Top jazz trios piano, bass, drums on vinyl?

We have a local jazz DJ who says every Sunday on his show that "jazz is the sound of surprise". For me that perfectly captures why I love jazz. I still have a childish love of surprise. So, when I hear "Waltz for Debby" for the umpteenth time (that one tune, not the whole album), there is no longer any surprise in it for me. I would love to hear Bill Evans play it live, one more time. I am sure he would do it differently from what he does on the recording, and I would dig it.

I have been listening to KOB since I was 15 years old. I lay off of listening to it for years at a time, in my later life, so as to preserve that sense of surprise and discovery when I do listen to it (the whole album, in this case).

I see some great suggestions here. A few of my favorite are "For Duke" on M+K. It is a direct to disc in honor of Duke Ellington. This is a very special record. I seldom play it for anyone but myself, unless someone is a real music lover or audiophile. Another is Muddy Waters on Fidelity 180g. When I am in a rock-n-roll mood, the Heart Little Queen is very well done on a London label.

Wrm57: "Anything by Herbie Nichols. Hints of Monk's angularity, humor, and space with a touch of Tatum. Brilliant stuff. The Mosaic 3-LP box is one of my favs."

I don't have the Mosaic but the Blue Note twofer compilation from the 70's or 80's is one of my favorite piano records and it sits quite well along with anything by Powell or Monk. Brilliant, indeed.

John Lewis is another favorite but I can't remember if he made any pure trio recording. His "Improvised Meditations and Excursions" has a couple trio tracks and the solo album "John Lewis Piano," also on Atlantic, is quite swell. What an elegant player. His autumnal recording "Evolution," CD only, is achingly beautiful.

You mentioned Tatum and his group "masterpiece" recordings on Pablo are crown jewels by the giant. His grouping with Ben Webster is among the must listen recordings.

Going back a little earlier, the greatest pianist before Tatum would have to be Earl Hines. He even made an audiophile recording for M&K "For Fatha" playing some modern tunes. His "Blue Monk" is a joy.

Lennie Tristano's Atlantic twofer is another must have. The first four tracks never seize to amaze me whenever I hear them. I think he might have made a couple trio recordings but none, musically, can touch the Atlantic. Utterly brilliant.

I need to go spin some tunes now. Chiao.

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Almost forgot to add the under-appreciated Wynton Kelly, best known as the "other" piano sideman on Miles Davis's famous "Kind of Blue" LP and one of my personal favorites as a trio player. On KOB, Kelly plays on on the bluesy "Freddy Freeloader" while the legendary Bill Evans does the rest of the piano work. What you might like to check out are some of Kelly's LPs, which are excellent. He varies his line-up and personnel, but a lot of it is trio work, notably with Jimmy Cobb (drums) and Paul Chambers (bass) from the KOB sessions.

Actusreus - thanks. I have the 45 of Portrait in Jazz and it is very fine. I assume the two from that great weekend are also great. It is amazing what Keepnews was able to record in a small venue with a portable recorder.