5 Jazz Albums You Might Not Have Heard of Before [But Should Have]

Immerse yourself in the depths of amazing jazz.

We have handpicked 5 classic jazz albums that you probably haven’t heard, but definitely should listen to. All 5 of them have earned their place on this list:

1.    Gil Mellé – New Faces, New Sounds (1953). American artist and musician Mellé had been playing saxophone in New York clubs since he was 15 years old, and was barely 21 years old when he recorded the New Faces, New Sounds session. The melodic jazz style of this record has remained popular ever since.
2.    Buddy Bregman – Swinging Kicks (1957). Bregman was an arranger, a composer, a conductor and a producer. This is an album of big-band jazz featuring Stan Getz, Ben Webster, Andre Previn, Jimmy Giuffre, Maynard Ferguson and many others.
3.    Lou Donaldson – Blues Walk (1958). American saxophonist Donaldson – who is 93 years old today – wrote this album at the age of 32. Even though some call it an “undisputed masterpiece”, others have never heard of it, since it was overshadowed by other contemporary albums.
4.    Kenny Burrell – Asphalt Canyon Suite (1969). American jazz guitarist Burrell is known for his work on the Blue Note Label. Today, he is a professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Asphalt Canyon Suite is a brilliant showcase for one of the great jazz guitarists who haven’t once let down their audience.
5.    Nucleus – Elastic Rock (1970). Nucleus were a British jazz rock band, which continued in different forms from 1969 to 1989. Their first album, Elastic Rock, was a pioneering work in emerging genre of jazz rock fusion. This masterful album earned the band their first prize when they played it live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, back in 1970.