A friend of my daughter's asked if I could compile a list of
"deep jazz" records...I interpreted that broadly and just compiled a
partial list of some of my favorite jazz recordings, part recommendations, part
personal faves, all great. For most of the major artists, it's practically
impossible for me to choose "favorites," so take this as a sonic
snapshot for 2013. I give you....
Sam Byrd's list of DEEP JAZZ
(mostly albums, with some deep tracks as well) 2013
--not listed in any particular order
--far from "complete"--think of these listings as
starting points
--no unofficial live recordings (otherwise I really would be
here all day)
SUN RA
One of
the most frequently-asked Ra-related questions on jazz boards and listservs
seems to be "where do I start?"
A tough one. It's really, really hard to recommend even just a few of
Sun Ra's records, because his career spans so many eras and styles. Without
knowing what kind of stuff people are familiar with, or even like, or how much
jazz they're already familiar with, or how experimental they can get, or how
much tolerance they have for "noise," it's tricky to know which
entrance to take. Well, this ain't that perfect list. It's just a list of possibilities and
favorites, listed roughly chronologically:
big band/hard bop era: (Chicago, late '50s/early '60s):
Jazz in
Silhouette
Nubians
of Plutonia
Angels
and Demons at Play
We
Travel the Spaceways
Interstellar
Low Ways
starting to get more out, but pre-synth (NYC, early '60s):
Art
Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow
Other
Planes of There
diving in deep, still pre-synth (NYC, early- to mid-'60s):
Cosmic
Tones for Mental Therapy
When
Angels Speak of Love
Heliocentric
Worlds of Sun Ra Vol. 2
The
Magic City
Strange
Strings
live, big band/exotica/out, still pre-synth (1966-68):
Nothing
Is (with one of greatest Gilmore solos of all time, on "Dancing
Shadows")
Pictures
of Infinity
1/2 BBQ organ jazz, 1/2 moog freakout (1969/70):
My
Brother the Wind Vol. II
2 moogs, beautiful melodies (1969/70):
My
Brother the Wind
The
Night of the Purple Moon
live extravaganza, everything AND the kitchen sink:
Nuits
de la Fondation Maeght Vol. I and II (1970)
Black
Myth/Out in Space (1971)
Horizon
(1971)
Nidhamu
(1971)
studio perfection, out/abstract/compelling:
Astro
Black (1972)
Space
is the Place (Blue Thumb) (1972)
Pathways
to Unknown Worlds (1973)
Friendly
Love (1973?)
studio perfection, out/abstract/compelling + BBQ organ jazz
(1972):
The
Great Lost Sun Ra Albums (Cymbals/Crystal Spears)
smaller ensembles, heavy Gilmore:
Universe
in Blue (1971)
Some
Blues But Not the Kind That's Blue (1977)
live, moog heaven (1973):
Concert
for the Comet Kohoutek
ultimate live (big band, synth, Gilmore):
Live at
Montreux (1976)
quartet, lot of piano/Gilmore (1978):
New Steps
Other
Voices, Other Blues
Disco
3000
Media
Dream
slicker funk/space jazz (Philadelphia, late '70s):
Lanquidity
On
Jupiter
Strange
Celestial Road
solo piano:
Monorails
and Satellites (1966)
Monorails
and Satellites Vol. 2 (1966)
Piano
Recital, Teatro La Fenice, Venezia (1977)
------------------------
Any one
of these albums could be great starting places. Of course, once you get
started, if you're intrigued, you should listen to all of them!!! And after
these, there's so, so much more.
MILES DAVIS
It's almost easier to list what not to include; these are some of my favorites (subject to change):
Birth of the Cool
Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet
Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet
Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet
Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet
Miles Ahead
In Person: Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk,
Complete
Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965
Complete Columbia Studio
Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet 1965 to 1968
Miles Davis: Live in Europe 1967
(The Bootleg Series Vol. 1)
Filles de Kilimanjaro
Bitches Brew
Miles Davis Quintet: Live in
Europe 1969 (The Bootleg series, Vol. 2)
Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About that
Time
Get Up with It
Pangaea
Agharta
plus a few "deep cuts" that no self-respecting
jazz fan should be unfamiliar with:
Smooch (also see Mingus, Vassarlean/Pipe Dream/Weird
Nightmare)
It Never Entered My Mind
Springsville
Four (live, from "Four & More")
Dolores
Prince of Darkness
Paraphernalia
Agitation (Europe 1967)
Filles de Kilimanjaro
Pharaoh's Dance
What I Say
He Loved Him Madly
Calypso Frelimo
Prelude, Pt. 1 (from "Agharta")
JOHN COLTRANE
Miles Davis & John Coltrane: Live in Stockholm 1960
Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall
Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings
A Love Supreme
First Meditations
Live at the Half Note: One Down, One Up
Transition
Live in Seattle
Live in Japan
Expression
Stellar Regions
Coltrane: other deep tracks
(in rough chronological order):
Giant Steps
Countdown
Naima
Central Park West
Ole
Aisha
Dear Lord
Sun Ship
BILLIE HOLIDAY
Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933–1944
CHARLES MINGUS
Tijuana Moods
East Coasting
Mingus Dynasty
Mingus Ah Um
Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus
Let My Children Hear Music
Changes one/Two
Cumbia Jazz Fusion
Mingus: other deep
tracks (in rough chronological order):
Pink Topsy
Miss Bliss
Extrasensory Perception
Purple Heart
Eulogy for Rudy Williams
Jump Monk
Pithecanthropus Erectus
Reincarnation of a Lovebird
Passions of a Woman Loved
Nouroog
Slippers
Vassarlean (aka Smooch, Weird Nightmare, Pipe Dream) prefer
1960 candid version
E's Flat, Ah's Flat Too
My Search
Portrait
Please Don't Come Back from the Moon
*anything from the 1964 European tour with Eric Dolphy, but
especially:
Meditations (...on Integration, ...on a Pair of Wire
Cutters, etc.)
CECIL TAYLOR (this list is probably too
short)
Nefertiti the Beautiful One Has Come
Into the Hot (released under Gil Evans' name; tracks also on
Mixed)
Unit Structures
Conquistador
The Great Concert of Cecil Taylor (w/Sam Rivers)
Cecil Taylor Unit
3 Phasis
Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants)
In Berlin '88 (box)
ANTHONY BRAXTON (this list is definitely
too short)
3 Compositions of New Jazz
New York Fall 1974
Creative Orchestra Music 1976
For Trio (Comp. 76)
Seven Compositions 1978
Eugene
Willisau (Quartet) 1991 [or anything by the
Crispell/Hemingway/Dresser quartet, really]
9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006
ANDREW HILL
Point of Departure (with Eric Dolphy)
Andrew! (with John Gilmore)
Involution (with Sam Rivers)
ERIC DOLPHY
Out to Lunch
anything from Mingus '64 European tour
deep tracks:
G.W.
Out There
Jitterbug Waltz
Music Matador
CIRCLE
Circle 1: Live in Germany Concert
Circle 2: Gathering
Paris Concert
JELLY ROLL MORTON
*prefer the JSP 5-CD set 1926-1930 Victor recordings,
mastered by John R.T. Davies
FLETCHER HENDERSON
A Study in Frustration: The Fletcher Henderson Story
LOUIS ARMSTRONG
Hot Fives and Sevens (JSP) *prefer this 4-CD John R.T. Davies
remastering
deep tracks:
Star Dust (both versions)
Rockin' Chair
I've Got the World on a String
DUKE ELLINGTON
Must-have box sets:
Centennial Edition: Complete RCA Victor Recordings:
1927-1973
The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia, and Master
Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra
Duke Ellington: 1936-40 Small Group Sessions
At the very least, for
early (1920s-1932) stuff, explore:
The Okeh Ellington
Early Ellington: The Original Decca Recordings: The Complete
Brunswick and Vocalion Recordings of Duke Ellington, 1926-1931
Early Ellington (1927-1934)
Jubilee Stomp (1920s RCA Victor)
Ellington: For '30s,
besides the Mosaic set, check out:
Swing 1930 to 1938 (Robert Parker's Jazz Classics in Stereo)
Back Room Romp ('30s small band stuff)
Individual CDs:
Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band
The Duke at Fargo 1940: Special 60th Anniversary Edition
Great Ellington Units (Blanton/Webster small band stuff,
1940-42)
Such Sweet Thunder
The Great Paris Concert
Far East Suite
And His Mother Called Him Bill
Deep tracks (really,
way too many to mention here):
Reminiscing in Tempo
The Clothed Woman
Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue (Newport '58)
CHARLIE PARKER
The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes
Dizzy Gillespie/Charlie Parker: Town Hall, New York City, June
22, 1945
Complete Live Performances on Savoy
Jazz at Massey Hall
ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO
The Art Ensemble: 1967/68
Live at Mandel Hall
Fanfare for the Warriors
Full Force
The Alternate Express
Deep tracks:
The Ninth Room
Tutankhamun
A Brain for the Seine
Dreaming of the Masters
Walking in the Moonlight
We Bop
RMR
ROSCOE MITCHELL
Sound
Nonaah
Snurdy McGurdy and Her Dancin' Shoes
3 x 4 Eye
Nine to Get Ready
Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3
HENRY THREADGILL
Subject to Change
You Know the Number
Easily Slip into Another World
MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS
Lifea Blinec
COLEMAN HAWKINS
Classic Coleman Hawkins Sessions 1922-1947 (includes lots of
Fletcher!)
Deep tracks:
Body and Soul
Picasso
WAYNE SHORTER
Of course, anything with Miles, plus...
Anything on Blue Note,
but especially:
Night Dreamer
JuJu
Speak No Evil
DAVID MURRAY OCTET
Ming
Home
ORNETTE COLEMAN
The Complete Science Fiction Sessions
Dancing in Your Head
Body Meta
Of Human Feelings
OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ALBUMS:
BILLY HART Enchance
DAVE HOLLAND Conference of the Birds
PETE CHRISTLIEB/WARNE MARSH QUINTET Apogee
BENNIE MAUPIN Jewel in the Lotus
CHRIS McGREGOR'S BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH Live at Willisau
GEORGE LEWIS Shadowgraph 5 (Sextet)
JACKIE McLEAN Old and New Gospel (with Ornette on trumpet)
LAST EXIT Last Exit
BOOKER LITTLE Out Front
DAVID TORN Prezens
WEATHER REPORT Tale Spinnin'
EVAN PARKER/DEREK BAILEY/HAN BENNINK: The Topography of the
Lungs
SPONTANEOUS MUSIC ENSEMBLE Karyobin
ALAN SILVA & THE CELESTIAL COMMUNICATION ORCHESTRA (BYG)
DON PULLEN w/SAM RIVERS Capricorn Rising
PETER BROTZMANN The Complete Machine Gun Sessions
GLOBE UNITY ORCHESTRA Globe Unity 67 & 70
EVAN PARKER/TRANSATLANTIC ART ENSEMBLE Boustrophedon
ALBERT AYLER Live in Greenwich Village
SONNY ROLLINS A Night at the Village Vanguard
TOM RAINEY TRIO Camino Cielo Echo
INGRID LAUBROCK SLEEPTHIEF The Madness of Crowds
TAYLOR HO BYNUM SEXTET & 7-TETTE: Navigation (The
Complete Firehouse 12 Recordings)
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