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The Ten Best Live Jazz Recordings (1953-65)
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Having recently completed a survey of the Best Live Rock Albums, I have learned a couple of valuable things. One is a list of this sort should be presented in descending order starting with number 10 and descending to number 1. Second, it is better to poll a group for their opinions and develop the list from an analytical (or pseudoanalytical) evaluation of the results. This is how the Top Ten Best Live Jazz Recordings (1953-65) were selected. I polled the writership of All About Jazz, combined the results and ranked the recordings. For recordings that tied in number of votes, I arbitrarily selected the order (I had to exert editorial control somewhere!).
Bill Evans
(1961)
John Coltrane
(1961)
Miles Davis
(1965)
Charles Mingus
(1960)
Duke Ellington
(1956)
Sonny Rollins
(1957)
John Coltrane
(1963)
Wes Montgomery
(1965)
Erroll Garner
(1955)
The Quintet
(1953)
#11... The Best of the Rest
1.
At The Village VanguardBill Evans
(1961)
2.
At The Village VanguardJohn Coltrane
(1961)
3.
At The Plugged NickelMiles Davis
(1965)
4.
At AntibesCharles Mingus
(1960)
5.
At Newport 1956Duke Ellington
(1956)
6.
At The Village VanguardSonny Rollins
(1957)
7.
At BirdlandJohn Coltrane
(1963)
8.
At The Half NoteWes Montgomery
(1965)
9.
Concert By The SeaErroll Garner
(1955)
10.
At Massey HallThe Quintet
(1953)
#11... The Best of the Rest