This list came out of a prompt from Bret Zvacek in 2016: “Name twelve jazz albums that made a lasting impression on you—no particular order, one per band.” It was not an invitation to identify the “most important” records in jazz history, nor to assemble a pedagogical checklist for students. It was an invitation to be honest.
What follows is exactly that: a personal listening history. These are albums that shaped how I hear, how I think about form and time, how I understand ensemble interaction, and—perhaps most importantly—how I understand possibility in the music. Some of these records are widely taught and discussed; others live a bit off the standard educational path. That imbalance is intentional.
For students and educators, I want to be clear about how to use a list like this. These are not prescriptions. They are not prerequisites. They are invitations. If you study jazz long enough, you inevitably discover that the records which change you most deeply are not always the ones you were told you should love. This list reflects that reality.
I would not change these selections today, though I could certainly add to them. They still resonate—not because they are flawless or canonical, but because they opened doors for me at particular moments in my development. I share them here in that spirit: not as a roadmap, but as a trace of listening, curiosity, and encounter.
Here’s my list:
- Fred Hersch – Forward Motion
- Jerry Bergonzi – Standard Gonz
- Michael Cain – Circa
- Maria Schneider – Evanescence
- John Coltrane – A Love Supreme
- Jim McNeely – Group Therapy
- Azimuth – How It Was Then… Never Again
- Miles Davis – Four and More
- Kenny Wheeler – Gnu High
- Mel Lewis/Bob Brookmeyer – Live at the the Village Vanguard
- Herbie Hancock – Empyrean Isles
- McCoy Tyner – The Real McCoy
