazz albums: “A Dave Brubeck Christmas“, “Ella Fitzgerald’s Wishes You a Swinging Christmas” and “An Oscar Peterson Christmas“.