Important Jazz Piano Albums & Pianists

 

One important area of learning about jazz piano is listening to recordings of the great jazz pianists. Below is a list of some of the most important jazz piano albums along with some of my personal favorites. This page is a work in progress! I plan to keep adding to it over time. Artists are listed in alphabetical order.

I hope you enjoy these jazz piano listening suggestions, and of course, please feel free to get in touch about piano lessons in Westchester County or the surrounding area.

Jazz Piano Albums

David Berkman (b. 1958)

  • Self Portrait (2012)

Dave Brubeck (1920-2012)

  • Time Out (1959)

  • Time Further Out (1961)

  • Music from West Side Story (compilation album - released 1986)

Chick Corea (b. 1941)

  • Now He Sings Now He Sobs (1968)

  • Tones for Joan’s Bones (1968)

Duke Ellington (1899-1974)

  • Money Jungle (1962)

    • Money Jungle is a great album that also features Max Roach (drums) and Charles Mingus (bass). It shows Ellington in a small trio setting where you can really hear him shine as a pianist, rather than as a band leader or composer as he is often known.

Bill Evans (1929-1980)

  • Kind of Blue, Miles Davis (1959).

    • Bill Evans played on most of the tracks on this album. Wynton Kelly played piano on Freddie Freeloader.

  • Everybody Digs Bill Evans (1958)

  • Portrait in Jazz (1960)

  • Explorations (1961)

  • Alone (1968) [Solo Piano]

    • This is one of my favorite Bill Evans recordings and one of his most important. It includes a classic recording of the standard Here’s that Rainy Day.

  • Sunday at the Village Vanguard (1961)

Red Garland (1923-1984)

  • Miles Davis Recordings with Red Garland on Piano

    • Cookin' (1957)

    • Relaxin' (1958)

    • Workin' (1960)

    • Steamin' (1961)

Herbie Hancock (b. 1940)

  • Maiden Voyage (1965)

    • This is a really beautiful and important album. It includes the standards Maiden Voyage and Dolphin Dance. The song Maiden Voyage is notable for its characteristic use of suspended chord voicings.

  • Head Hunters (1973)

Barry Harris (b. 1929)

  • Solo (1960)

Earl Hines (1903-1983)

  • Tour De Force (1972)

Ahmad Jamal (b.1930)

  • The Awakening (1970)

Keith Jarrett (b. 1945)

  • The Koln Concert (1975) [Solo Piano]

  • The Vienna Concert (1991) [Solo Piano]

  • Buttercorn Lady, by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers (1966)

Wynton Kelly (1931-1971)

  • Soul Station, by Hank Mobley (1960)

  • Kind of Blue, by Miles Davis (1959) [piano on Freddie Freeloader]

Brad Mehldau (b. 1970)

  • Live in Tokyo (2004)

Thelonious Monk (1917-1982)

  • Solo Monk (1965)

Bud Powell (1924-1966)

  • Jazz Giant (1950)

  • The Amazing Bud Powell (1952)

Art Tatum (1909-1956)

  • Piano Starts Here (Released 1968)

  • Anything Else…

Lennie Tristano (1919-1978)

  • Lennie Tristano [self-titled album] (1955)

  • The New Tristano [Solo Piano] (1961)

McCoy Tyner (1938-2020)

  • Inception (1962)

  • The Real McCoy (1967)

  • Coltrane: Live at the Village Vanguard (1961)

    • Features: Elvin Jones (drums), John Coltrane (soprano & tenor saxophone), Eric Dolphy (bass clarinet), Reggie Workman (bass), Jimmy Garrison (bass).

  • The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings (1961)

    • For more of the above, take a look at this five-disc box set.

Cedar Walton (1934-2013)

  • The Trio Volumes 1-3 (Released 1985)

Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981)

  • Zodiac Suite (1945)

 

Get Started Learning Jazz Piano

If you’re ready to start learning jazz, please get in touch at your earliest convenience. We can meet for piano lessons in White Plains, online piano lessons, or lessons in Westchester County as a whole, and I’d love to hear about your goals and ambitions.