Rebuilding my jazz collection

[Steven Clarkson]

My copy of Kind of Blue got stuck in my last cd player - great reason to buy the legacy addition - the live version of "so what" is pretty darn cool.

Last cd I bought was the verve's addition of Django R. - I know it's not the definitive collection - it's just nice to hear his magic once again.

Steven

[Geordie]

You can't go wrong with getting more Coltrane, as well.

[JEStanek]

Coltrane's A Love Supreme remains a desert island cd for me. Add Birth of Cool and Dave Brubeck's Time Out.

Jamie

[Pete Martin]

Add "The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery"

[mandocrucian]

What do you mean by "rebuilding"? And, what was the size of your (former) jazz record collection?

If you had 300+ jazz LPs, then you probably don't really need any recommendations; you already know what players you like and which albums, in particular, that you want to replace.

And, how much money do you have to spare on your library?
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But, for those that are in the process of building (or expanding) a basic jazz library, here are a few of my thoughts on the subject:

Which albums get picked by the knowledgeable as "essential"? I'll defer to the experts for guidance. (I used the appedixed list in Jerry Coker's Patterns For Jazz book.)

100 Essential Jazz Albums (New Yorker Magazine)

Jamey Aebersold list of 100 essential jazz albums

I also would tend to go with compilations; usually you'll get a selection of better tracks, as well as a much longer running time (60-70+ mins.) for your dollar. (And then, look for a used copy in good condition).

Back when I got a lot of the jazz LPs (still) on my shelves, labels such as Prestige, Impulse and others were repackaging old material in 2-fers. Coincidentally, one of the bigger/best record stores in the area had a lot of these in their mark-down bins. So I'd pick up 2-fer compilations, at half-price or less, of one jazzer (usually sax or horn players) one after another, building up famialiarity which the various players. Coltrane (a lot), Rollins (a lot), Johnny Hodges, Art Pepper, Monk, Dolphy, Wes, Fats Waller, Goodman, Ornette Coleman, Red Garland. Ellington, Donald Byrd, Parker, Miles, (post-Django) Grappelli, Cifford Brown, Getz, Dizzy, Brubeck, Lester Young, Oliver Nelson. etc. etc. And also individual LPs in the cut-out bins, since I had a better idea of who to look for.

Probably your best CD bargains are the repackaged compilations. There was a whole series of these (individual artists) CDs as a tie-in to the whole "Ken Burns' Jazz" thing. You can find many of these used for $.75 - $2.00 at half.com. And then the Verve "Jazz Masters" and "Essential" series, many of which you can find (used) for $1.00 - $3.00.

And, other labels probably have their own best-of introductory repackagings. Chances are the shipping will cost more than the discs themselves!

Niles Hokkanen

[Gary S]

Hot 5 Hot 7 recordings for sure. I would also include Coleman Hawkins' "Body and Soul".

[JEStanek]

To Niles' point about compilations The Smithsonian Label has some great ones. When I had a Jazz show on WUVT at Virginia Tech (mostly to learn more about jazz) I took advantage of the Blue Note Label compilation albums. Lots of good stuff there too.

Jamie

[Perry]

The latest Miles release with THE quintet is just killing:

http://www.amazon.com/LIVE-Europe-19.../dp/B005ARYEY6

[Jason Kessler]

Oscar peterson's "Tristeza" anyone?

[John Morton]

As usual, the consensus is that jazz began after WW2. Except Gary S

Just saying ....

[Joel Glassman]

I like to make compilations of tunes from Amazon.com.
Say I want to work on Honeysuckle Rose. Run a search
on Amazon's mp3 section and buy 15 versions
then burn them to disc. The cost is similar to commercial
CDs but I get to program them (and listen to samples first
before downloading)