Musical Gifts for 2023 & Beyond
Happy New Year! To begin the year swingin’, I offer you a gift: a listing of my 25 favorite jazz albums with hyperlinks for the clicking and listening.
Believe me, it was tough winnowing the list to just 25, and it hurt my heart to leave out certain artists and recordings. For each of these artist-leaders and bands, I have a hierarchy of favorites in each of their bodies of work. I also love the artistry and longevity and classic records, both singles and entire recordings, of so many others you won’t find below, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins, Joe Pass, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Michael Brecker, Dexter Gordon, et al. Some musicians who have records under their own name that I treasure are featured on some of the dates below, such as Phil Woods and George Benson. Yet I find that as far as jazz albums go—as I have many favorites in other genres—I return to these recordings, spanning from the 1950s to post-2000, time and time again.
They perpetually reward me with profound pleasure, deep reflection, aesthetic astonishment, thrills of insight, and even tears of joy springing from spiritual beauty and soulful poignancy. I hope that you’ll reward yourself by listening to them with open arms and ears too, in 2023 and beyond.
1. Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson
2. Ben Webster and Harry “Sweets” Edison, Ben and Sweets
3. Count Basie Orchestra, April in Paris
4. Charlie Parker with Strings
5. Ahmad Jamal, Live at The Pershing
6. Miles Davis, Kind of Blue
8. Duke Ellington & His Orchestra, Ellington Indigos
9. Thelonious Monk Quartet, Monk’s Dream
10. Sarah Vaughan, Swingin’ Easy
11. Quincy Jones, The Quintessence
12. Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else
13. John Coltrane, Blue Train
15. Pete Christlieb and Warne Marsh Quintet, Apogee
16. Jimmy Smith, Off the Top
17. Johnny Griffin, The Cat
18. Jon Hendricks & Friends, Freddie Freeloader
19. Kenny Garrett, Black Hope
20. Dianne Reeves, The Grand Encounter (Bonus: Video about the date)
21. Roy Hargrove with Strings, Moment to Moment
22. Nicholas Payton, Payton’s Place
24. Roy Hargrove Big Band, Emergence
25. Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Live in Cuba