So I've been thinking a lot about how much music you folks have exposed to me and how grateful I am for that. However, it can be a bit daunting to look through the WAYLTN thread for genre specific stuff. So I thought, how about separate threads devoted to essential albums.

By essential, I don't necessarily mean your favorites, but those albums you feel all "insert genre here" lovers should know. Let's say, one album per post; say a little something about it too.

I'll start off:

Sunday at the Village Vanguard-Bill Evans Trio

I know, pretty obvious, but if you haven't heard it, you need to. These guys practically defined what it meant to be a trio. The interplay between LaFaro on bass and Evans on piano is brilliant.

It's available in various formats. I've got it on CD and 180 Gram vinyl. The vinyl is heavenly.

Here is a great Acoustic Blues album.

Two of the very best.

Buddy Guy and Junior Wells "Going Back to Acoustic" Its an old album but this is a reissue by Pure Pleasure Records cataloge # PPAN 001

I bought this new before Christmas and just got around to listening to it this week. The songs are great and the pressing is to die for. No dicking around, straight ahead acoustic blues with Buddy on guitar and handling most of the vocals and JW adding to them and playing harp. great album.

www.purepleasurerecords.com

I picked mine up through www.musicdirect.com

BTW, That Bill Evans record is a great one.

Tom, I think Stephen wanted to keep this to jazz albums.

Tom, I think Stephen wanted to keep this to jazz albums.

Well, Blues ties in with Jazz, but yeah I was going for more straight ahead jazz stuff, but no harm no foul.

Cut him some slack, For thrashers fans, the blues is as close to jazz as they get

Well, Blues ties in with Jazz, but yeah I was going for more straight ahead jazz stuff, but no harm no foul.

OOPS...I didnt pay attention, Good thing I didnt put that Madonna album in there.

This jazz album will make up for my screw up.

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio "Misty"

One thing about the label in my screw up post (pure pleasure records) is that there Jazz pressings are great also. And a great selection.

Japan pressing, limited editon TBM super cut analogue disk. Three Blind Mice label.

Killer piano player, but different than any other stuff I have. Recording is about as good as it gets. Took me a while to warm up to it but now I have three albums by them. All great and all great pressings.

Cut him some slack, For thrashers fans, the blues is as close to jazz as they get

As A Thrashers fan, The Blues is all I sing. :'(

As A Thrashers fan, The Blues is all I sing. :'(

Just keep winning. Every win for atlanta is a win for dc for the rest of the year

Anything by Leon Redbone, but particularly Sugar.

Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew (original mix)

John Zorn - Electric Masada 50th Birthday Celebration Vol 4

I'm not even a big Miles person but those two albums just speak to me. The last one may be a bit challenging, but it's completely worth it.

This one is truly essential in my book. Amazing arrangements, awesome musicians, and great sound. Just look at the lineup. Nobody knows Oliver Nelson any more, but he was a great arranger and composer, as well as decent tenor sax player, and this was a jazz super-group perfectly suited to the music. Perfection.

This one is truly essential in my book. Amazing arrangements, awesome musicians, and great sound. Just look at the lineup. Nobody knows Oliver Nelson any more, but he was a great arranger and composer, as well as decent tenor sax player, and this was a jazz super-group perfectly suited to the music. Perfection.

seconded.

Louis Armstrong "SATCHMO plays KING OLIVER"

New Orleans Jazz at its best.

This is the 200gr. pressing by Audio Fidelity and is a very good recording with some great jams between Louis and Peanuts Hucko on clarinet and Trummy Young on trombone. Really great songs, and Louis voice is as good as gets on this one.

This thread could go on for a long time . I'm having trouble deciding without posting 30 or so. I'll just toss out a couple for now that haven't been mentioned, had a big influence on me, and I continue to enjoy (as in listened to this week):

Louis Armstrong "SATCHMO plays KING OLIVER"

New Orleans Jazz at its best.

This is the 200gr. pressing by Audio Fidelity and is a very good recording with some great jams between Louis and Peanuts Hucko on clarinet and Trummy Young on trombone. Really great songs, and Louis voice is as good as gets on this one.

That is a great album and pressing.

I won't pretend to know enough about jazz to know which albums are essential, but back in the late seventies when I was putting together my first nice audio system the following three direct to disk albums really got me into jazz.

L.A. Four, "Going Home" (Nautilus). Absolutely wonderful! The flute solo in Django (I think) is what sold me on my first real speakers, DCM Time Window.

Bill Berry Band, "For Duke" (M&K RealTime Records). This is a Duke Ellington tribute record by members of his band.

Earl "Fatha" Hines, "Fatha" (M&K RealTime Records). Fatha plays other composer's music.

The last two are still available on one gold CD. Both are well recorded and I highly recommend it.

If you don't have this you shouldn't be alive.

Not quite as well known but also amazing.

This might not qualify as jazz (depends on your definition), but also a must have.

Same here.

Nice picks everyone. Great call on the LA4 Ken. Add this one, which is really great on this Concord LP:

Ornette is the man, so Vicki also has a great call. I am going to find Money Jungle right now and check that out. Although your pick is also my favorite, the debut should be on the essential list too:

Agree on all counts with hungrych, except that there is no question Head Hunters and A Tribute to Jack Johnson are jazz.

I think that some of Herbie's early offerings as a leader are essential too:

Man, this thread is going to get really, long really fast.

The logical follow on album to Head Hunters, in the progression of jazz being music for "them" to the music for shopping malls....

Miles Davis, Birth of the Cool

I know everyone points to Kind of Blue as the Miles Davis album to have, but the thing is, he was seminal every step of the way. This belongs right up there with Cannonball Adderly's Somethin' Else as defining cool. Never has a title been so appropriate.

The AcousTech vinyl of this is fantastic. Starting with Ruby My Dear and through Pardon me, Monk and Trane just weave and feed off each other throughout the LP (or CD if you can find one). An absolute must for any jazz collection IMHO.