1.Cookin’ by the Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige, 1957
One of the record of the famous Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions, are to fulfil the contact with Prestige Record and transfer Columbia Record, so Miles recorded 42 tracks in 2 days. You can listen the highly synched and lively performance by the First Great Quintet (John Coltrane (ts), Red Garland (p), Paul Chambers (bs), Philly Joe Jones (dr)) and fully developed play of Miles’s peak in the hard-bop era. Interestingly, the tracks selected in this record are recordings of the later part of sessions, but they released at first. A master-pieces is impressive the contrast between an excellent ballad of "My Funny Valentine" in which Miles' Herman mute tone is so sweet, and a high-tempo and hardly drove Sonny Rollins's jazz standard "Airegin".
2.Portrait in Jazz by the Bill Evans Trio, Riverside, 1959
One of the representative works of Bill Evans, and the ultimate jazz piano and mordal jazz record captured the incomparable trio organized with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian. Famillar standard numbers such as Autumn Leaves, Witchcraft, What Is This Thing Called Love? and Someday My Prince Will Come are played by highly-developed interplay and modal solo play by Evans and LaFaro, and interpretations, arranges, technique, improvisation and ensemble beyond original compositions.
3. Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Columbia Records, 1959
All of songs of this album are irregular time signatures and a masterpiece are famous by Take Five, also there’s the characteristic as highly arranged West Coast Jazz influenced by Classical Music. I like classical and gentle fine songs in this album, Blue Rondo à la Turk, Strange Meadow Lark and Three to Get Ready. And, the combination of Paul Desmond’s soft, mild and beautiful tone of alto saxophone and Brubeck’s elegant piano, is one of the greatest combinations in the Jazz history.
4. The Scene Changes by Bud Powell, Blue Note Records, 1958
The ultimate jazz piano album, Bud Powell recorded on Blue Note Records. In this album, Powell established the hard-bop jazz piano style that right hand plays melody and left hand concentrate on backing. The play by Powell was returned from the blank by drug, is powerful, energetic and simple.
5. Giant Steps by John Coltrane, Atlantic Records, 1960
Through Miles’s Kind of Blue (I’ll introduce below.), Coltrane established his own original modal jazz by complex cord progressions and changes of keys in this masterpiece. The quartet played ultra technically by the ultra complex chord theory, though the music itself is so cool and energetic. This album captures Coltrane who showed his great genius and his original style.
6. Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, Columbia, 1959
The best-selling jazz album in the world, the ultimate jazz recording and release in the jazz history in which Miles completed modal jazz style and it’s original and experimental but cool and simple. There is no equal to this recording. This is the greatest music, each ad-lib phrases by Miles, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane and Bill Evans of the all songs are beautiful and precious, and the ensemble are relaxing also taut, has a profound comprehension.
7. Relaxin’ by the Miles Davis Quintet, 1958
The second release of the Prestige Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions. The recordings of this album are done before and after Cookin’. This masterpiece focus on middle tempo jazz standard numbers, and Miles’s characteristic Herman mute trumpet tone is tasteful.
8. Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section by Art Pepper, Contemporary, 1957
In this album, a representative west-coast jazz and cool jazz alto saxophonist Art Pepper played together with the rhythm section of Miles Davis’s the first greatest quartet. The music is relaxing also dynamic, and a fine and “usual” jazz masterpiece.
9. Ready for Freddie by Freddie Hubbard, Blue Note Records, 1961
Freddie Hubbard is a trumpeter has the greatest technique and tone in the jazz history. This album is a fine work of the early career of Hubbard, and the music highly completed and “usual” hard-bop.
10. A Night at the Village Vanguard by Sonny Rollins, Blue Note Records, 1958
A live album of a respective tenor saxophonist of hard-bop, Sonny Rollins. I like this album better than a great jazz masterpiece Saxophone Colossus, because the play of this recording is lively and dynamic.