Ricky’s Picks 125

Ahmad Jamal

Al Jarreau

Archie Shepp

Art Blakey

Art Ensemble of Chicago

Art Pepper

Art Tatum

Artie Shaw

Ben Webster

Benny Goodman

Benny Carter

Betty Carter

Bill Evans

Billie Holiday

Bix Beiderbecke

Bobby Hutcherson

Bobby Timmons

Branford Marsalis

Bud Powell

Cal Tjader/Stan Getz

Cannonball Adderly

Carmen McRae

Poinciana

My Favorite Things

Los Olvidados

Mosaic

Dreaming Of The Masters

Straight Life

Willow Weep For Me

Begin The Beguine

Soulville

Stompin' At The Savoy

Old Fashioned Love

This Is Always

Waltz For Debby

Lover Man

God Bless The Child

In A Mist

Manteca

Moanin'

The Nearness Of You

Sometimes I'm Happy

For All We Know

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

My Funny Valentine

Come On In My Kitchen

Enter, Evening

Bolivia

Now's The Time

Klacktoveedsedstene

The Water Is Wide

Better Git It In Your Soul

My Funny Valentine

Spain

Crystal Silence

Joy Spring

Body and Soul

Lester Leaps In

April In Paris

One O'Clock Jump

Take Five

All Blues

Tanya

Salt Peanuts

Manteca

Nuages

Mood Indigo

Sophisticated Lady

Take The "A" Train

Jelly, Jelly

Casandra Wilson

Cecil Taylor

CedarWalton/Eastern Rebellion

Charlie Parker

Charles Lloyd

Charles Mingus

Chet Baker

Chick Corea

Chick Corea & Gary Burton

Clifford Brown & Max R

Coleman Hawkins

Count Basie and The Kansas City 7

Count Basie

Dave Brubeck

Dee Dee Bridgewater

Dexter Gordon

Dizzy Gillespie

Django Rheinhardt

Duke Ellington

Earl “Fatha” Hines

Eddie Palmieri

Ella Fitzgerald

Elvin Jones

Eric Dolphy

Errol Garner

Fats Waller

Freddie Hubbard

Gene Ammons

George Benson

Grant Green

Gil Evans

Glenn Miller

Grover Washington, Jr

Hank Mobley

Herbie Hancock

Horace Silver

Ivan "Boogaloo" Joe Jones

Jaco Pastorius

James Moody

Jell Roll Morton

Jim Hall

Jimmy Smith

Lucumi, Macumba y Voodoo

Someone To Watch Over Me

Summertime

Raunchy Rita

Out To Lunch

Misty

Ain't Misbehavin'

Byrdlike

Hittin' The Jug

Ode To A Kudu

Idle Moments

La Nevada

In The Mood

Mister Magic

Soul Station

Maiden Voyage

Chameleon

Song For My Father

Senor Blues

Right On

Continuum

Moody's Mood For Love

King Porter Stomp

Angel Eyes (live version)

Back At The Chicken Shack

I Loves You Porgy

Stolen Moments

Lonely Woman

C Jam Blues

San Lorenzp

Thembi

Bright Moments

The In Crowd

Moanin'

Little Jazz

Lullaby Of Birdland

Maple Rag

Cool Struttin

St. Thomas

Oleo

The Girl From Ipanema

Cuban Fire!

Sugar

Round Midnight

Epistrophy

Linus and Lucy

Speak No Evil

Black Market

Birdland

Bumpin'

Four On Six

Black Cosed from The Underground

Joe Henderson

Joe Williams

John Coltrane

John Coltrane & Duke El

Johnny Hodges

Keith Jarrett

Kenny Burrell

King Porter

Lambert, Hendricks and Ross

Lee Morgan

Lester Young

Lou Donaldson

Louis Armstrong

McCoy Tyner

Michael Brecker

Miles Davis

Milt Jackson

Modern Jazz Quartet

Mongo Santamaria

Mose Allison

Nina Simone

Oliver Nelson

Ornette Coleman

Oscar Peterson

Pat Metheny

Pharoah Sanders

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Ramsey Lewis

Ray Charles

Roy Eldridge

Sarah Vaughan

Scott Joplin

Sonny Clark

Sonny Rollins

Stan Getz

Stan Kenton

Stanley Turrentine

Thelonius Monk

Vince Guaraldi

Wayne Shorter

Weather Report

Wes Montgomery

Wynton Marsalis

Inner Urge

Goin' To Chicago Blues

Giant Steps

Naima

In A Sentimental Mood

Stride Right

My Song

Chitlins Con Carne

Dippermouth Blues

Twisted

The Sidewinder

Lester Leaps In

Funky Mama

West End Blues

Potato Head Blues

Struttin With Some Barbeque

The Greeting

Pilgramage

So What

Walkin"

Someday My Prince Will Come

Bag's Groove

Django

Watermelon Man

Your Mind Is On Vacation

The very nature of art makes any "best of" or "top" list, highly subjective.

Art is great if it resonates with you. Jazz recordings date back 95 years, and include sub genres like bebop, swing, big band, trad, third stream, smooth, fusion, avant-garde, hard bop and dixieland. As a jazz fan and professional for close to 40 years, I've had 1000s of albums pass through my hands. My tastes are broader than most, but no one person's taste is definitive. "The 125" is a list of great jazz tracks, but not all sub genres are represented. There are artists I might have included. None has more than 3 titles, which was difficult. Imagine choosing 3 pieces from Picasso's entire creative output! Whether you are new to Jazz or not, these selections are all worthy of repeated listening and are the tip of the Jazz iceberg.

Enjoy listening! Ricky Schultz