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A Selective Guide To Jazz Recordings

"The real power of Jazz... is that a group of people can come together and create... improvised art and negotiate their agendas... and that negotiation is the art" - Wynton Marsalis from 'Jazz, a film by Ken Burns.'

"Jazz is a musician's music. I'm not a musician."

Man! How many times have I heard the last comment? I'm not either—a musician, that is. I play records, like you do.
Jazz is an American art form and an international phenomenon. It's not the result of choosing a tune, but an ideal that is created first in the mind, inspired by ones' passion and next in playing music. Jazz music is not found on websites or in books or even written down in sheet music. It is in the act of creating the form itself, that we truly find Jazz. Thankfully.

Branford Marsalis called it "the language of freedom," ( Jazz, a film by Ken Burns.')

An academic definition of Jazz could be American music that originated in New Orleans characterized by strong, prominent meter, improvisation, distinctive tone colors and performance techniques, and syncopated rhythm. And much more than that!

On Sunday October 19th, Jazz Journeys, a locally produced show, is going to try and make some sense of this by playing a selective guide to jazz music. A suggested starting point for building a jazz collection. Some of the music played will be from LP's. But most, if not all, should be available digitally.

I hope you check it out. That's Jazz Journeys, Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. on WFPK. A selected discography follows. Happy (Jazz) Hunting!

—Mark R. Bacon

Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines — Louis Armstong
Plays W.C. Handy — Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong Story — Louis Armstrong
Latin American — Gato Barbieri
Hasta Siempre — Gato Barbieri
viva Emiliano Zapata — Gato Barbieri
For The First Time — Count Basie Trio
The Very Best Of Count Basie — Count Basie
Master Musician — Sidnet Bechet
Shape Of Jazz To Come — Ornette Coleman
Ascension — John Coltrane
Giant Steps — John Coltrane
Live At The Village Vanguard — John Coltrane
Bitches Brew — MIles Davis
Complete Birth Of The Cool — Miles Davis
Sketches Of Spain — Miles Davis
Steamin' — Miles Davis
Happy Time — Roy Eldridge
The Ellington Era — Duke Ellingtom
Tone Parallel To Harlem — Duke Ellington
At His Very Best — Duke Ellington
This One's For Blanton — Duke Ellington
In The Beginning — Dizzy Gillespie
At The French Riviera — Dizzy Gillespie
Oscar Peterson & Dizzy Gillespie — Dizzy Gillespie
Golden Years, Vol. I & II — Billie Holiday
God Bless The Child — Billie Holiday
The Billie Holiday Story — Billie Holiday
Blues & Roots — Charles Mingus
Mingus Ah Um — Charles Mingus
Tijuana Moods — Charles Mingus
Tonight At Noon — Charles Mingus
Last Concert — Modern Jazz Quartet
Brilliance — Thelonious Monk
Monk/Trane — Thelonious Monk
Mulligan/Konitz Revelation — Gerry Mulligan
Quartet/Desmond Quintet — Gerry Mulligan
Jeru — Gerry Mulligan
Age Of Steam — Gerry Mulligan
The Savoy Recordings — Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker On Dial — Charlie Parker
Bird & Diz — Charlie Parker
The Bessie Smith Story — Bessie Smith
The World's Greatest Blues Singer — Bessie Smith
In Transition — Cecil Taylor
Cafe Montmarte — Cecil Taylor
Unit Structures — Cecil Taylor
Silent Tongues — Cecil Taylor
The Complete Fats Waller — Fats Waller
And His All Stars — Teddy Wilson
Piano Solos — Teddy Wilson
Moonglow — Teddy Wilson
With Billie In Mind — Teddy Wilson