Mike Rud – 5 Desert Island Album Picks

1) Billie Holiday Giants of Jazz Box Set: Nothing says more about the beauty of a thoughtfully delivered melody, than this woman’s recordings. You could very nearly boil down the whole list to this choice. With “side” musicians like Lester Young, every moment is packed with the right stuff.

2) It’s Uptown with the George Benson Quartet: I first heard it when I was 18, and I put it up there with any album ever made for the sheer thrill of the thing. Every time I listen is BETTER than the last.

3) Jim Hall Live!: Recorded in Toronto with Don Thompson and Terry Clark, this is an utter masterpiece of gorgeous tone, mind blowing interplay, real, honest to goodness dynamics, and something we don’t talk about enough: originality.

4) Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Recordings: While many saxophonists since Bird have done the 10-hours-per-day practice regimen, practically none have put the resultant fluency to such a whimsical, humorous and –I’ll say it—happy music. Crucial.

5) Keith Jarrett Trio: Standards Live: Packed with feeling. Packed. Also fiercely original and perhaps the consummate example of the whole being somehow more than simply the sum of its parts.

…And what’s this? Mike snuck an extra LP inside the cover of that last one: Louis Armstrong: Any disc from The Complete Hot Fives and Hot Sevens. Permanently fresh, bold joyous music, that contains the implications of any other album you could bring.