Top Ten from the 70s

[GA Russell]

There is a thread over at AAJ calling for the posters to list the best 25 albums recorded since 1980. I enjoyed going through my database and recalling some albums I hadn't heard in quite a while.

So while I was at it, I went through the 70s and thought I would start a similar thread here. Most of my 70s jazz featured electric instruments, and for that reason are not as appealling to me now. I was struck going through the list how many I didn't particularly want to listen to.

Anyway, here's my top ten list of albums recorded in the 1970s. What's yours?

First the vocals:

If - If2

Mark Murphy - Sings

Michael Franks - Sleeping Gypsy

Blood Sweat & Tears - Brand New Day

The Hi-Lo's - Back Again

and the instrumentals:

Attila Zoller - Gypsy Cry

Charlie Byrd & Cal Tjader - Tambu

Jean-Luc Ponty - Cosmic Messenger

Mike Nock - In Out & Around

Art Pepper - Today

[montg]

Red Clay would be at the top of my list. Along with Dexter Gordon. There's an impressive list of favorite recordings from the 70s and 80s on the Bad Plus blog:

badplus

[White Lightning]

many many wonderful recordings. Here are several that I like a lot:

F.Hubbard - Red Clay

C.Tolliver - Strata East Recordings (yeah, I cheated...)

G.Mulligan - The Age of steam

Brotherhood of Breath - Traveling Somewhere

D.Holland - Conference Of The Birds

C.Jordan - Glass Bead Games

K.Burrell - ellington is forever vol.1

V.Dickenson - gentlemen of the trombone

W.Shaw - Stepping Stones

N.Brignola & P.Adams - Baritone Madness

Edited September 23, 2006 by White Lightning

[Hot Ptah]

Dizzy Gillespie and Machito--Afro Cuban Jazz Moods

Sun Ra-Cosmos

Air-Air Lore

Jack DeJohnette--Special Edition

Arthur Blythe--Lenox Avenue Breakdown

Johnny Griffin--Return of the Griffin

Art Ensemble of Chicago--Les Stances a Sophie

McCoy Tyner--Trident

McCoy Tyner--Supertrios

McCoy Tyner--Focal Point

There are about 50 more I should list.

Edited September 24, 2006 by Hot Ptah

[B. Goren.]

First 10 who came to my mind:

• Sam Rivers/Dave Holland: Vol. 1

• Sam Rivers/Dave Holland: Vol. 2

• Pharoah Sanders: Black Unity

• Alice Coltrane: Ptah the El Daoud

• Lee Morgan: Live at the Lighthouse

• Joe Henderson: Live at the Lighthouse

• Archie Shepp & Horace Parlan: Goin' Home

• Charles Mingus: Let My Children Hear Music

• Oscar Peterson: The London Concert

• Toshiko Akiyoshi & Lew Tabackin Big Band: Long Yellow Road

[Eric]

Miles Davis - Live/Evil

George Freeman - Birth Sign

Bobby Hutcherson - Live at Montreaux

Akiyoshi/Tabakin Big Band - Insight

Warne Marsh - All Music

Woody Shaw - Little Red's Fantasy

Art Pepper - Art Pepper Today

Joe Pass - Intercontinental

Dave Holland & Sam Rivers Vol. 1

and about 99 to be named later ...

Edited September 23, 2006 by Eric

[(BB)]

Paul Bley - Open to Love (72)

Miles Davis - Jack Johnson (70)

Herbie Hancock - Mwandishi (71)

DeJohnette - Special Edition (79)

Ben Webster - Did You Call (78)

If you could slip into the early 80's I would swap out Miles or Herbie for Don Cherry - El Corazon (82)

David Bowie - Low (77)

Elvis Costello - My Aim is True (77)

Kraftwerk - Ralf and Florian (75)

John Prine - John Prine (71)

Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner (75)

[Jim R]

Chet Baker - Deep In A Dream Of You (Moon)

Kenny Burrell - Village Vanguard recordings (Muse)

Eddie Davis - Straight Ahead (Pablo)

Paul Desmond - Pure Desmond (CTI)

Art Farmer - Yesterday's Thoughts (East Wind)

Dexter Gordon - The Jumpin' Blues (Prestige); Swiss Nights vols 1-3 (Steeplechase)

Lou Levy - My Old Flame (Dobre)

Blue Mitchell - Last Dance (JAM) recently released on CD as "Stablemates" (Candid)

Horace Parlan - Alone (Steeplechase)

Frank Rosolino - Frank Talks (Storyville)

George Shearing Trio (w/Louis Stewart, NHOP) - Windows;Getting In The Swing Of Things;500 Miles High (MPS)

Sonny Stitt - Constellation; Tune Up (Muse)

Sarah Vaughan - Live In Japan (Mainstream)

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Well, I've got 25 which I thought were definitely good enough to be in the top 10 - the differences being so marginal as not to count.

What I found interesting going through was that there is a concentration of really great stuff in the start of the decade and then things tail off a bit. 18 are from 1970-73, 7 from 1974-1979.

Boogaloo Joe Jones – Right on brother (Feb 1970)

Lonnie Smith – Live at Club Mozambique (May 1970)

Grant Green – Alive (Aug 1970)

David Newman – Captain Buckles (Nov 1970)

Stanley Turrentine – Sugar (Nov 1970)

Sonny Stitt – Just the way it was: Live at the Left Bank (Mar 1971)

Jimmy McGriff – Black pearl (Summer? 1971)

Jimmy McGriff & Junior Parker – Chicken fried soul (Summer 1971)

Charles Williams – Trees & grass & things (late 1971 or early 1972)

David Newman – Lonely Avenue (Nov 1971)

Melvin Sparks – Akilah (Feb 1972)

Leon Spencer – Where I’m comin’ from (Feb 1972)

Johnny Lytle – People and love (Aug 1972)

Charles Earland – Live at the Lighthouse (Oct 1972)

Gene Ammons – Big bad Jug (Oct & Nov 1972)

Boogaloo Joe Jones – Snake rhythm rock (Nov 1972)

Cornell Dupree – Teasin’ (Nov 1973)

Charles Earland – Leaving this planet (Dec 1973)

David Newman – Newmanism (1974)

Sonny Criss – Crisscraft (Feb 1975)

Idris Muhammad – House of the rising sun (Jun-Oct 1975)

Houston Person – Wildflower (Sep 1977)

Willis Jackson – Bar wars (Dec 1977)

Don Patterson – Why not (Jan 1978)

Grant Green – Easy (Apr 1978)

Another interesting thing is that comparatively few are presently available; just over half, I think.

MG

[Patrick]

70s are under-represented in my collection. My favs, many mentioned previously, include

Woody Shaw- Stepping Stones, Little Red's Fantasy

Kenny Burrell- Ellington is Forever, Vol. 1

Modern Jazz Quartet- Complete Last Concert

Herbie Hancock- Head Hunters

Ellington/Brown- This One's for Blanton

Hall/Carter- Alone Together

Dave Holland- Conference of the Birds

McCoy Tyner- Echoes of a Friend

Haven't yet cracked open Dewey Redman- Musics, or Nat Adderley- A Little New York Midtown Music from the Concord sale.

[Peter Friedman]

Impossible to limit my list to ten.

Here are some of my favorite recordings from the '70's.

Count Basie - Kansas City Five

Zoot Sims - Warm Tenor

Sonny Criss - Saturday Morning

Tommy Flanagan Trio - Eclypso

Art Farmer - To Duke With Love

Paul Desmond Quartet - Live

Charles McPherson - Beautiful

Johnny Griffin - Bush Dance

Jimmy Rushing - The You And Me That Used To Be

Dolo Coker - California Hard (w. Art Pepper & Blue Mitchell)

Modern Jazz Quartet - Last Concert

Barry Harris Trio - Plays Barry Harris

Warne Marsh - All Music

Sarah Vaughan - How Long Has This Been Going On

Dexter Gordon - The Panther

Sonny Stitt - Constellation

Al Cohn _ No Problem

Benny Carter - The King

Bill Evans - The Paris Concert, Edition One

Edited September 24, 2006 by Peter Friedman

[vodka]

Off the top of my head (in no particular order):

Sam Rivers - Crystals

John Lewis - Statements and Sketches for Development

Anthony Braxton - Quartet (Dortmund) 1976

East New York Ensemble De Music - At the Helm

Ornette Coleman/Charlie Haden - Soapsuds

Chico Freeman - Spirit Sensitive

Ken McIntyre - Chasing the Sun

Clifford Thornton - The Panther and the Lash

Cecil McBee - Alternate Spaces

Paul Motian - Dance

Keith Jarrett - The Survivors' Suite

Eberhard Weber - Silent Feet

Beaver Harris - Beautiful Africa

Johnny Dyani - Song for Biko

Walt Dickerson - Peace

Hans Koller - Phoenix

Randy Weston - African Nite

Getz with Clarke/Boland - Change of Scenes

Brubeck/Desmond - The Duets

and many, many others...

[B. Goren.]

First 10 who came to my mind:

• Sam Rivers/Dave Holland: Vol. 1

• Sam Rivers/Dave Holland: Vol. 2

• Pharoah Sanders: Black Unity

• Alice Coltrane: Ptah the El Daoud

• Lee Morgan: Live at the Lighthouse

• Joe Henderson: Live at the Lighthouse

• Archie Shepp & Horace Parlan: Goin' Home

• Charles Mingus: Let My Children Hear Music

• Oscar Peterson: The London Concert

• Toshiko Akiyoshi & Lew Tabackin Big Band: Long Yellow Road

After 2ed thought: Some of Keith Jarrett recordings for Impulse must be included in my list. I cant believe nobody mentioned these wonderful recordings.

[sidewinder]

Woody Shaw - 'The Iron Man', 'Love Dance', 'Stepping Stones'

Miles Davis - 'Agharta', 'Get Up With It', 'On The Corner'

Gil Evans - 'Plays the Music of Jimmy Hendrix'

John Surman/John Warren - 'Tales of the Algonquin'

Mike Westbrook - 'Metropolis', 'Citadel/Room 315'

John Taylor - 'Pause and Think Again'

Neil Ardley - 'Symphony of Amaranths', 'Kaleidoscope of Rainbows'

Lee Morgan - 'Live at the Lighthouse'

Pat Martino - 'Impressions', 'Live'

RR Kirk - 'Rahsaan Rahsaan'

Clarke-Boland/Getz - 'Changes of Scene', 'Off Limits'

Cedar Walton - 'Eastern Rebellion 1 - 4'

Chet Baker - 'Broken Wing'

Lots of great jazz from the 1970s..

Edited September 24, 2006 by sidewinder

[DatDere]

I really like the Music Inc. albums on Strata-East from the 70s.

[P.L.M]

I just listed what came out in the seventies, not records from this period publish in the eighties, nineties or even closer to today:

- PAUL BLEY: OPEN, TO LOVE (ECM)

- DEREK BAILEY & EVAN PARKER: THE LONDON CONCERT (INCUS)

- ANTHONY BRAXTON: THE MONTREUX/ BERLIN CONCERTS (ARISTA)

- ORNETTE COLEMAN: SCIENCE FICTION (COLUMBIA)

- MILES DAVIS: LIVE/ EVIL (COLUMBIA)

- WALT DICKERSON: TO MY SON (STEEPLECHASE)

- STEVE LACY: POINTS (LE CHANT DU MONDE)

- GEORGE LEWIS: HOMMAGE TO CHARLES PARKER (BLACK SAINT)

- FRANK LOWE: THE FLAM (BLACK SAINT)

- EVAN PARKER: AT THE UNITY THEATER (INCUS)

- SAM RIVERS: STREAMS (AT THE MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL) (IMPULSE)

- CECIL TAYLOR: ONE TOO MANY SALTY SWIFT AND NOT GOODBYE (hatOLOGY)

[marcello]

Charles Mingus - Changes One & Changes Two

Thad & Mel - Consummation

Dizzy Gillespie - Portrait of Jenny

Cedar Walton - Pitt Inn

Woody Shaw - Moontrane

Carmen McRae - Live at the Great American Music Hall

Miles Davis - Agartha

Clifford Jordan - Glass Bead Games

Gil Evans - Svengali

Sonny Rollins - Live in Japan

[clifford_thornton]

[ep1str0phy]

It's actually refreshing that, after the whole Dave Douglas/Bad Plus ballyhoo over 70's/80's recordings that's been going about the blogs, people are exercising a fervent interest over an oft-neglected historical period. Some favorites that (perhaps) haven't been mentioned:

Brotherhood of Breath: Brotherhood of Breath and Brotherhood

Louis Moholo: Spirits Rejoice

Johnny Dyani: Witchdoctor's Son

Dudu Pukwana: In the Townships

Dewey Redman: Coincide

Charles Tolliver: Impact

Don Cherry: Brown Rice

Frank Lowe: Black Beings

Billy Harper: In Europe and Trying to Make Heaven My Home

Cecil Taylor: 3 Phasis

Frank Wright/Noah Howard: Church Number Nine and Uhuru Na Umoja

Pharoah Sanders: Black Unity

AEC: Nice Guys

Andrew Hill: Hommage

Anthony Braxton: Five Pieces (becoming one, anyway)

Bobby Hutcherson/Harold Land: San Francisco

Billy Bang: Sweet Space

Julius Hemphill: Dogon A.D.

-I guess you could pick any ten of those (they'd change on another day...)

-This doesn't even include more free improvish sides, like Derek Bailey's solo work, Topography of the Lungs, the 70's Globe Unity Orchestra Material, The Gentle Harm of the Bourgeoisie, etc.

-Double on Soapsuds, Soapsuds

Edited September 24, 2006 by ep1str0phy

[mikeweil]

Herbie Hancock - Crossings

Tony Williams Lifetime - Ego

Miles Davis - Live Evil

Bennie Maupin - The Jewel in the Lotus

Stanley Cowell - Illusion Suite

Duke Ellington - New Orleans Suite (thanks, fellows, for the reminder!)

Rahsaan Roland Kirk & Al Hibbler - A Meeting of the Times (that's the one that encouraged me to explore Ellingtonia!)

... will add more later.

Edited September 26, 2006 by mikeweil

[Hot Ptah]

I said in my earlier post on this thread that I should list 50 more. I still have not had time to go through my records to come up with a comprehensive list, but here are some I am thinking of--in addition to the ten I posted earlier in the thread:

Duke Ellington--New Orleans Suite (I have just read that this album was released in April, 1970. It should be #1 on the list of 1970s albums, in my opinion).

Sam Rivers--Waves

Sun Ra--Unity

Eddie Jefferson-The Main Man

Carla Bley--Escalator Over The Hill

Carla Bley-Dinner Music

Carla Bley-European Tour '77

George Adams--Sound Suggestions

George Adams--Paradise Space Shuttle

Chico Freeman--Spirit Sensitive

Ricky Ford--Manhattan Plaza

Charles Mingus--Changes One

Charles Mingus--Changes Two

Charles Mingus--Let My Children Hear Music

Charles Mingus--Cumbia and Jazz Fusion

Randy Weston--Tanjah

Count Basie and Oscar Peterson--Satch and Josh

Dexter Gordon--Stable Mable

David Murray--Holy Siege On Intrigue

Roscoe Mitchell--Nonaah

Art Ensemble of Chicago--People in Sorrow

Art Ensemble of Chicago--Fanfare for the Warriors

Art Ensemble of Chicago--Live at Mandel Hall

Art Ensemble of Chicago--Nice Guys

Art Ensemble of Chicago--Full Force

Stan Getz and Jimmy Rowles--The Peacocks

Stan Getz--Gold (Happy 50th Stan)

Charlie Haden-Closeness

Charlie Haden--The Golden Number

Archie Shepp and Horace Parlan--Goin' Home

Richard Davis--The Philosophy of the Spiritual

Richard Davis--Epistrophy and Now's The Time

Arthur Blythe--In the Tradition

Heath Brothers--Live at the Public Theater

Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Carter--Carter, Gillespie, Inc.

Joe Pass--Portraits of Duke Ellington

Bill Evans--You Must Believe in Spring

Jess Stacy--Stacy Still Swings

Dave Burrell--Windward Passages

Mahavishnu Orchestra-The Inner Mounting Flame

Mahavishnu Orchestra--Birds of Fire

Jaco Pastorius--Jaco Pastorius

McCoy Tyner--Echoes of a Friend

Chick Corea-Light as A Feather

Keith Jarrett-The Koln Concert

Keith Jarrett-Belonging

Cecil Taylor--Silent Tongues

Anthony Braxton-Creative Orchestra Music '76

James Newton--Paseo Del Mar

Mary Lou Williams- Free Spirits

Betty Carter--Now It's My Turn

Paul Desmond--Pure Desmond

Rahsaan Roland Kirk--Bright Moments

Abdullah Ibrahim--Ode to Duke Ellington

Kenny Wheeler--Gnu High

I am sure that I will think of more soon.

Edited September 25, 2006 by Hot Ptah

[Hot Ptah]

Yes, I have thought of a few more:

Zoot Sims--Hawthorne Nights

Lew Tabackin--Rites of Pan

Ronnie Matthews--Roots, Branches and Dances

Chick Corea/Gary Burton--Crystal Silence

Duke Ellington--The Ellington Suites (not released until the 1970s)

Edited September 26, 2006 by Hot Ptah

[paul secor]

A lot of fine records were released in the 70s. I could easily list 100-150 favorite records, but I cut it down to something relatively manageable. Here goes:

Air: Air Time

Art Ensemble of Chicago: Les Stances a Sophie

Chet Baker: The Touch of Your Lips

Jaki Byard: Flight of the Fly

Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham

Ornette Coleman: Paris Concert

Ted Curson: Blue Piccolo

Paul Desmond Quartet

Walt Dickerson w. Wilbur Ware & Andrew Cyrille: Tell Us Only the Beautiful Things

Roy Eldridge: The Nifty Cat

Boulo & Elios Ferre: Pour Django

Charlie Haden: The Golden Number

Earl Hines: Plays Ellington

Jo Jones: The Main Man

Jimmy Knepper: In L.A.

Warne Marsh: All Music

Max Roach: M'Boom

Roswell Rudd/Giorgio Gaslini: Sharing

Leo Smith: Spirit Catcher

Archie Shepp & Horace Parlan: Goin' Home

Sonny Stitt: Tune Up!

Cecil Taylor Unit: Akisakila

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Interesting to see how far from most people's taste mine is; of all the albums posted in this thread so far, I've only actually got 15 (though a few have been mentioned more than once).

MG

[paul secor]

A dozen favorite blues (& blues related) records from the 70s:

James Booker: Junco Partner

Joe Carter: Mean & Evil Blues

Clifton Chenier: Bogalusa Boogie

Fernest and the Thunders

Johnny Fuller: Fuller's Blues

Good Rockin' Charles

Guitar Shorty: Alone in his Field

Martin, Bogan & Armstrong

Professor Longhair: Rock 'n' Roll Gumbo - This was originally released in the 70s, but the remixed, remastered Dancing Cat reissue from the 80s is the one to get - sounds like a different (& better) record.

Snooky Pryor and the Country Blues

The Raw Harmonica Blues of Charlie Sayles

Tarheel Slim: No Time at All