Jazz must have pressings???


Since this board is dominated by rock n' rollers, let's hear from a jazz oriented crowd.

Being a piano-guitar player my vinyl collection is heavy with those two instruments. I'm thinking of expanding my vinyl collection to balance it a bit.

So the ? is, what selections do you recommend that are absolutely 'must haves'?
128x128coltrane1
Anything you can find by the L.A. Four on Concord is golden. The Concord LPs of the '70s and '80s have stunning clarity and dynamics, and the LA Four was a jazz supergroup composed of Ray Brown, Bud Shank (flute, sax), Laurinda Almeida (classical guitar), and Shelley Manne on drums, later replaced by Jeff Hamilton. I have 3 of their LPs and they're all tremendous, both musically and sonically.

For piano one of my favorites is "Satch and Josh" on Pablo from the mid-'70s. First pairing of Count Basie and Oscar Peterson, which made for an interesting counterpoint of styles while both have an impeccable sense of timing. The band is rounded out with Ray Brown, Freddie Green, and Louie Bellson. In other words, another supergroup.
Coltrane, interesting choice for a moniker by someone who asks for
"must have" jazz lists. ;-)

The problem is that the field of jazz is so diverse, to recommend recordings
to someone I don't know is a very difficult task. As I understand your post
you are looking for specific recording recommendations, not merely artists. So
as one who's moniker on another site includes 3M (for Miles, Monk, and
Mingus) I'll give it a shot.

First, if you'd like a broad perspective on jazz, a great starting place is the
Smithsonian Jazz boxed set. That will expose you to a good variety of styles
and history.

I think the most accessible jazz artist, and therefore an easy one to start with,
is Dave Brubeck. Most might recommend his "Time Out" album.
But I'll suggest his "Quartet at Carnegie Hall" as a better choice,
because it includes his best known hits but also many other gems for more
variety.

Perhaps the artist with the greatest influence on jazz was Louis Armstrong.
Among all his great recordings try "Ambassador Satch" or
"Plays Fats Waller".

My single top desert island disk would be Miles' "Kind of Blue". It
has received much notoriety in the last several years with multiple reissues.
I've owned it since it came out and still never tire of hearing it. Miles changed
his groups and styles several times over his career so no single album
completely represents him. Since you play guitar you may know Rodrigo's
"Concierto de Aranjuez". If you like that check out Miles and Gil
Evans' "Sketches of Spain" which was based on that theme. And I'll
second Elizabeth's choice of "Bitches Brew" as the best of the
"electric Miles" years.

Back to Rodrigo, for subtle guitar it would be hard to top Jim Hall's
"Concierto" which also features Paul Desmond and Chet Baker.

Another choice with lots of discussion (popularity) since it was reissued is
Oliver Nelson's "Blues and the Abstract Truth".

For stream-of-conscious jazz piano, Keith Jarrett's "Koln Concert"
is a marvel of creativity.

In the '50s there was a rivalry between East Coast and West Coast jazz. Two
records that can give a taste of each would be Blakey and the Jazz
Messengers' "Night In Tunisia" and Jerry Mulligan/Chet Baker's
"California Concerts" respectively.

My listing could go on much longer but others have listed good
recommendations too so I'll end with one with a familiar name, John
Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" . I consider that one of his most
accessible albums so a good place to begin with. It is still melodic and before
he got into his "sheets of sound" and more abstract playing.

Have fun digging, this is a very deep mine.
Pryso, you're preachin' to the choir with many of those selections.

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I'm seeking to expand my vinyl collection beyond the huge amount of piano and guitar vinyl I have.

I've tons of cd's, but it's my vinyl collection, or rather MUST HAVE pressings on vinyl that I'm interested in learning about, i.e., Adderly's Something Else, or KOB as you've mentioned. Those are both must have type pressings in my book that I'd recommend to anyone.

Knowledge wise I'm a hobbyist musician, which is to say one is always studying/learning something new. It's a lifetime ambition. There is never an end to learning, whilst one is still breathin'. But thanks for the rec's just the same.

BTW, the moniker came about back in '99 whilst in the midst of signing up I was listening to Blue Trane. I'm actually a bigger Keith Jarrett fan than anything else, but I've always admired Trane's approach to his instrument and music in general!
Check out Grooveshark http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/ A very expansive collection of jazz and some obscure live jazz recordings too. Many jazz lovers have contributed great recordings to this site. Once I get a Squeezebox Touch, I will be listening to it even more.
For me must haves would be Brubeck (Time Out), Chet Baker (Chet), John Coltrane with Johnny Hartman, Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard, and like someone mentioned above any LA Four album. I would go for almost anything that Ray Brown plays bass in as he always kept great company. As far as jazz guitar I really like the 45rpm re-release of the Wes Montgomery Trio which was his first album with just guitar, organ, and drums. Great to hear this very influential guitarist early in his career with such great sound quality.