What was the last music event that you saw live?
It seemed so innocent as I was taking in Steve Smith’s swinging Vital Information Band at Catalina’s in early March. Who knew that would be the last gig I’d attend, and it was so precious in that there was nothing “special” about it except that it was fantastic.
So, it got me thinking, if due to an everlasting government lockdown we never have a thing called a “concert” again, what albums would I recommend to future generations of what a real “live” event sounded like?
Here is my list for the month of essential “Live” albums, in no particular order
- Benny Goodman: Live At Carnegie Hall-This 1938 concert is really the “first” recorded jazz concert (well, maybe Spirituals to Swing which runs neck and neck), and it
includes definitive versions of “Swing, Swing Swing” and a jam session with Lester Young and Count Basie that defines the Swing Era - Duke Ellington Live at Fargo 1940-arguably Ellington’s greatest band with guys liek Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges and the legendary bassist Jimmy Blanton. Essential for music and life itself.
- Duke Ellington at Newport-Ellington makes a comeback with the famous “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue” featuring Paul Gonsalves on tenor for a 27 chorus solo that set the pace for all marathon horn players.
Sonny Rollins: At The Village Vanguard-This two album set from 1961 had Rollins in the then revolutionary setting of a jazz trio, and he sets the joint on fire with heat blowing out of his horn on 
every tune.- Ahmad Jamal: LIve at the Pershing-at one time, Ahmad Jamal was the most influential jazz pianist, inspiring Miles Davis to recreate his style on trumpet. Vernel Fournier’s tapping of the cymbal on “Poinciana” became the clarion call for a generation of jazz trios.
Art Blakey: A Night In Birdland-This two disc 1954 gig, with the set emcee’d by “Pee Wee” Marquette had drummer Art Blakey prophesy that his format of bringing up young artists to send off to do their own thing was off to an excellent start. Trumpeter Clifford Brown and pianist Horace Silver essentially had their careers begin here, and they were the creators of a style that still resonates today.- Frank Sinatra & Count Basie: At The Sands. This album, with Quincy Jones direction, was a melding of egos into a stupendous set. Sinatra glows! A 1959 bootleg Sinatra with Red Norvo Quintet Live In Australia 1959 is a neck and neck second, with Sinatra at his jazziest.
- Wes Montgomery; a tie between Full House and Smokin’ At The Half Note. Both albums have the legendary guitarist with his iconic team of Jimmy Cobb/dr, Paul Chambers/b and Wynton Kelly/p. 1962’s Full House adds the exciting tenor of Johnny Griffin, while the 1965 quartet has the team driving
on all 8 cylinders. Ava Gardner or Rita Hayworth? - Various Artists: Jazz At The Philharmonic; The First Concert. With a swinging Nat “King” Cole, tenor sax wailing by Illinois Jacquet and even some guitar work by Les Paul, it’s hard to beat the excitement of the dawn of a new era.
Stan Getz: People Time or At The Shrine. Getz’s hard bopping 1954 concert with JJ Johnson is a tour-de-force, while his 1992 collection of duets with pianist Kenny Barron at the very end of his life is an agonizing testament of empathy.- Charlie Parker: One Night In Birdland or Jazz at Massey Hall. The recording quality of the 1950 double album is a bit fuzzy, but the music with Bird teamed with Fats Navarro/tp, Bud Powell/p, Curley Russell/b and Art Blake/dr explodes with excitement. The 1955 concert with Charles Mingus/b, Max Roach/dr, Dizzy Gillespie/tp and Powell (with Powell in a trio setting for a second album) well represents the apotheosis of bebop.
- Charles Mingus: In Antibes-Mingus toured Europe with and without Eric Dolphy as well as with trumpeter Ted Curson, tenorist Booker Ervin, longtime
drummer Danny RIchmond and guest Bud Powell for a track of some of the most spontaneous music to ever combust. - Louis Armstrong: Satchmo At Symphony Hall-There are plenty of recordings of Louis Armstrong in concert, but this 1954 job with Jack Teagarden/voc-tb, Barney Bigard/cl, Dick Cary/p, Arvell Shaw/b and Big Sid Catlett/dr is possibly the best.
Bill Evans: Live at the Village Vanguard. There are also a pair of multi disc sets of Bill Evans at the tail end of his career with drummer Joe La Barbera and bassist Marc Johnson, but this 1961 pair of intimate trio musings with the short lived Scott La Faro and drummer Paul Motian changed the role of the bass, and jazz, forever.\
- Ella Fitzgerald; Ella In Berlin (Mack The Knife)-There is no shortage of recordings of Ella working a crowd. This one with her “debut” of “Mack The Knife” is a classic, but
you won’t do wrong with her teaming with Duke Ellington at “The Cote D’Azur Concerts” or her “Twelve Nights In Hollywood” where she really wows a packed house night after night. - John Coltrane-At The Village Vanguard-You’ll probably want to start with the single disc, but eventually, you’ll go for the multi-disc set with Eric Dolphy and his classic team of McCoy Tyne/p, Elvin Jones/dr and Reggie Workman/JImmy Garrison/b. Versions of “Impressions” and “India” are as impressive as “Chasin’ The Trane” is exhausting
Miles Davis: Live at the Plugged Nickel. This multi disc set has Miles Davis and his Classic Quintet of Wayne Shorter/ts, Herbie Hancock/p, Ron Carter/b and Tony Williams/dr alternating between chestnuts like “Autumn Leaves” and the future of jazz on “Agitation”. His 1961 setting with tenor saxist Hank Mobley and the 
Kelly/Chambers/Cobb rhythm section is a close second.- BONUS-If you haven’t seen the film of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival titled “Jazz On A Summer’s Day, go out right now and get it. Featuring Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, Dinah Washington, Mahalia Jackson, Chico Hamilton, Anita O’Day and even Chuck Berry, it is a testament to the unifying power of music.
- RINGER-No, it’s not “jazz”, but Otis Redding’s “Live In Europe” with Booker T and the MGs is possibly the most exciting album ever recorded. Check it out!
