Yesterday, the pianist Ethan Iverson shared his list of "The Greatest Jazz Piano Albums of All Time" in a Substack post.
I know many of you turn up your noses at these sorts of listicles. But I enjoy them -- if only as a means of discovering new avenues to explore. Plus, it's always fun to hear what & who resonates (and what & who doesn't) with working musicians whom we admire.
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As a sort of riff on Iverson's riff, I assembled a list of jazz piano recordings that are most important to me. I'd be hesitant to call these the "greatest" jazz piano albums; I'm much more comfortable using a word like favorites. By acknowledging the subjectivity of the enterprise, I feel like I have more "wiggle room" to make it personal.
Anyhow. Here's my list:
Geri Allen - In the Year of the Dragon (JMT/Winter & Winter)
Kenny Barron - New York Attitude (Uptown)
Richie Beirach - Elm (ECM)
Joe Bonner - The Lifesaver (Muse)
Joanne Brackeen - Keyed In (Tappan Zee/Columbia)
Dollar Brand/Abdullah Ibrahim - Ode to Duke Ellington (Philips JP/West Wind/Inner City)
Dave Brubeck - Jazz Goes to College (Columbia/Sony)
Ray Bryant - Here's Ray Bryant (Pablo)
Jaki Byard - Solo/Strings (Prestige)
George Cables - Why Not (Whynot/Trio/Candid)
John Coates, Jr. - In the Open Space (Omnisound)
Chick Corea - Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (Solid State/Blue Note)
Stanley Cowell - We Three (DIW)
Anthony Davis [with James Newton] - Hidden Voices (India Navigation)
Kenny Drew - Kenny Drew Trio (Riverside)
Duke Ellington - Piano in the Foreground (Columbia/Sony)
Bill Evans - Waltz for Debby (Riverside)
Orrin Evans - Flip the Script (Posi-Tone)
Clare Fischer - The State of His Art (Revelation)
Tommy Flanagan - Eclypso (Enja/Inner City)
Red Garland - Groovy (Prestige)
Erroll Garner - The Complete Savoy Master Takes (Savoy)
Michael Garrick - Cold Mountain (Argo/Vocalion)
Al Haig - Chelsea Bridge (East Wind)
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage (Blue Note)
Sir Roland Hanna - Time for the Dancers (Progressive)
Barry Harris - Barry Harris Plays Tadd Dameron (Xanadu)
Hampton Hawes - Hamp's Piano [aka The Dynamic Hampton Hawes] (MPS)
John Hicks - Hick's Time: Solo Piano (Passin' Thru)
Andrew Hill - Dance with Death (Blue Note)
Earl Hines - Tour de Force (Black Lion)
Claude Hopkins - Soliloquy (Sackville)
Ethan Iverson [with Albert "Tootie" Heath & Ben Street] - Live at Smalls (Smalls Live)
Keith Jarrett - Treasure Island (Impulse)
James P. Johnson - Giants of Jazz: James P. Johnson (Time-Life)
Hank Jones - Bluesette (Black & Blue FR)
Wynton Kelly - Kelly Blue (Riverside)
Steve Kuhn - Remembering Tomorrow (ECM)
John Lewis [with the MJQ] - The MJQ Plays One Never Knows (Original Film Score for “No Sun In Venice”) (Atlantic)
Harold Mabern - Rakin' and Scrapin' (Prestige)
Marian McPartland - Ambiance (Halcyon/Jazz Alliance)
Jay McShann - Kansas City Hustle (Sackville)
Mulgrew Miller - Live at the Kennedy Center, Vol. 2 (MaxJazz)
Thelonious Monk - Monk's Dream (Columbia/Sony)
Phineas Newborn, Jr. - A World of Piano! (Contemporary)
Herbie Nichols - The Prophetic Herbie Nichols, Vol. 1 & 2 (Blue Note)
Walter Norris - Stepping on Cracks (Progressive)
Oscar Peterson - The Sound of the Trio (Verve)
Michel Petrucciani - Oracle's Destiny: Big Sur, California (Owl)
Enrico Pieranunzi - Perugia Suite (EGEA)
Jean-Michel Pilc [with Mads Vinding & Billy Hart] - Open Minds (Storyville)
Don Pullen - Healing Force (Black Saint)
Michelle Rosewoman - Contrast High (Enja)
Renee Rosnes - Kinds of Love (Smoke Sessions)
Jimmy Rowles - We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together (Xanadu)
Masahiko Sato [with Attila Zoller] - A Path Through Haze (MPS)
Martial Solal - Nothing But Piano (MPS)
Bobo Stenson - Serenity (ECM)
Art Tatum - The Complete Capitol Recordings, Vols. 1 & 2 (Capitol)
Cecil Taylor - The Cecil Taylor Unit (New World)
Mickey Tucker - Mister Mysterious (Muse)
McCoy Tyner - Sama Layuca (Milestone)
Mal Waldron - Moods (Enja)
Fats Waller - Piano Solos 1929-1941 (RCA Bluebird)
Cedar Walton - The Trio, Vol. 1 (Red)
Kenny Werner - Unprotected Music (Double-Time)
Randy Weston - Blues to Africa (Freedom/Arista-Freedom)
James Williams - Magical Trio 2 (EmArcy)
Mary Lou Williams - Free Spirits (SteepleChase)
Larry Willis - Steal Away (Audioquest)
Yosuke Yamashita - Clay (Enja)
Whaddya think?
I'd love to hear from other forum members about their favorite jazz piano albums.