I think there are some big ones that are obvious, like Bitches Brew. Love Supreme by Coltrane is another.

However, if you go back just a bit to the big band era - jazz has been around a while, but big band really helped foster it into the public eye more than had it been left to its own devices. Find some of those popular big band singers and songwriters and work up from there. Vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, etc combined jazz, blues, bee bop, and more and gave way to people like Quincy, Miles, Coltrane, and more.

I would suggest Quincy Jones' Big Band Bossa Nova as one of your starting points as well. Odd choice, but listen to Martin Denny Exotica. There is a stereo version that was re-recorded for the purposes of two channels, but the mono version has the band members enthusiasm clearly up front. It's jazz but not quite the way you'd expect to hear jazz. It definitely on to go to.

I'd really recommend a book called 'The History of Jazz' by Ted Gioia (easy to find on Amazon or in book-shops, etc.). Not an overly long read, and has a thorough overview of everything up to maybe the early 1990s. At the end of the book is an excellent 'Recommend Listening'-type of list.

Coltrane's Blue Train is probably my personal favorite, other than Billie Holiday's Decca recordings. But that's already decades after jazz had formed and developed.

Go back to the 1920s' stuff, and work your way up, listening to the recommended recordings that appeal to you.

1. Charlie Parker - Early Bird
2. Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil
3. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady
4. Duke Ellington - New Orleans Suite
5. Paul Desmond - From The Hot Afternoon
6. Eric Dolphy - Out There
7. John Coltrane - Blue Train
8. Miles Davis - Sketeches Of Spain
9. Ike Quebec - It Might As Well Be Spring
10. Johnny Hodges - Used To Be Duke
11. David Brubeck - Time Out

this is a short list from my personal favorites mans in jazz music, still hope i would dig more in the future...

the old ones are pretty obvious, but the most brilliant new album i've heard in the
jazz genre in recent years was Kamasi Washington's "The Epic" man that is truly a
great album.

he's got a new one out now called "Harmony of Difference" but i haven't had time
to sit down and give it a proper listen.

"Pharoah Sanders Finest" - Pharoah Sanders

"Choose Your Weapon" - Hiatus Kaiyote

"NEWS" - Prince

"Domino Theory" - Weather Report

"On Green Dolphin Street" - Duke Pearson

"Queen Of All Ears" - The Lounge Lizards

"The Piano Player" - Ramsey Lewis

"Still Life (Talking)" - Pat Methany

"The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery" - Wes Montgomery

You won't regret this one.

I couldn't stop listening to it.

CynicKill said:

You won't regret this one.

I couldn't stop listening to it.

whoa...thanks for the tip...this is good...."Who They Wish I Was" and "I Do" are my favorites so far....never heard of Christian Scott b4

RJOrion said:

CynicKill said:

You won't regret this one.

I couldn't stop listening to it.

whoa...thanks for the tip...this is good...."Who They Wish I Was" and "I Do" are my favorites so far....never heard of Christian Scott b4

Christian Scott played with Prince I believe.

CynicKill said:

RJOrion said:

whoa...thanks for the tip...this is good...."Who They Wish I Was" and "I Do" are my favorites so far....never heard of Christian Scott b4

Christian Scott played with Prince I believe.

i just looked it up...yes, he did play on the Planet Earth LP and played with P in Vegas too... thanks again, its always cool to find new music

Grover Washington Jr. - Mister Magic

Helen Merrill - Helen Merrill (1955)

Abbey Lincoln - Abbey Is Blue

Bobby McFerrin - VOCAbuLarieS

Bobbi Humphrey ‎– Blacks And Blues

The Ensemble Al-Salaam – The Sojourner

George Benson - Breezin'

Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes ‎– Astral Traveling (one of the songs I Mani is like free jazz, so if you're not into that, you might skip that track.)

RJOrion said:

CynicKill said:

Christian Scott played with Prince I believe.

i just looked it up...yes, he did play on the Planet Earth LP and played with P in Vegas too... thanks again, its always cool to find new music

indeed! thanks for the tip cynickill

Since you're on a funky man's website I'm sure you'll enjoy these if you haven't already

I love this band. It's Joshua Redman's side project. They have two albums out.

For some reason Charlie Brown comes to mind when I listen to them even though it doesn't really sound like it. BTW if you don't already own it pick up "A Charlie Brown Christmas" as well.

In addition to many excellent choices here --

Louis Armstrong -- The Hot Five and Hot Seven Sessions

Charlie Parker -- Charlie Parker With Strings

Duke Ellington -- Live At Newport

Art Blakey -- Moanin'

Horace Silver -- Song For My Father (though several others are just as good if not better)

Cannonball Adderley -- Somethin' Else

Sonny Rollins -- Saxophone Colossus

I'll also put in a good word in for Kamasi Washington's aptly-titled The Epic.

namepeace said:

I'll also put in a good word in for Kamasi Washington's aptly-titled The Epic.

Yeah it's the album "everybody" has.

An amazing album by Avishai Cohen, Israili bass player. Great Middle Eastern instrumentation that accompanies western instruments. One of my favourite albums of all times

Highlights in no particular order:

1) Morenika

2) El Hatzipor

3) Alon Basela

4) Leolam

LightOfArt said:

An amazing album by Avishai Cohen, Israili bass player. Great Middle Eastern instrumentation that accompanies western instruments. One of my favourite albums of all times

Highlights in no particular order:

1) Morenika

2) El Hatzipor

3) Alon Basela

4) Leolam

I likes!

The only thing is I'm not in the habit of listening to foreign lyrics.

CynicKill said:

namepeace said:

I'll also put in a good word in for Kamasi Washington's aptly-titled The Epic.

Yeah it's the album "everybody" has.

True, the new EP is pretty impressive too.

CynicKill said:

I likes!

The only thing is I'm not in the habit of listening to foreign lyrics.

But you're missing out on so much

[Edited 12/11/17 3:43am]

RJOrion said:

CynicKill said:

You won't regret this one.

I couldn't stop listening to it.

whoa...thanks for the tip...this is good...."Who They Wish I Was" and "I Do" are my favorites so far....never heard of Christian Scott b4

He is playing the trumpet on "Somewhere On Earth "

...

Man, jazz is so many different things to so many different people...a wide array of periods and movements and styles....

I don't know if these are "must listen to"-but they are definitely some of my all-time favorites, so....

...

Ahmad Jamal - At the Pershing:But Not For Me

Weather Report - Heavy Weather

Pat Metheny Group - We Live Here

Miles Davis w/Gil Evans - Porgy and Bess

Jaco Pastorius - Word of Mouth

Bobby McFerrin - Bang! Zoom!

Yellowjackets - Four Corners

Yellowjackets - Dreamland

Wayne Shorter - High Life

Jim Beard - Truly

The Crusaders - Free As The Wind

Steps Ahead - Modern Times

Wes Montgomery - Smokin' at The Half Note

Emuir Deodato - Prelude

Wayne Krantz - Signals

Weather Report -Mysterious Traveller

Return to Forever - No Mystery

Vince Guaraldi - Oh, Good Grief! and A Charlie Brown Christmas

Stan Getz - Focus

Vince Mendoza - Epiphany

.....

[Edited 12/12/17 2:23am]

...

Pat Metheny Group - To the End of the World" and "First Circle"

...

...

...

Esperanza Spalding - Extraction Sessions

...

....

[Edited 12/12/17 3:43am]

...

Tal Wilkenfeld - Truth Be Told

...

...

....

Snarky Puppy - "Thing of Gold", w Shaun Martin & Cory Henry

...

...

[Edited 12/12/17 10:07am]