“Saxophone Colossus” by Sonny Rollins is a jazz classic that lives up to its mighty name. Released in 1956, it’s a showcase of Rollins’ bold, inventive tenor sax playing and features a killer band, including Max Roach on drums. The album blends swinging energy with deep, soulful moments—especially on the standout track “St. Thomas,” a…

The Birth Of Cool and Kind of Blue were already both taken, but it matters not as this 1957 release is right up there. It wasn’t universally well recieved when initially released with one reviewer suggesting it was just a contractual obligation album and the The Penguin Guide to Jazz said that “the material is…

This is the first release on LP by Ray Charles. It was originally released in 1957 on Atlantic Records, and it was also known as “Hallelujah I Love Her So” as it was re-released under this title in 1962. A number of the tracks had already been hit singles for Charles in the preceding years,…

Blue Train was John Coltrane’s only recording for Blue Note. It was the first album where he chose the musicians he wanted to record with, and it is the album in which he gets closest to hard bop, which is a category that I don’t really understand. There are sub-categories in Jazz, and if you…

Billie Holiday – Lady Sings The BluesReleased: 1956Label: Clef Records Here we are with an album I actually own, although my copy is a nice re-issue, with a different cover, that I bought in Portugal while I was on holiday a few years ago. By the time of this release in 1956 Holiday’s voice had noticeably…

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella & LouisReleased: 1956Label: His Master’s Voice Ella and Louis were accompanied by the Oscar Peterson Quartet for this 1956 release, and it is primarily a vocal album, and a charming one. Having previously collaborated in the late 1940s for the Decca label, this was the first of three…

The Charlie Mingus Jazz Workshop ‎– Pithecanthropus ErectusReleased: 1956Label: Atlantic This early Atlantic session in 1955 was one of the first of the bassist-composer’s workshop-style programmes. He felt that written music could not convey the true music of the composer, as musicians would put their own invention on it. His method was to play each…

Otto Luening / Vladimir Ussachevsky – Tape Recorder MusicRelease: 1955Label: Gene Bruck Enterprises Inc. I only discovered this album recently, and I am simply astounded that it was recorded as far back as 1955. I love strange cut ups such as those one might hear from Prefuse 73 and all sorts of strnage ambient music appeals…

Bill Haley & His Comets – Rock Around The ClockReleased: 1955Label: Decca I had initially discounted this album as I wrongly assumed it was included in the 1001 Albums To Hear Before You Die book. I’ve no idea why it wasn’t really, although the 50’s isn’t well represented and I can think of 30 albums…

Sara Vaughan – Sara VaughanReleased – 1955Label – EmArcy This album from Sarah Vaughan is one of those albums where everything is just right, nothing seems out of place and it feels effortlessly crafted. Enhanced by the excellent trumpet playing of Clifford Brown each song follows into the next to create a wonderful atmosphere of…