Jazz for aficionados

All of the above are phenomenal suggestions, and the number of fantastic recordings make it difficult to pick out even four or five.  So I will try to suggest one that hasn't been mentioned and is a little obscure: The Sound of Jazz - A TV special in 1957.  The show can be seen on YouTube, amazingly enough.  The album from that session was EPIC.  Red Allen, Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Count Basie, Mal Waldron . . . A must listen for any jazz aficionado!  And to be able to see them play (although not great video quality) makes this special set even more special.  This was the first time that Lester and Billie played together after their long rift, and Young died not long after.  For more info on this amazing session, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sound_of_Jazz

@frogman, thanks!  Glad you enjoyed it.  I actually just put it on tonight as I haven't seen it in a while.  Even better than I remember!  Red Allen's "Rosetta" with Coleman Hawkins et al. is masterful, as is Billie Holliday's "Fine and Mellow," although everything is magnificent.  Here is the link for anyone that is interested in watching . . .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMkHxEyXV5Y

@rok2id, interesting . . . Fine & Mellow didn’t make me sad, other than to think how we lost such a great talent. Even with her voice shot, she was amazing, and you’re right, she OWNED that song. Look at her face as her friends are doing their solos . . . a long career with friends who supported her in the ’30’s all together again . . . I may watch it again now! FYI, the LP from the show is a much better recording, quality-wise than the TV soundtrack, and was apparently recorded on a different day, and the arrangements are slightly different. Definitely a great listen . . .

And thanks to the OP and others for reminding me of "Moanin’" and "Bean Bags," two recordings that I hadn’t listened to in ages and pulled up because of this thread! Talk about timeless records!

I think that there is no right or wrong when talking about Sound of Jazz.  Rok2id is certainly correct that there are other jazz "greats" that should have performed with the 32 that did, but as frogman pointed out, who knows what Louie Armstrong's or the Duke's availability was at the time of the taping? For all we know, more were invited and either didn't want to participate or were unable to participate.  Plus, mix into that the fact that the format of the show only allowed for 55 minutes of broadcast, so it wasn't as if you could just play as many songs as you wanted.  

Here is the ultimate lineup:
Open All Night (aka Fast and Happy Blues) - Count Basie All Stars: Emmett Berry, Doc Cheatham, Joe Newman, Joe Wilder (tp); Roy Eldridge (tp, flhn); Vic Dickenson, Benny Morton, Dicky Wells (tb); Earl Warren (as); Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster (ts); Gerry Mulligan (bs); Count Basie (p); Freddie Green (g); Eddie Jones (b); Jo Jones (d)
The Count Blues - Basie, Green and E. Jones playing as John Crosby introduces the show.
Wild Man Blues - Composed By Louis Armstrong, Performed by: Henry "Red" Allen, Rex Stewart (tp); Pee Wee Russell (cl); Coleman Hawkins (ts); Vic Dickenson (tb); Milt Hinton (b); Danny Barker (g); Nat Pierce (p)
Rosetta - Composed by Earl "Fatha" Hines and William Henri Woode. Personnel same as Wild Man Blues.
Dickie's Dream - Same personnel as Open All Night
Blue Monk - Thelonious Monk (p); Ahmed Abdul Malik (b); Osie Johnson (d) (does not appear on 2003 idem DVD release)
I Left My Baby - Jimmy Rushing (v), with Count Basie All Stars (personnel same as Open All Night)
Fine and Mellow - Billie Holiday (v), with Mal Waldron All Stars: Roy Eldridge, Doc Cheatham (tp); Vic Dickenson (tb); Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Lester Young (ts); Gerry Mulligan (bs); Mal Waldron (p); Milt Hinton (b); Osie Johnson (d)
The Train and the River - Jimmy Giuffre Trio: Jimmy Giuffre (cl, ts, bs); Jim Hall (g); Jim Atlas (b)
Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gave to Me (appears on item DVD release, 2003), performed by Jimmy Giuffre, Pee Wee Russell (cl); Jo Jones (d); Danny Barker (g); Milt Hinton (b).

With Billie, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Basie, Thelonious Monk, Ben Webster, Russell, Freddie Green, etc.  It's a pretty damn impressive collection of over-the-top talent to get organized to perform together at the same time and in one place.  Think about the logistics involved to pull that off today . . . Schedules, negotiations, contracts, pay, cooperation among record companies, royalty splits and credits, rivalries, egos, selections that everyone agrees on . . .  It is monumental.

Nat Hentoff . . . he is recognized as a "professor" of sorts of jazz during that period, and like any academic trying to impose intellectual analysis on a visceral experience like jazz will not surprisingly come off like a know-it-all and have opinions that others disagree with.  But looking at what he assembled, regardless of some of his pontifications about one record or another, it was pretty impressive, even judged from these days, not to mention then, when everything was done with letters and telephone calls!

@rok2id, the track list from the DVD (released in 2003) includes more of the songs than were on the LP or CD.  I've been unable to locate a copy of the DVD, however . . . :(

As an aside, I am blown away by the amount of content on Youtube of old clips of the greats.  It's just amazing, especially when you consider the technology (or lack thereof) that was available! 

Now, now . . . we all know that everyone has different preferences in music.  Aside from my love of jazz, which my wife doesn't like at all, I love Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Pink Floyd.  She hates ELP, but loves Pink Floyd.  Why?  No real way to explain other than I like it or I don't.  Same thing here.  Some people like atonal jazz, others like dixieland or swing.  Doesn't mean that one LP sucks and another is epic.  The only thing that is subject to intellectual analyzing is perhaps the skill of the musician, which most can appreciate regardless of whether they enjoy the music. So the visceral experience is taste dependent, while the intellectual analysis of the music attempts to impose some sort of objective framework on music, which is just not possible when it comes to one LP being "better" than another.  Just my opinion . . . YMMV.  :)

@orpheus10, Señor Blues rocks!  never listened to that before.  Really great stuff!  I like both versions!

@rok2id, at the risk of being too much of a "fanboy" for The Sound Of Jazz," I have the BluRay version ripped to my music server in two flavors:  one is a 2.5 gig MKV and one is a 22 gig BDMV file.  It has more stuff than was on the Sound of Jazz LP, but I have to say that the sound quality is absolutely phenomenal.  I also think that I successfully ripped just the audio track out in 24/96.  If you want either one, PM me and I can send you a link to download it directly from my server . . . :)

@orpheus10 , you mentioned Jimmy Smith.  I love his music. What about "Back at the Chicken Shack" in SACD? A great recording and great quality too! Has anyone mentioned Bill Evans Trio Live at the Village Vanguard in XRCD?  There is just so much great jazz out there, this thread is causing me to go back through my collection and listen to some of the less "famous" choices, which is fantastic!  And that is not even getting to the '70's!

@rok2id , Glad I could help. But I have to say that the BluRay audio is light years better that even the CD in terms of sound quality.  I'm actually not sure how they cleaned it up so well, but it is pretty impressive.  When I get the BluRay audio properly tagged, I'll walk you through the very simple process of downloading it from my server.  It'll be a whole new world!

@orpheus10 , two great suggestions.  I am again amazed at what YouTube has up for old video.  So great seeing some of these great performers!

On the playlist for today:  Oscar Peterson Plays Count Basie!

@frogman, rules to live by!
Now, on to the music.  First, thanks for the Les McCann suggestion, @jzzmusician!  Never heard it before, at least, not that I can recall!  Just gave it a listen and it definitely rocks -- not my "favorite," but great listening!  Thanks.
This thread is pretty long, but I haven't seen mention of Lionel Hampton.  I was just listening to Gold Vibes/Silver Vibes last night, and marveled at how great it was and has stood the test of time.  I love the sound of the vibes, and Milt Jackson's work is some of my favorite as well.

As for "new" jazz, one of my favorites is Patricia Barber's Companion.  Small club recording, extremely high quality recording, and features some great stuff.  It is one of my test CD's for testing stereo equipment.  Definitely worth a listen!

I'll just note that despite some amusing banter and sometimes opinionated comments, I have either discovered or re-discovered some phenomenal music through the recommendations on this thread, so thanks, @orpheus10 !