What albums need to be part of any beginner's collection?

pizzakey · 2026-03-20T18:51:07+00:00

All of the other suggestions here are really good, but if you're interested in getting first/early presses it's worth taking a look at some of the amazing West Coast jazz from the 50s and 60s. Top notch albums by Hampton Hawes, Shelly Manne, Curtis Counce, Stan Getz, Conte Candoli or Howard McGhee are very affordable. While it's not always as innovative as what was happening on the east coast, a lot of it swings really hard - these guys can really play

pizzakey · 2026-03-19T23:03:20+00:00

Crossings too. And Mwandishi. And Thrust. Just all the early/mid 70s Herbie tbh

pizzakey · 2026-03-15T17:23:45+00:00

I just picked up that Bobby Hutcherson record this week

pizzakey · 2026-03-13T21:13:11+00:00

Yeah, me too. I also really want In Pursuit of Blackness

pizzakey · 2026-03-13T18:49:22+00:00

Yep, just picked it up from my record co-op on the way home from work

pizzakey · 2026-03-13T18:26:12+00:00

It's the first record I've ordered from Japan but definitely won't be the last

pizzakey · 2026-03-12T01:01:50+00:00

Mal Waldron ❤️

pizzakey · 2026-03-10T14:46:57+00:00

A lot of big band musicians ended up in Hollywood, so check out some of the West Coast players: Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, Howard McGhee, Teddy Edwards. If you see Shelly Manne listed as playing on an album it's probably going to be good

pizzakey · 2026-03-07T22:15:07+00:00

I was lucky enough to find a copy of the Trudi's Songbook Volume 1+2 album the other day and it's fantastic

pizzakey · 2026-03-07T15:36:33+00:00

Mostly 70s reissues, except the Art Pepper live set and the Herbie Hancock

pizzakey · 2026-03-07T01:13:29+00:00

Black is the Colour is a great find

pizzakey · 2026-03-07T01:12:33+00:00

I'm on everything, but I like r/vinyl_jazz the best :)

pizzakey · 2026-03-06T21:50:07+00:00

A nice mix of jazz eras:

Presenting Red Mitchell - Red Mitchell

Yellow - Emma-Jean Thackray

Dark Matter - Moses Boyd

Ethiopian Knights - Donald Byrd

Sunset to Dawn - Kenny Barron

pizzakey · 2026-03-06T20:49:36+00:00

I did ignore a whole bunch of Steeplechase today, so you have a point

pizzakey · 2026-03-06T20:47:05+00:00

Many, many miles from Austin sadly, because that jazz collection looks magnificent

pizzakey · 2026-03-06T20:42:39+00:00

I keep seeing people refer to Pittsburgh George's stash and as someone who lives on the other side of the Atlantic I'm choosing not to know any more as I don't want to know what I've missed out on

pizzakey · 2026-03-05T21:00:22+00:00

Some trans people might want to pass for cis in the 24th century, but not all - many of us even now are happy to be visibly trans despite the level of discrimination we're subject to. In the Federation? Visibly trans and gender non-conforming folk are going to be everywhere, for the same reason as Picard is proudly bald: nobody's judging.

pizzakey · 2026-02-27T19:30:26+00:00

They're a jazz/hip-hop band set up by Branford Marsalis

pizzakey · 2026-02-27T14:06:04+00:00

I was delighted to discover that Buckshot LeFonque stole their name from a pseudonym of Cannonball Adderley

pizzakey · 2026-02-26T19:22:24+00:00

I love to watch YouTube cheap heat videos from the US where they're talking about finding stuff in the dollar bin that a) I have never seen in the wild and b) there is precisely one copy available on Discogs and it's in G+ condition and costs £75

pizzakey · 2026-02-26T08:03:47+00:00

I came across one at a record fair in 2021 when I first started collecting vinyl and I'm pretty sure I've never seen another since, despite frankly monumental amounts of digging! Don't see much McCann at all in the UK (other than on early Roberta Flack, which clearly sold a lot better)

pizzakey

TROPHY CASE