Top 25 Favorite Jazz Numbers, Vinyl Standard

01 Favorite

Paul Desmond · Time Out · 1959

Take Five

Dave Brubeck Quartet: Dave Brubeck, piano · Paul Desmond, alto saxophone · Eugene Wright, bass · Joe Morello, drums

One of the all-time classics, and a song that belongs in any conversation about the most important jazz records ever made. Joe Morello opens with that hi-hat and ride cymbal pattern, and four bars in you already know exactly where you are. It is one of the most instantly recognizable sounds in the music. Paul Desmond's alto floats over the top, Brubeck keeps the 5/4 unshakable, and the whole thing feels effortless even though almost nothing about it should. A record I never get tired of.

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02 Favorite

Miles Davis · Ascenseur Pour L’Échafaud · 1958

Générique

Miles Davis, trumpet · Barney Wilen, tenor saxophone · René Urtreger, piano · Pierre Michelot, bass · Kenny Clarke, drums

Recorded in one night in December 1957 while Miles improvised directly to Louis Malle's noir film. One of the sexiest jazz tracks you will ever hear, and the perfect after-midnight listen. The trumpet hovers like a question with no answer, the room shrinks around it, and everything outside the music quietly disappears.

Read the Ascenseur review ›

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