[Start Here] Jazz Masterpieces: A Must-Listen Album Selection

Pop music writer/editorKEI
A style that keeps updating my favorites while loving mainstream and hit songs. I have experience writing articles for outlets like Utaten. Since I discovered music as a student, I’ve mainly listened to Japanese and Korean pop. 2000s J-POP and 2010s K-POP were my youth, and I’m also loosely into jazz and R&B. I enjoy good music across genres with a “good is good” mindset. Thanks to my past work environment (and its influence), I listened to a lot of classic rock and kayōkyoku, which may have broadened my tastes. At RAG MUSIC, I mainly cover K-POP. I focus on reviews that emphasize feelings people can relate to, and on editing aligned with local pride and hit potential. Thank you!
music writerKOH-1
Started working as a music writer as a side job while employed at a record shop, and have been contributing to music magazines and web media for over 15 years. Although Western music is my main field, I always strive to stay curious with the motto, “I like what I like.” I have experience playing in a band, where I was a bassist responsible for songwriting and composition. Instruments I’ve performed on include bass, guitar, and piano. I resumed piano lessons after turning 40 and have been continuing ever since!

What kind of impression do you have of the musical genre known as jazz?

You might think of it as somewhat stylish, or perhaps a bit intimidating and highbrow.

The history of jazz, which includes many subgenres, can’t be summed up easily—and of course, it’s not just music from a bygone era.

This time, for those who are interested but don’t know where to start, we’ve picked out a selection of classic, standard albums that have gone down in jazz history—perfect as your first listen.

Be sure to check them out!

[Start with this one] Jazz masterpieces: A must-listen album selection (41–50)

Minnie the MoocherCab Calloway

Cab Calloway – Minnie the Moocher

Minnie the MoocherCab Calloway

A song written by bandleader, jazz composer, and singer Cabell “Cab” Calloway III and Irving Mills.

It was released in 1931.

The song received a Grammy Honors award at the 1999 Grammy Awards.

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[Start with this one] Jazz masterpieces: A must-hear album selection (51–60)

Brilliant Corners

Brilliant CornersThelonious Monk

Thelonious Monk – Brilliant Corners

Brilliant CornersThelonious Monk

In every music genre, there are artists who weren’t widely recognized during their active years but were later reappraised.

Thelonious Monk, now celebrated as a giant among jazz pianists, is surely one of them.

The fact that Clint Eastwood—renowned as an actor and director and known as a devoted jazz fan—produced the documentary Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser in 1988 speaks volumes about Monk’s influence.

Monk was known for a distinctive playing style that seemed to deviate from conventional music theory, and at the time, there were aspects that traditional jazz fans found hard to understand.

If you listen to Brilliant Corners, released in 1957 and often cited as one of his masterpieces, you’ll be struck by his overwhelming individuality: the curious use of dissonance, the tempo changes, and the seemingly abrupt shifts in musical development across the tracks.

Monk was also a gifted composer, and while his forward-thinking style may feel a bit challenging to those new to jazz, I recommend setting aside preconceptions and simply enjoying the freedom of the music he unfolds on this album.

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Lush LifeBilly Strayhorn

BILLY STRAYHORN sings and plays LUSH LIFE!

Lush LifeBilly Strayhorn

A jazz standard originally called “Life is Lonely.” Billy Strayhorn was 16 when he worked on this piece.

Having been drilled in books and sheet music by his mother from an early age, Strayhorn was not a typical teenager; there’s an anecdote that his classmates nicknamed him “Dictionary.”

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Lullaby of BirdlandElla Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald: Lullaby of Birdland

Lullaby of BirdlandElla Fitzgerald

A piece composed in 1952 by George Shearing, an Anglo-American jazz pianist.

Named after the saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker and performed by many prominent jazz musicians, it is a tribute to the New York jazz club Birdland.

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One for My BabyFred Astaire

Fred Astaire: One for My Baby (dance & song)

One for My BabyFred Astaire

It’s a melancholy song composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer for the 1943 film “The Sky’s the Limit.” It has been covered by many artists, including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Paul Anka, Marvin Gaye, and Iggy Pop.

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Real Ugly WomanJimmy Witherspoon

Jimmy Witherspoon Real Ugly Woman 1951

Real Ugly WomanJimmy Witherspoon

A song produced by the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

It was first performed at a concert in Los Angeles, California by Jimmy Witherspoon, who was known for his vocal style referred to as a “blues shouter.”

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BakaiJohn Coltrane

John Coltrane – Bakai (1957)

BakaiJohn Coltrane

A track from the first album recorded under John Coltrane’s own name.

The album was originally titled “First Trane,” but it is now sold as “Coltrane.” The song title “Bakai” means “cry” in Arabic.

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