Silly as such lists are, and vane, I can't resist them. Making them is fun and structures my collecting and listening. For this one I was thinking of jazz artists who cut such a big figure that one cannot think of jazz in that period without them. One cannot imagine the history of jazz without them. To some extent, I am guided here by popular awareness. Are there some who everybody knows, if they know anything about jazz at all? Are there some who everyone who listens to jazz at all knows?
With that in mind, the first two places were easy.
1. Miles Davis
2. John Coltrane
Everyone who has ears knows about those two. Moreover, both had a tremendous influence on the direction of music. Some would place Trane first (the nickname, like the force of the simple first name "Miles", indicates my point). I would not.
I think that number three is almost as easy.
3. Thelonious Monk
Monk straddles two great periods in jazz: the bebop era and the hard bop era. He is very much a force in the target period, and his most essential recordings are made in that period. What would jazz be without Brilliant Corners? But Monk is chiefly important for the astounding influence that his compositions had. How much of the hardbop corpus would disappear if, Doctor Who style, one could remove him from the picture? That is even more true of Avant Garde jazz. Take Monk out, and where would Cecil Taylor, let alone Steve Lacy be? Monk is an easy third.
4. Ornette Coleman
I have come around to loving a lot of Coleman's music. It took awhile. There is no denying his impact on modern jazz. I remember an interview with rock guitar great Johnny Winter, when the very white guitarists said that he was interested in Ornette Coleman. I doubt very much whether Winter really listened to Coleman. The fact that he knew his name nails Coleman for fourth place. He was the new thing.
5. Charlie Mingus.
If you don't know Mingus, you don't know modern jazz. Maybe 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat' is enough to get fifth place. I'll just stick with this: if you don't have Ah Um, and Live at Antibes, you have a big hole in your jazz collection.
Okay, 1-5 wasn't all that hard. 6-10 is another thing. Here goes:
6. Eric Dolphy.
Dolphy's tenure was astonishingly short, but as I have written more than once, he planted his flag on some many jazz continents that it is like he owns the globe. Who can imagine what Trane's work, or Mingus' work, or Andrew Hill would have been without him. Easy six. Easy seven:
7. Art Blakey.
Maybe Blakey should have been ranked higher. His Jazz Messengers band turned into a fundamental institution in modern jazz. So many great artists cut their teeth with his beat behind them, that you'd need a staff to keep track of them. The body of work he produced is priceless. If seventh place is right, it is only because he kept his own personality in check and allowed his proteges to emerge on their own. God bless Blakey.
8. Sonny Rollins.
Rollins at the Village Vanguard. Saxophone Colossus. Rollins has had staying power. Like the Rolling Stones, that counts for something. I just can't imagine a collection, however modest, without him.
9. Bill Evans.
Evans is Sui Generis. Maybe he deeply influence jazz piano players, but mostly what you get from the critics is that this or that guy (say, Brad Mehldau) is like Evans because his style is introspective, and he's white. Evans was uniquely resistant to the flow of jazz around him. But his body of work is monumental and irreplaceable. Without the first cascade of notes in 'Gloria's Steps', or the delicious scrabbling of LaFaro's bass, where would we be?
10. Joe Henderson.
Ten was hard. Henderson is a long way down in terms of influence and documentation from Miles and Trane. But when I glance at the line of Henderson recordings on my CD rack, I always smile. Henderson's work is priceless. If I had 1-9 (box sets where available) to take to a desert Island (guaranteed iPod supply and power), I'd add Joe. I wouldn't be board. Make that, I wouldn't be bored. Ever.
Well, that's what I got. Joust if you dare.
