Essential Jazz Albums

Mingus, a bassist, jazz musician and if there's one word to encompass his style, it's sassy. This album is probably his most accessible - that is, it's the easiest for most people to listen to and enjoy. "Better Git It In Your Soul" and "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" are great tracks to begin with. Even though this album was made in 1959, it still sounds extremely modern by today's standards. If you enjoy this album, you can move on to: Cornell 1964, The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady, and Mingus Plays Piano.

Saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist Joao Gilberto make up a phenomenal bossa nova pair. Bossa nova is a style evolved from samba but is very soft, with minimal percussion. Gilberto's wife, Astrud, had no professional experience but sang on several tracks. The overall mood for this album is soft, soothing, but with a great Latin rhythm. "The Girl from Ipanema" is one track I'm sure you've heard before somewhere - definitely a Brazilian jazz classic.

This album was produced recently, but her work is actually from the 1930-40s. I think she has one of the best female jazz voices of all time because you can feel the pain, mourning and slight bitterness in her voice, but she still manages to sound so sweet and wistful. The beats are a steady, consistent pace - not too fast, not too slow. This album is great but any Billie album will do - she sings many standards, but I think she sings the torch songs best. (Torch songs are sentimental love songs where a singer, usually female, laments an unrequited or lost love.) Her best songs are "The Man I Love", "Strange Fruit" (not on this album) and "Body and Soul".

You gotta give it up for this Canadian jazz legend. Peterson, a jazz pianist, passed away recently in December 2007. His piano playing shines with his tight ensemble. He fiddles around with a lot of notes, but you get a good sense of melody. Best tracks here are "Night Train" and "Hymn to Freedom", his original composition for the civil rights movement).