25 Historic Gateways to Jazz (1928-1959)

Over the past 126 years, specific records brought jazz fans into the fold

People have been falling in love with jazz for the past 126 years, but for many different reasons. Over the decades, the musicians, playback technology and even the music have changed and evolved. So have the reasons why jazz seduced listeners.

People won over in 1928 were likely brought into the fold by Duke Ellington, Paul Whiteman, Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong—either heard live or on 78s spinning on a phonograph. By the 1950s, the 12-inch LP had arrived, there were better record players and TV sets were surging. The most influential jazz was less about dance and more about musicianship, solos and small groups.

Today, I’m going to take a shot at creating a timeline showing highly influential recordings in different eras that attracted listeners to jazz, between 1928 and 1959. I’ll feature Part 2 on another day:

Late 1920s—Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke.

Here’s Bix Beiderbecke’s Singin’ the Blues (1927)…

Here’s trumpeter Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five’s West End Blues (1928)…

Mid-1930s—Fats Waller and Benny Goodman.

Here’s Fats Waller’s Truckin’ (1935)…

Here’s Benny Goodman’s Stompin’ at the Savoy (1936)…

Late 1930s—Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Charlie Barnet, Glenn Miller and Coleman Hawkins.

Here’s Count Basie’s One O’Clock Jump (1937)…

Here’s Artie Shaw’s Begin the Beguine (1938)…

Here’s Charlie Barnet’s Cherokee (1939)…

Here’s Glenn Miller’s In the Mood (1939)…

Here’s Coleman Hawkins’s Body and Soul (1939)…

Early 1940s—Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday.

Here’s Duke Ellington’s Take the “A” Train (1941)…

Here’s Billie Holiday’s Solitude (1941)…

Mid-1940s—Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

Here’s Charlie Parker’s Ko-Ko, based on the chord changes to Cherokee (1945)…

Here’s Dizzy Gillespie’s Night in Tunisia (1946)…

Late 1940s—Nat King Cole, Stan Kenton and Thelonious Monk.

Here’s the Nat King Cole Trio’s (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 (1946)…

Here’s Stan Kenton’s Intermission Riff (1946)…

Here’s Thelonious Monk’s ‘Round Midnight (1947)…

Early 1950s—Charlie Parker, Horace Silver, Chet Baker and Stan Kenton.

Here’s Charlie Parker’s Just Friends with strings (1950)…

Here’s Horace Silver’s Ecaroh (1952)…

Here’s Stan Kenton’s Invention for Guitar and Trumpet (1953)…

Mid-1950s—Chet Baker, Clifford Brown and Dave Brubeck.

Here’s Chet Baker’s But Not for Me (1954)…

Here’s Clifford Brown and Max Roach’s Joy Spring (1954)…

Here’s the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s The Duke (1955)…

Late 1950s—Miles Davis, Count Basie and Henry Mancini.

Here’s Miles Davis's All of You (1957)…

Here’s Count Basie’s Cute (1958)…

And here’s Henry Mancini’s Peter Gunn (1959)…