 | Kind of Blue by Miles Davis
Buy new: £8.78 / Used from: £1.44 Miles' Masterpiece - Probably his best ever group. Standout track has to be Flamenco Sketches.
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 | A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
The mid-point between Coltrane's inside and outside playing, the Love Supreme suite is a great spiritual exploration.
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 | Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £3.87 There are many worthy Mingus albums but this is the best place to start. Lots of variety and the best examples of some of his best compositions - standout tracks - Better Get It In Your Soul, Goodbye
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 | Blues & Roots by Charles Mingus
Buy 'Ah Um' first and then buy this - Jackie MClean (as) is in fantastic form and there are yet more Mingus tunes to get your toes tapping and your ears flapping.
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 | Birth of The Cool by Miles Davis
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £2.96 Beautiful arrangements throughout but the standout track is Jeru.
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 | Sketches of Spain by Miles Davis
Buy new: £5.08 / Used from: £0.99 Miles and Gil Evans produced enough great music to fill a list on their own but this is the best iof the bunch. There isn't a duff track on the whole album but the Concierto is the masterpiece.
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 | Out to Lunch by Eric Dolphy
Buy used from: £3.49 Dolphy straddled the world between the mainstream and the avant-garde. This leans more towards the latter but is just about the best example of his multi-instrumentalist skills.
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 | Song for My Father by Horace Silver Quintet
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £2.99 Funky! Groovy! Damn this is good music! The title track is worth the price on its own.
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 | Money Jungle by Duke Ellington
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £15.94 Ellingotn was always a great pianist but his orchestra always took first place. Here you get to here him close up and personal, stretching out towards the modern edge of jazz. Mingus is in one bass.
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 | Bitches Brew by Miles Davis
Buy used from: £7.17 Having done the 'birth of the cool' you should check out Miles' 'birth of the fusion'. 'Pharoah's Dance' was always my favourite track.
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 | Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £2.79 Herbie Hancock is better know for the finger-snapping Cantaloup Island and Watermelon Man but this is a far better place to start. Very subtle, very dream-ladden.
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 | Destination Out! by Jackie McLean
Buy used from: £6.99 Jackie McLean was a fantastic saxophonist and Grachan Moncur is a superb composer - Love and Hate is the standout track.
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 | Duke Ellington & John Coltrane by Duke Ellington
Buy used from: £5.41 More from Ellington's meeting with the cutting edge of jazz - this time with John Coltrane. The standout track is "In A Sentimental Mood".
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 | Giant Steps by John Coltrane
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £5.05 There are many excellent Coltrane albums. If you have an adventurous ear try Ascension or Kulu Se Mama. For those just dipping their feet in the water, start with Giant Steps.
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 | Monk's Dream by Thelonious Monk Quartet
Buy new: £6.98 Thelonious Monk's stint with Columbia had his most sympathetic sideman (Charlie Rouse on tenor). This is the best of an excellent batch of recordings.
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 | 'Round About Midnight by Miles Davis
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £3.73 The title track is the standout but everything is worth hearing over and over.
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