Playlist · Jazz
Most important jazz recordings 1910-2025
A playlist by Booty
A sweeping odyssey through the evolution of jazz, from the foundational roots of Dixieland and Swing to the avant-garde heights of Free Jazz and Fusion. This collection traces a lineage of legends, featuring the titans of Bebop, Hard Bop, and Modal Jazz alongside modern visionaries. It is a definitive journey through the rhythms, soul, and sophisticated harmonies that shaped a century of music.
Era strip
Through the decades
22 of 104 dated songs (21%) come from the ’20s.
Peak: ’20s (21%)
1917–2025
104/104 with a year
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The songs
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- 1 Livery Stable BluesOriginal Dixieland Jass Band
- 2 Tiger RagOriginal Dixieland Jass Band
- 3 Crazy BluesMamie Smith
- 4 Dippermouth BluesKing Oliver's Creole Jazz Band
- 5 Chimes BluesKing Oliver's Creole Jazz Band
- 6 Downhearted BluesBessie Smith
- 7 Rhapsody in BluePaul Whiteman
- 8 Sugar Foot StompFletcher Henderson
- 9 Heebie JeebiesLouis Armstrong
- 10 Black Bottom StompJelly Roll Morton
- 11 The ChantJelly Roll Morton
- 12 Potato Head BluesLouis Armstrong
- 13 Struttin' with Some BarbecueLouis Armstrong
- 14 Singin' the BluesFrankie Trumbauer & Bix Beiderbecke
- 15 East St. Louis Toodle-OoDuke Ellington
- 16 Black and Tan FantasyDuke Ellington
- 17 West End BluesLouis Armstrong
- 18 Weather BirdLouis Armstrong
- 19 Beau Koo JackLouis Armstrong
- 20 In a MistBix Beiderbecke
- 21 Sweet LorraineJimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra
- 22 Wild CatEddie Lang & Joe Venuti
- 23 Ain't Misbehavin'Fats Waller
- 24 Ain't Misbehavin'Louis Armstrong
- 25 Mood IndigoDuke Ellington
- 26 Minnie the MoocherCab Calloway
- 27 It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)Duke Ellington
- 28 Tea for TwoArt Tatum
- 29 The Day You Came AlongColeman Hawkins
- 30 King Porter StompBenny Goodman
- 31 Sing, Sing, SingBenny Goodman
- 32 One O'Clock JumpCount Basie
- 33 Lester Leaps InLester Young & Count Basie
- 34 Strange FruitBillie Holiday
- 35 Body and SoulColeman Hawkins
- 36 In the MoodGlenn Miller
- 37 Ko-KoDuke Ellington
- 38 Cotton TailDuke Ellington
- 39 Take the "A" TrainDuke Ellington
- 40 A Night in TunisiaDizzy Gillespie
- 41 CherokeeCharlie Parker
- 42 'Round MidnightThelonious Monk
- 43 KokoCharlie Parker
- 44 Now's the TimeCharlie Parker
- 45 OrnithologyCharlie Parker
- 46 MantecaDizzy Gillespie
- 47 EpistrophyThelonious Monk
- 48 Move (Birth of the Cool)Miles Davis
- 49 Lullaby of BirdlandGeorge Shearing
- 50 My Funny ValentineChet Baker
- 51 DjangoModern Jazz Quartet
- 52 Joy SpringClifford Brown & Max Roach
- 53 Bag's GrooveMiles Davis
- 54 The PreacherHorace Silver
- 55 MistyErroll Garner
- 56 St. ThomasSonny Rollins
- 57 Brilliant CornersThelonious Monk
- 58 SummertimeElla Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
- 59 Moanin'Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
- 60 Autumn LeavesCannonball Adderley
- 61 So WhatMiles Davis
- 62 Blue in GreenMiles Davis
- 63 Take FiveDave Brubeck
- 64 Goodbye Pork Pie HatCharles Mingus
- 65 Fables of FaubusCharles Mingus
- 66 Giant StepsJohn Coltrane
- 67 Lonely WomanOrnette Coleman
- 68 My Favorite ThingsJohn Coltrane
- 69 Waltz for DebbyBill Evans
- 70 Cheese CakeDexter Gordon
- 71 DesafinadoStan Getz & Charlie Byrd
- 72 Watermelon ManHerbie Hancock
- 73 The SidewinderLee Morgan
- 74 The Girl From IpanemaStan Getz & Astrud Gilberto
- 75 A Love Supreme, Pt. 1: AcknowledgementJohn Coltrane
- 76 Speak No EvilWayne Shorter
- 77 Maiden VoyageHerbie Hancock
- 78 E.S.P.Miles Davis
- 79 Mercy, Mercy, MercyCannonball Adderley
- 80 In a Silent WayMiles Davis
- 81 Pharaoh's Dance (Bitches Brew)Miles Davis
- 82 Meeting of the SpiritsMahavishnu Orchestra
- 83 SpainChick Corea
- 84 ChameleonHerbie Hancock
- 85 The Köln Concert, Part IKeith Jarrett
- 86 BirdlandWeather Report
- 87 Bright Size LifePat Metheny
- 88 Think of OneWynton Marsalis
- 89 Itsbynne ReelMichael Brecker
- 90 WishJoshua Redman
- 91 Exit Music (For a Film)Brad Mehldau
- 92 Smells Like Teen SpiritThe Bad Plus
- 93 Maiden Voyage / Everything in Its Right PlaceRobert Glasper
- 94 I Know You KnowEsperanza Spalding
- 95 The Epic - Change of the GuardKamasi Washington
- 96 LingusSnarky Puppy
- 97 Black Skin, Black MasksShabaka Hutchings
- 98 TightSamara Joy
- 99 From the StartLaufey
- 100 LesanuKamasi Washington
- 101 The GateMary Halvorson
- 102 Southern NightsSullivan Fortner
- 103 The Surrounding GreenFred Hersch
- 104 Figure in BlueCharles Lloyd