Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
D.A. Ridgely has post at Positive Liberty about jazz and it sort of hints at the famous desert island question: If you were trapped on a desert island, what jazz albums would you want with you? He immediately suggests Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and I agree unequivocally. And he's right about the specific song So What on that album as well. And he posts a youtube video with just the audio from that song, which I'll reproduce below. I'll add a few suggestions of my own.
D.A. also mentions Coltrane's Giant Steps, which certainly would go on my list as well. Here's a very cool youtube video of the title song with the sheet music flowing as it's played. Such an incredible song:
But perhaps tops on my list would be Wynton Marsalis' brilliant Black Codes (From the Underground), perhaps my favorite jazz album of all time. Here's a live performance of the song Delfeayo's Dilemma (Delfeayo Marsalis is Wynton's brother, a trombone player who has produced many of his records). This clip features the incredible Marcus Roberts on piano and Jeff (Tain) Watts, in my opinion the finest jazz drummer of modern times.
I would also include Wynton's Blue Interlude, probably my second favorite album of his. That was done with a septet with a fuller New Orleans sound. I can't find a clip of a song from that album but I did find this clip of Wynton with a slightly different septet doing something very similar. This is really brilliant stuff, including the long bass solo to start (I think that's Reginald Veal on bass but I'm not certain). I love the trombone in jazz, especially in the blues idiom, and Wycliffe Gordon is far and away the best of the young musicians on that instrument.
And here's the same septet doing a much more upbeat song, another one with a great New Orleans feel to it.
Another jazz album one simply must have is The Quintet - Live at Massey Hall. This is perhaps the most incredible jazz band ever put together: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Max Roach and Bud Powell. Talk about a hall of fame lineup! Here's A Night in Tunisia from that performance:
I'm sure I could think of many others. For the jazz fans among my readers, what CDs would you take with you to a desert island?
Comments
As far as hardcore jazz goes, Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
Posted by: Sadie Morrison | July 18, 2009 10:24 AM
Sadie beat me to it. Time Out was the first thing I thought of too. I remember when Take Five first came out and I was blown away. :)
Paul
Posted by: prn | July 18, 2009 10:43 AM
Benny Carter's "Central City Sketches."
Posted by: Joe F | July 18, 2009 11:02 AM
Ed:
You said desert island. I assume it's got the requisite coconut palm tree and not much else? So, since I can't make a decision like that and don't want to slowly starve to death without any toons... Get me a copy of any Kenny G. album, on cassette; I'll unspool the tape, make a nice mylar coated acetate noose and hang myself!
Posted by: democommie | July 18, 2009 11:09 AM
Ed,
I have such a hot and cold releationship with Marsallis. His very early album, J Cool is placed firmly in my top ten all-time favorites, but I have a complete drink coaster set composed of later Marsallis stuff that hews to the "classic jazz" label. The clips you posted are brilliant and beautiful. Thank you.
My contribution: Live at Yoshi's, Pat Martino. Something more or less like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql_bHgaQQZE
Posted by: Ed Rowland | July 18, 2009 11:16 AM
In these days of iPods and other MP3 sorts of players, I tend to think of tracks rather than whole albums. David Murray's Flowers for Albert (the one on the South of the Border album) is a strong contender for inclusion (and the whole cd wouldn't be a bad thing to have). Rollin's St. Thomas is another one that should be there, but if I had to choose a whole Rollin's album it would be the recent Road Shows, Vol. 1, because Rollins is a performer best taken live. As for Coltrane, I wouldn't take Giant Steps because it doesn't have Chasin' the Trane which is a must, so the one cd Live at the Village Vanguard would win (it also has Spiritual with Dolphy). So What would be my Davis choice track, so Kind of Blue would be fine. And I would have to have a Keith Jarret, probably Standards, Vol. 1, to get God Bless the Child for Peacock's bass performance. I'd probably cheat a little and ask for Mingus's 13 Pictures compilation to get a number of the great songs (Haitian Fight Song, Meditations, Pork Pie Hat, Better Git It - though it lacks a Fables of Faubus). Shorter's Speak No Evil would be on my list (Infant Eyes being the track of choice, of course). Hard to say what Ellington album I would choose - just grab one on the way out and that would be a good choice (because I just added it, Fargo is on top of the pile and I would be content with it). The Rhino Parker Collection - Yardbird Suite - has the classic tracks without the false start tracks that clutter the Dial/Savoy sessions collections. Sorry, Ed, no Marsalis (though if you forced one on me I would hope it would be Black Codes) and no Brubeck.
Posted by: SJ | July 18, 2009 11:23 AM
mingus: the black saint and the sinner lady
coltrane: a love supreme
miles: kind of blue
Posted by: zevatron | July 18, 2009 11:45 AM
You and commenters beat me to it. Brubeck and the Quintet are the jazz selections I'd take from my collection, and maybe some 'compilation albums' from various eras -- yes, even including the best of the jazz fusion types.
Posted by: Prup (aka Jim Benton) | July 18, 2009 12:11 PM
Thelonious Alone in San Francisco. I'm going to listen to it right now.
Posted by: Dan L. | July 18, 2009 12:24 PM
I’m partial to coronet and trumpet. Kenny Durham cut a track for Blue Note entitled “Trompetta Tocatta” in the sixties. In its own way, it is as evocative of the city as "Rhapsody in Blue" is.
Posted by: NJ Osprey | July 18, 2009 1:54 PM
oooh wonderful post ... I'll have to think and post my own
Posted by: BrianR | July 18, 2009 2:13 PM
hahaha Ed, you have great taste! Delfeayo's Dilemma is my absolute favorite song off my absolute favorite Wynton album. I've listened to that song on repeat for up to an hour on several occasions. Kenny Kirkland and Tain have some serious communication going on during Kenny's solo.
Also, a close second is Wynton killing Cherokee at Marciac in 96. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OtZrIjQuwA Burnin!
kudos, kudos.
Posted by: Justin Schenk | July 18, 2009 2:52 PM
Does Danny Kaye count as jazz?
Posted by: Leni | July 18, 2009 2:57 PM
Since Oleo has been mentioned by Ed Rowland above, I thought I'd share this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMgKoGulqSA
Clint Strong burning though rhythm changes. I like to drop this guy's name as much as possible because he's kind of one of those monsters that has stayed under the radar for some reason. He deserves a lot more renown that he gets. Check out that link and see why people call him the Sonny Stitt of guitar.
Posted by: Justin Schenk | July 18, 2009 3:02 PM
Gotta put another word in for Thelonious Monk.
And when I die and go to Heaven I want to be greeted by Louis Armstrong and Django Reinhardt. Louis, for his two voices (trumpet and that great gravelly baritone that no one else can match) and Django, for being the greatest guitarist who ever lived, faster, tastier, and with a depth of feeling unparalleled. And he did it without the use of 2 of his fingers! That's like Muhammed Ali missing an arm and STILL being the greatest ever.
Because both Louis and Django recorded mostly 3 minute tracks, though, they may not be as suitable for this desert island with-one-track-only-playing-capacity-stereo-machine. I'll go insane that much faster.
Posted by: BennyZ | July 18, 2009 4:17 PM
If I could only bring one, it would be "Something Else" by Cannonball Adderley. If I could bring two I'd take "Oh Yeah" by Charles Mingus. There are albums I like better than that one, but for some reason I think if I was stuck on an island I'd want to listen to "Oh Lord Don't Let Them Drop that Atomic Bomb on Me."
Posted by: Frank | July 18, 2009 5:14 PM
No jazz, just blues on my desert island.
Posted by: James Hanley | July 18, 2009 5:40 PM
oh, now that i read it again, it does say albums, so my "three minute" remark is irrelevant.
Posted by: BennyZ | July 18, 2009 6:21 PM
As long as we're on an island, something with Getz and Gilberto might be appropriate. Maybe "Getz au Gogo"
Posted by: Herb | July 18, 2009 6:54 PM
I'm a heretic I like Bitches Brew better than Kind of Blue. Give me some Charlie Parker too, but I'll have to think of an album. Ella Fitzgerald too, maybe "Ella in Rome" or something bebop like that.
Posted by: Markk | July 18, 2009 7:00 PM
I'm on board with many of the choices so far, and here a few that haven't been mentioned yet:
Coltrane/Hartman John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman
Coltrane/Burrell Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane
Art Blakey Moanin'
Ellington/Mingus/Roach Money Jungle
Posted by: cognitive dissident | July 18, 2009 11:20 PM
...and a few more:
Stan Kenton's Cuban Fire, every acoustic bass solo from Brian Bromberg (especially Wood and Wood II, and anything by the Modern Jazz Quartet.
Posted by: cognitive dissident | July 18, 2009 11:34 PM
Ping, Ed.
Posted by: Isis the Scientist | July 19, 2009 12:38 AM
Time Out was going to be one of my first choices, also. Learning to play Take Five solo first got me into jazz piano.
The Quintet live at Massey Hall is one of my favourites also. Being a Torontonian (well, Toronto suburbian), I love Massey Hall. I've seen a few acts live there and the experience is always sublime.
Call me the younger generation, but my tastes are more aligned with acid jazz/jazz-house/electro-jazz/futurejazz/nu-jazz, etc, althought I still appreciate the classics. Some of my favourite albums:
Jaga Jazzist - What We Must
Koop - Koop Islands
Povo - We Are Povo
Wise - Electrology
Five Corners Quintet - Chasin' the Jazz Gone By
Sleep Walker - The Voyage
Posted by: Adrian W. | July 19, 2009 1:52 AM
I spent a year effectively trapped in an apartment (long story) with only 'Bitches' Brew' and 'Is This It?' by The Strokes and still obsessively like both albums.
It was almost trivial compared to the week I spent listening only to 'Trout Mask Replica' by Captain Beefheart...
Posted by: stoat100 | July 19, 2009 6:23 AM
You thought you were simply writing a nice post about jazz musicians, but you have in fact just revealed yourself to be a sexist douchebag.
Posted by: Hans Feat | July 19, 2009 7:26 AM
stoat - I know what you mean. I went through a phase of obsessively listening to The Holy Bible by the Manic Street Preachers - I was already wildly depressed, so, you know, it wasn't spoiling anything - and now it's like an old friend to me. I was once at a party where the hosts were discussing what album to put on next and I absent-mindedly suggested it, not realising that some of the other guests might consider tracks like 'The Intense Humming of Evil' and 'Archives of Pain' to put a bit of a dampener on the night.
Posted by: Der Bruno Stroszek | July 19, 2009 7:30 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_EluiKjI-c - Miles Davis doing one of the few Michael Jackson things I really like (though most of Thriller I can tolerate, but the title song never gets played on my halloween setlist).
Posted by: Joe Shelby | July 19, 2009 8:32 AM
What! No Latinos! No Brazilians! You racist bastard!
I used headphones at work to block out the cube farm, and noticed that a co-worker would glance at my desk and sometimes back out of view, sometimes come in and ask a question.
He was checking the CD cover. Miles Davis meant "don't interrupt, she's intensely focused". Gilberto Gil and other Latin jazz artists meant I was doing something requiring less concentration so it was safe to interrupt.
Posted by: Tsu Dho Nimh | July 19, 2009 9:10 AM
The best suggestion above is for the John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman collaboration. Hartman has the voice of God.
Posted by: Ed Brayton | July 19, 2009 10:52 AM
I appreciate your fetish for classic jazz, but as one who owned an eight track copy of Bitches Brew, I find later jazz more rewarding. Still, I appreciate that fusion might prove a bit intense for desert island living.
Stuck on a desert island, I think I would miss Ike Quebec. His Complete Blue Note 45 Sessions release would be a good choice. Easy listening to compliment the purity of Kind of Blue and Giant Steps.
Roswell Rudd and Sheila Jordan's live recordings would be a must for me. Call it blue eyed soul/jazz if you must, but Jordan had a way with lyrics.
I'd also be inclined to bring some piano jazz. Andrew Hill, I think. Less sour than Monk, more empathic than Keith Jarrett.
I could live without Charlie Parker or Frank Zappa, but I would have to insist on some James Blood Ulmer. Points in his favor include the fact that he's still alive, still performing, and still breaking new ground.
But after a few years of only a few albums, I think I'd be reading to hang myself with democommies' "mylar coated acetate noose."
Posted by: Mark Gisleson | July 19, 2009 11:37 AM
Monk, Mingus and Parker all the way, methinks. Maybe if I want to hear human voices instead of just instruments - being isolated on a deserted island and all - I'll add Billie Holiday and Chet Baker.
Posted by: G Felis | July 19, 2009 1:06 PM
As a rock/fusion guy I love Django because his sound is pretty much rock/fusion done on an acoustic guitar before the genre was invented.
Posted by: Jon Rowe | July 19, 2009 3:20 PM
I can't disagree with any of your suggestions, Ed. But I would add Miles Davis - Bitches Brew. Throw in some Bill Chase.
Posted by: Bourgeois_Rage | July 20, 2009 8:08 AM
Pat Metheny's First Circle
Anything by Al DiMeola (though it is not all jazz)
Posted by: Callomac | July 20, 2009 10:20 PM
I'm taking Diana Krall and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Ella Fitzgerald. Al Jarreau. Diana Reeves. Dave Brubeck.
Oh, hell, I'm taking them ALL. See I've got this handy-dandy little gadget called an MP3 player . . .
Posted by: Leigh Williams | July 21, 2009 1:51 AM
You folks take whatever you want. I'm taking the only solar powered battery charger. Neener, neener,neener.
Posted by: democommie | July 21, 2009 6:49 AM
John Coltrane: Newport '63 (Live versions of My Favorite Things and Impressions)
Dave Brubeck: Live at Carnegie Hall (Live versions of Take 5 and Blue Rondo, and most of his other great tunes)
Wes Montgomery: Smokin at the Half Note (live)
Horace Silver: Best of
Monk: Blue Note recordings
Count Basie: anything, especially late 50's
Bill Evans and Tony Bennett: either record
Bill Evans and Toots Theilemans: Affinity
Lenny Breau and Brad Terry
Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker, Bird,
Jobim, Getz, Gilberto
Posted by: John | July 21, 2009 10:34 AM