SATCHMO

So It's about time I had my "Top Something or other" thread so here's the pitch:
Every once in awhile a thread gets started on this forum by someone with the intention of giving themselves a proper introduction to jazz music; a very noble intention I believe. More often than not the usual suspects make their appearances: Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, John Coltrane A Love Supreme, a whole host of fusion albums, and then the thread dies.
Why? Because contrary to the popular saying, You can't get there from "there", if you could you wouldn't be puzzled by where to start in such an enormously vast genre of music. No, you gotta' get there from right where you're at right now.
You see, jazz, much more than a genre of music, is a concept, an ideal. I'm going to put forth 42 albums that I believe capture the essence of jazz, starting with very untraditional examples and albums that could in no way be considered jazz by conventional standards. Gradually I'll work my way toward more traditional, and in some instances, less accessible pieces of music, while at the same time hopefully giving y'all a decent education. OK, excuse me while I get started......