i've been listening to 2 dave holland albums lately, conference of the birds and prime directive, and they're both excellent. i've also been listening to derek bailey, mostly the mirakle album. and i never stop listening to

eric dolphy - out to lunch and last date,
captain beefheart - trout mask replica and safe as milk
frank zappa - we're only in it for the money, hot rats
coltrane - transition, live at birdland
albert ayler - spirits rejoice

and all the charles ives i can get my hands on

I have a long way to go in building a quality jazz library as I only have around 50 albums right now.. My favorites among these are:

1. "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis -- (this album gets as much press as just about any other jazz recording, but I find it to be stunning... And what a lineup; Miles, Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly and Bill Evans)...

2. "My Favorite Things" by John Coltrane -- (I love what Coltrane does with the title song,, takes it to levels my mind would never have conceived)...


3. "Live at The Village Vanguard" by Coltrane and Eric Dolphy


4."Brilliant Corners' by Thelonious Monk


5. "Time Out" by Dave Brubeck --(I guess some purists aren't on board with this album, but I think it is just amazing)... On a side note, I gained respect for Bill Clinton's music knowledge when he "sung" the sax parts to "Blue Rondo a la Turk" in a C-Span interview once... Also, Brubeck adds in a lot of what would now be called World Music to the songs and the time signatures were revoluntionary for its time.. Jazz has covered so much ground that rock music has stolen from,, and that is cool,, I like a lot of jazz innovations as portrayed in rock music...


6. "Late Night Brubeck" by Dave Brubeck -- (a live recording that is pretty mellow.. What amazes me is how Brubeck still churns it out as a 70+ year old dude at the time of this recording.. He is now over 80 and I still think he does some live gigs here and there)...


7. "Jazz at Massey Hall" by Charlie Parker and Dizzie Gillispie



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Phil Ranelin's "Vibes from the Tribe" is marvelous

brubeck rocks...

Jaaazzzzz, baby - the only original American artform.
Some of my favorites:

Louis Armstrong - The Hot 5's & 7's Complete
Duke Ellington - Ellington At Newport '56, The Okeh Ellington.
Dizzy Gillespie - Birk's Works, At Newport.
Count Basie - Live At The Sands, First Time: The Count Meets The Duke
Django Reinhardt - At His Best: Sweet & Lowdown
Art Tatum - Piano Starts Here, 20th Century Piano Genius.

Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue, Bitches Brew, Birth Of The Cool.
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme, Giant Steps, My Favorite Things.
Lester Young - Kansas City Sessions
Charlie Parker - Yardbird Suite, At Massey Hall.
Charles Mingus - Black Saint & The Sinner Lady, Mingus Ah Um.
Chet Baker - Chet, The Italian Sessions.
Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out.
Thelonious Monk - Thelonious In Action at The Five Spot Cafe, Straight No Chaser.
Billie Holliday - Lady In Satin, Love Songs.
Ella Fitzgerald - Pure Ella, Ella In Rome.
Sarah Vaughan - Swingin' Easy
Pat Suzuki - Very Best Of...

Weather Report - Heavy Weather
Chick Corea - Return To Forever
Chuck Mangione - Children Of Sanchez, Land Of Make Believe.
Greyboy Allstars - Town Called Earth, Live.
Rachelle Ferrell - First Instrument
Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hot!
Jazz On The Line - No Boundries

N'kay that's enough... I dug through 'the LP trunk' for this list.

The last one deserves a side note: Jazz On The Line was a college formed band (UC Santa Cruz) that came out with this release in 1991. The CD features a cross section of jazz styles with hints of pre-acid Jazz, blues, funk and gospel. A friend of mine who was attending UCSC at the time turned me onto them, and with their sharp musicianship and excellent songwriting the CD blew my mind. No Boundaries was a self-release by the band that soon became unavailable. Well, by some miracle, its available again through Edgetone Records, but who knows for how long. Look here (at the bottom of the page) to take a chance on this fiery acoustic sextet with gorgeous female vocals by Anna Gurski.