BEST little know Jazz Album that you ever heard?

Given the caliber of responses posted here I think most will appreciate the superb jazz guitarist Ed Cherry. This is his trio performing in a small NYC venue in 2016.

@wharfy I believe you’ll really like these guys. They can play!!

Given the caliber of responses posted here I think most will appreciate the superb jazz guitarist Ed Cherry.

I concur with Ed Cherry...

One of my very loved jazz guitar album with "Formidable" by Pat Martino is Ed Cherry playing "it’s all good" :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsH3Mr0tXws

Here he plays with a delicate fingering and his tone expression are fabulous ...

@mahgister 

Here he plays with a delicate fingering and his tone expression are fabulous

Spot on! 👍

Love the accompanying drummer here. Very nice cymbal work. Very nice by all involved on this recording.

Charles

This is great. Got out of my standard listening mode and appreciate all these lost classics. Duke Pearson!!!  Just great!

I have a long list since this has been a sweet spot for me for the last decade. I don’t know about "best," but some interesting ones include:

Milt Ward & Virgo Spectrum (reissued as a needle drop- the OG is now very scarce and worthwhile if you can find one in unmolested condition);

Ronnie Boykins, The Will Come, Is Now- it sounds like everybody is out of tune but wait-- they pull together beautifully;

Jothan Collins- Winds of Change- Birmingham, Ala educator who studied under Nathan Davis at Pitt;

Nathan Davis-6th Sense In The 11th House- famous for his stints in Paris, followed by his organization of various jazz studies programs when he returned to the States, this is one of his seminal albums, on Segue Records;

Woody Shaw- Blackstone Legacy- not exactly obscure, but hard to find in top condition as an OG. Recently reissued and worth every penny. (So is the OG if you can find a clean copy at a decent price);

Cecil McBee- Mutima- I realized I’ve been listening to McBee since the ’80s and he appears on so many influential post-bop records. This one, on Strata-East, features McBee. One of the most melodic and "inside the track" players, always complementing rather than distracting from the main theme.

Nate Morgan- Journey into Nigritia--killer keyboard player, part of the West Coast scene, on Nimbus West, along with Horace Tapscott, whose

Live at I.U.C.C. (particularly side three) is just stupendous. It’s a large band, not quite as out there as Sun Ra, superb musicianship, lots to engage you.

One blues record to leave you with Calvin Leavy- Cummins Prison Farm- originally released as a single, it found its way onto an album released in Japan. Real deal blues, not played by rote, and a good voice.

Enjoy,

Bill Hart