Though most big bands had bitten the dust by the 50s (largely due to economic factors), Basie kept his going and enjoyed something of a renaissance.
Originally from Red Bank, New Jersey, Bill Basie, like his contemporary Duke Ellington, adopted an aristocratic title for a stage name and was a major force in the rise of the swing big bands of the 30s. Key track: Joy Spring Count Basie And His Orchestra: April In Paris (Verve, 1957) “Brownie”, as the trumpeter was known, is sensational throughout the album, but especially brilliant on a thrilling version of Victor Young’s “Delilah.” He shows his prowess as a composer with his own fine number “Joy Spring,” which is an archetypal example of hard hop. It features Bud Powell’s piano-playing brother, Richie, who also died in that fatal car accident with Brown, along with tenor saxophonist Harold Land. Clifford Brown And Max Roach was one of his best, made in tandem with a quintet he co-led with drummer Max Roach. Though he was killed in a car accident when he was just 25, on 25 June 1956, his genius is preserved by the many recordings he made. One of the early architects of a jazz style known as hard bop, which came to dominate the genre during the 50s, Clifford Brown was a gifted trumpeter who was cut down in his prime. While you’re reading, listen to our Jazz For Beginners playlist here.Ĭlick to load video Clifford Brown And Max Roach: Clifford Brown And Max Roach (EmArcy, 1954)
If you have any albums that you consider to be essential jazz for beginners, then let us know in the comments. We’ve listed these albums chronologically, so you can get a sense of jazz’s progression across the years. There’s also big band swing, a shining example of jazz guitar, stunning vocal jazz, and some of the funkiest organ ever captured in the studio. We’ve included albums that consistently make the lists of the most important jazz albums of all time, along with other albums that have added breadth to the genre. Both credible and accessible, they offer an entry point into jazz for beginners looking to make that first step into the unknown. Taken together, the below 20 albums form an intro to jazz – each one is a brilliant album that no discerning jazz fan would be without. Everybody starts somewhere, so we hope that this feature can serve as an intro to jazz, the best albums for beginners to the genre.
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