My top 10 jazz albums are Smokin’ at the Half Note (Wes Montgomery), Portrait in Jazz (Bill Evans), Art of the Trio 4 (Brad Mehldau), Soul Station (Hank Mobley), At the Pershing (Ahmad Jamal), Still Live (Keith Jarrett), Night Train (Oscar Peterson), Trio 99 → 00 (Pat Metheny), Relaxin’ (Miles Davis Quintet) and Remember Shakti (John McLaughlin).
It was really hard to put them in order, but I tried my best. Below is each one, counting down from number 10, with what it means to me and what I learned from it, plus how I listen to an album when I want it to really get into my playing.
What are the best jazz albums of all time? Numbers 10 to 6
These five cover a lot of ground: a reunion band that isn’t exactly jazz language, the album I looped in the car for years, a Pat Metheny trio record, an Oscar Peterson album I slept with on repeat, and a live trio date that’s so deep emotionally.
- 10. Remember Shakti, John McLaughlin. The band is getting reunited, with Zakir Hussain on tabla and John McLaughlin, and the whole band is just marvelous musicians. The communication between them is amazing. It’s not exactly jazz language, but it’s on such a high level rhythmically, emotionally and spiritually.
- 9. Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet. I listened to this one when I’d just started listening to jazz. I made a cassette tape for the car and looped it for years, back when I was in Israel. I know all the solos by heart.
- 8. Trio 99 → 00, Pat Metheny. As a guitar player, Pat Metheny is definitely an influence. I tried not to transcribe him, because I think it’s dangerous, but I still checked out a few things. On this album he plays some standards and some of his original compositions, and it’s really remarkable. I love everything about it.
- 7. Night Train, Oscar Peterson. When I get into things, I like looping them. I remember looping it on my phone for about three months. I even went to sleep with it. It was on repeat, literally 24/7, because I really wanted to get the vibe of the album and learn from it.
- 6. Still Live, Keith Jarrett. A double album with his trio. I always like trios, and a big percentage of the records here are trio albums. They’re really going for it, and they even mess up the form, but I don’t care. It’s a live session, they’re so in the moment, it’s so deep emotionally, and there are always moments of interaction with a feeling of the unexpected.
There’s a lot of information that we can’t really explain and express in words. That’s why it’s music.
Rotem Sivan
Which jazz albums should you hear first? Numbers 5 to 1
I feel all of these albums are cornerstones. These are my top five, and I transcribed from several of them.
- 5. At the Pershing, Ahmad Jamal. Another live trio record. I think it’s one of the most important albums in jazz history. I feel it affected a lot of people, including Miles Davis. The use of space, the interaction, the groove are just amazing.
- 4. Soul Station, Hank Mobley. One of the best albums in jazz. This is jazz. I transcribed most of the sax solos and some of the piano solos, and that’s Wynton Kelly on piano. If you want to talk about swing, this is swing. If you want to study jazz and play bebop, this is something you need to have in your soul.
- 3. Art of the Trio 4: Back at the Vanguard, Brad Mehldau. When I heard it the first time, I didn’t understand it. I was kind of shocked. I looped it for many years, and I still listen to it a lot. It was recorded live in 1999 at the Village Vanguard, a small jazz club here in New York City and one of the most important ones. Brad plays in 5 and 7 and other odd meters, more straight than swing, and Jorge Rossy and Larry Grenadier are on a different level. The sound James Farber got on it is amazing. I’ve worked with James, and I remember asking him a lot about this album.
- 2. Portrait in Jazz, Bill Evans. Bill Evans is a huge influence. I transcribed some of the solos on this album and even wrote some of them down. They’re really hard to play on guitar. It’s always fresh, always super grooving, very personal and very musical. He’s always in the moment, taking ideas from the band, from Scott LaFaro or whoever is playing bass.
- 1. Smokin’ at the Half Note, Wes Montgomery. That swing, that’s jazz. I remember hearing this album and being completely blown away. On the first blues, a blues in F, Wynton Kelly hits an F7 sharp 9 on the piano while Wes is soloing, and Wes just stops and plays it back to him.
I remember that moment. I was just starting to study music and get into jazz, and I thought: how is that possible? This guy plays something, and the other guy just hears it and repeats it. Now I know F7 sharp 9 is an easy color to hear. Someone plays it and I hear it immediately, because jazz musicians do a lot of that tagging when we learn the music. But at that moment I didn’t know how it worked, and I was really blown away. If you want to build that skill, the play guitar by ear lesson is a good place to start.
How do you learn jazz from an album?
Loop it until you really know it. When people ask me how to practice, I always say: surround yourself with what you want to learn. When I was trying to learn jazz and bebop in a very clear way, I was very meticulous about what I listened to, and I would just loop the hell out of things until I really knew them. The process of repetition and listening, of trying to get it into our system, is really important.
The second thing is to compare versions. With Brad, I was obsessed, so I found other videos and recordings from that period, like recordings in Stockholm a year or two apart. You can see they had a very strong concept for each song, with some of the same elements in the solos, and by the time they played the Vanguard it was so crystallized. With Bill Evans, I transcribed his tune Waltz for Debby. I checked a lot of versions and finally transcribed the one he plays on New Jazz Conceptions, and it was a lot of work to adjust it for guitar. You can also hear him play Autumn Leaves in different videos and see how he voices things a little differently, even though the arrangement stays very close.
Seeing that it was crafted made me happy, because it gave me something to aspire to. This remarkable playing isn’t coming out of nowhere. These musicians are very talented, and they also worked very, very hard on their craft. It’s years of process, trying things out and solidifying ideas in the solo and within the group.
A practice idea for today: choose one album from this list and surround yourself with it: loop it in the car, on your phone, even when you go to sleep. Once you know the solos by heart, try transcribing a little of one on guitar. If you want a full framework for improvising, Solo Mastery is my framework for it: over 40 concepts for soloing, 10 real performances broken down note by note, plus harmony, ear training and rhythm work. The jazz guitar improvisation lesson is another good next step.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the best jazz album of all time?
My number one is Smokin’ at the Half Note by Wes Montgomery. It’s that swing, that’s jazz. I was completely blown away the first time I heard it, especially the moment Wes plays Wynton Kelly’s F7 sharp 9 right back to him.
How do you listen to jazz albums to learn from them?
Surround yourself with what you want to learn and loop it until you really know it. I looped Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet for years on a cassette in the car, and I know all the solos by heart.
What jazz album is best for learning swing and bebop?
Soul Station by Hank Mobley. If you want to talk about swing, this is swing. I transcribed most of the sax solos and some of Wynton Kelly’s piano solos. If you want to play bebop, you need this album in your soul.
Should guitar players transcribe Pat Metheny?
I tried not to, because I think it’s dangerous, though I still checked out a few things. He’s definitely an influence, and his Trio 99 → 00, with standards and his own compositions, is on my list.
Pick one of these albums tonight, put it on repeat, and let it get into your system.
