Jazz -- 25 from the last 25

I would say any of the Gil Evans Big Band albums (Monday Night Orchestra) that fall under your timeline are worthwhile. Live at Sweet Basil. Live at the Public Theatre. And the Mingus big band too. maybe some John Hicks. Some George Coleman. I'm kinda trad, sorry.

Here's a slap dash list of my favorite jazz albums from the last 25 years (no order):

1) Masada, Live at Sevilla
2) Kenny Garrett, Songbook (fire!)
3) Dave Holland Quintet, Prime Directive
4) John Scofield, Hand Jive (also A Go Go and the new live trio album, En Route)
5) Happy Apple, Please Refrain From Fronting
6) The Bad Plus, These Are the Vistas
7) Vandermark 5, Burn the Incline
8) M'Boom, Live at S.O.B.'s
9) Ben Perowsky Trio (also the 'Bop on Pop' straight-ahead record he did with his dad and his Tzadik record 'Camp Songs' are great)
10) Dave Douglas, Soul on Soul (this, Leap of Faith, and The Infinite are my favorites)
11) Mel Rhyne, Classmasters (or any of his trio records with Kenny Washington and Peter Bernstein)
12) Brian Blade Fellowship (Both records are fantastic. The first one has Jeff Parker, is very pretty and a little more off the cuff. The second one has Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joni Mitchell, and is more polished).
13) Joshua Redman, Spirit of the Moment: Live at the Vanguard (I like some of his other stuff too, but Jig-a-Jug is so classic that it's worth the price of both cds)
14) Leroy Jones, Props for Pops (or Mo' Cream from the Crop, anything really...great New Orleans jazz)
15) Harry Connick Jr., Songs I've Heard (for real, he's got all the best New Orleans cats in his big band he can make 'A Spoonfull of Sugar' a hot tune)
16) Matthew Shipp, Equilibrium (sort of a summation of his current playing styles in short tunes)
17) The Lounge Lizards, Queen of All Ears (I've always loved this record)
18) Fred Anderson Quartet, vol. 2 (lots of great stuff, very long tunes though, I haven't had the patience in awhile)
19) Branford Marsalis, Requiem (worth it for the first track alone)
20) James Carter, Layin' in the Cut (his pyrotechnics work way better in the electric band here than his acoustic stuff...plus Ornette's rhythm section, Marc Ribot and Jef Lee Johnson!)
21) Christian McBride, A Family Affair (probably the most fun jazz album made by any of the 'young lion' crew)
22) Jean Michel-Pilc Trio, Welcome Home (awesome and underrated)
23) Brad Mehldau, Largo (or any of the Art of the Trio cds, they're all great)
24) Gary Burton w/Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Pat Metheny, and Roy Haynes, Like Minds (it lives up to the supergroup billing, it's probably the most perfect straight-ahead I've ever heard)
25) Chick Corea, Change (I like his medium-sized group writing a lot, and this is a nicely relaxed record for him)

Also, Fresh Sound New Talent and Criss Cross have tons of great lesser-known stuff.

Gulf Coast Bound by the Blues Magoos (1970)

A 60's rock band that was more jazz interested than blues.

There are some random vocals, but their jammin' puts it in my top 20 albums that I happen to own today. Most likely long out of print, but ya never know. Take a look for it...

Plenty of David Murray's work from the last 25 years is interesting. Fast Life is a great piece of his that he has revisisted more than once.

Same for the World Saxaphone Quartet and the solo works of the members.

I just the other day lived to see a new record store open that has a Daniel Carter section... totally great. & the main guy you need to research to hear the last 25 years is William Parker.
Other Dimensions in Music!

so i can't spell

Is Daniel Carter that hot? His Blue Series appearances didn't make much of an impression.

I love William Parker's playing with Shipp et al, but I thought that "O'Neals Porch" was pretty overrated. Maybe I need to go back to it, it's on my list.

I second David Murray and James Carter and add Jason Moran and Greg Osby.

ASK THE AGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

I mean, it was in Spin magazine!

I've got "Ask the Ages" and "Seize the Rainbow" by Sharrock. I actually saw him live in Bloomington before he died in a band with two drummers and a bassist. He is the only jazz guitarist I have ever saw or heard of that used a full Marshall stack, it was freaking loud and great.

Oh man, I just bought O'Neal's Porch. I wish I had seen Jordan's comment first. This is really not my cup of tea, too jazzy.

Essential are David Murray's "Shakill's Warrior" featuring the great Don Pullen on soul organ, and "A Song I Thought I Heard Buddy Sing" by Jerry Granelli--it's kind of a concept album about Buddy Bolden and really communicates some kind of sick panic and dead calm, amazing trombone work and nice guitar from Frisell. Another one is Jerry Gonzalez' "Rumba Para Monk," one of the best we-do-Monk albums I know. Come to think of it, Lovano, Frisell and Paul Motian's "Monk in Motian" is also very fine.

I still haven't gone back to O'Neal's Porch. I do however stand firmly behind the first 9 on that list (the others are great too, but whew are those some of my favorite jazz records).