It was fun hearing about everyone's favorite non-gypsy jazz artists. Here's the next question: if you were stranded on a desert island & could only have 3 jazz cd's to listen to, what would they be? Mine would be--
"The Great Artistry of Django Reinhardt"(Quartet recorded in Paris, 3/10/53, Django on electric guitar).
Hank Mobley's "Workout" (w/Grant Green on guitar)
Chet Baker's "The Italian Sessions"(w/Rene Thomas on guitar).
My apologies to those of you who are too young to know what a cd is!
Comments
https://www.discogs.com/master/192306-Lee-Morgan-The-Sidewinder
https://www.discogs.com/release/13990728-Wynton-Kelly-Trio-Wes-Montgomery-Complete-Live-At-The-Half-Note
There are some obvious classic jazz albums that are not on my list (including Django), not because these discs below are better, just because they mean something to me (a certain time or place). They transport me back there when I listen to them.
Wes Montgomery - Incredible Jazz Guitar
Pearl Django - Avalon
De Piotto's - Gipsy Passion
Since the jazz section of my collection occupies about 25 running feet of CDs (not counting the shelves of LPs), it's hard to choose just three.
One would be an album I first listened to c. 1958--the 1950s Ellington piano sessions then titled "The Duke Plays Ellington," variously repackaged and currently available as "Retrospection."
Another would be one of the QHCF collections from 1936-39, probably one of the Ted Kendall-remastered JSP singletons. Most likely the one that includes "Undecided" with Beryl Davis.
Hard to choose a third--something with Bucky Pizzarelli? Bucky and Steph--"Duet"? Bucky and Ruby Braff? The Braff-Barnes Quartet with Tony Bennett doing Rodgers & Hart?
I've lived for years--or decades--with these recordings and can practically play them in my head.
Miles Davis "Kind of Blue"
Wes Montgomery "Incredible Jazz Guitar"
Joe Pass "Imtercontinental"
Instead of three CDs, I'd opt for an SD card that I could use with an MP3 player or tablet or phone. Even a 64-gig card could hold a substantial number of my favorites, and I see that current devices are taking terabyte cards. That's a whole lotta music--I could have a Bach library, a Ry Cooder library, all of Haydn's symphonies and quartets. . . .
Of course, you have to have a solar-powered recharger for the device and a good set of headphones and probably some decent rechargeable speakers. . . .
For me it would be:
1) Some 40s Django, most likely whichever CD has the post-war London 1946 stuff (I.e. Coquette, Django's Tiger, etc.)
2) Stan Getz: Stan Getz Plays
3) Bill Evans: Waltz for Debby
I think we're dating ourselves here....who listens to CDs anymore?? 😀
Nice additions to the conversation Michael. Aren't you glad I didnt call this thread "Desert Island 8-tracks"?!
1) My Song, Keith Jarrett
2) Songs: The art of the trio volume 3, Brad Mehldau
3) Splitlife, Gilad Hekselman
(Raises hand.) But then, my music library goes back to 1960 or so and includes every format except 8-track tape. And my listening setup is built around a pair of Klipsch speakers. I realize that makes me an outlier, but the thought of limiting myself to whatever is available via the latest non-physical digital format gives me the willies.
Don't get me wrong--digitalization is a great tool. But it depends on a substrate of storage/playback devices and codecs and (for those of us in it for the long run) requires having data-migration strategies in place. (Says the guy with archives of LP, reel-to-reel, cassette, DAT, and Minidisc material. Also a few dozen 78s.)