Introducing Johnny Griffin is the debut album by the tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin. It was released on Blue Note in February 1957.
This record has been an important documentation to me, as it’s one of the best playing by Wynton Kelly; his comping and soloing has taught me numerous things, and still keeps influencing my playing every time I listen to it.
People Time is a live album by saxophonist Stan Getz and pianist Kenny Barron which was recorded in March 1991 at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark.
This album is one of the greatest documentations of piano/sax duo playing, it is a great source for learning piano accompaniment in a duo setting, among many other things.
McCoy Tyner is one of the most important jazz pianists of all time; his distinctive style has been considered as one big part of jazz piano language.
The Real McCoy is the seventh album by McCoy Tyner and his first released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on April 21, 1967, following Tyner’s departure from the John Coltrane Quartet.
This album is a great documentation of Tyner’s style, that has influenced pretty much every piano player since.
Soul Station is an album by saxophonist Hank Mobley, recorded on February 7, 1960.
In the liner notes to the Rudy Van Gelder CD edition, jazz critic Bob Blumenthal explains how the album is understood to be, for Mobley, what Saxophone Colossus or Giant Steps were for Sonny Rollins or John Coltrane. Blumenthal goes on to describe the recording as “one of the finest programs of music on Blue Note or any other label.”
Personnel
Hank Mobley - sax
Wynton Kelly - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Philly Joe Jones - drums
Tracks I’d recommend to start with:
Remember
One of the greatest saxophone solos of all time!
This I Dig Of You
Famous Wynton Kelly Piano Solo - definitely worth checking out!
This recording is a fine documentation of Bill Evans’ solo piano work from the early 60’s. Recorded in 1963, it shows the incredible artistry of Evans; in harmony, rhythm, sound, as well as melody.
In his five-star review in the May 16, 1957 issue of DownBeat magazine, Ralph J. Gleason called the album “modern jazz conceived and executed in the very best style.”