This is primarily for musicians, teachers and students although collectors and casual listeners might find it of interest also.
I have always felt that the substantial body of jazz compositions that began to accumulate in the 1950s has been underutilized. While the hard bop period gave us a wealth of tunes that have become “jazz standards,” there are also numerous pieces that, in my opinion have remained under the radar. This post is my initial attempt at bringing some of them to your attention with the hope that they will become part of your repertoire. The 32 listed below were composed by artists whose names I’m sure you will recognize and all of them have been recorded. They span 1947-1970 and cover a variety of genres, styles and tempi. Rest assured, there are plenty more where these came from.
Clicking on a song title allows you to listen to it. In most cases, the version accessed will be the first recording of the piece as indicated in the table.
| Composer(s) | Title | Date First Rec. |
|---|---|---|
| Brooks, Tina | Waiting Game, The | 1961-03-02 |
| Brown, Clifford | George's Dilemma | 1955-02-24 |
| Carter, Benny, Sonin, Ray | Lonely Woman | 1947-12-06 |
| Charles, Teddy | Dakar | 1957-02-16 |
| Coleman, Ornette | Lonely Woman | 1959-05-22 |
| Coltrane, John | Straight Street | 1957-05-31 |
| Dameron, Tadd | Aloof Spoof | 1961-12-14 |
| Davis, Miles (as Cleo Henry), Evans, Gil | Boplicity | 1949-04-22 |
| Dorham, Kenny | Windmill | 1961-01-15 |
| Ervin, Booker | Scoochie | 1960-08-25 |
| Golson, Benny | Out of the Past | 1957-12-17 |
| Grant, Rodgers | Morning Star | 1972 Fall |
| Gryce, Gigi (aka Qusim, Basheer) | Shabozz | 1953-05-20 |
| Hope, Elmo | Happy Hour | 1953-06-18 |
| Johnson, J.J. | Short Cake | 1966-12-05 |
| Jones, Thad | Thedia | 1956-07-14 |
| Jordan, Clifford | Down Through the Years | 1961-06-15 |
| Little, Booker | Victory and Sorrow | 1961-08/09 |
| Mangione, Chuck | She's Gone | 1970-05-09 |
| Mathews, Mat | Not So Sleepy | 1956-03 |
| Mobley, Hank | Home at Last (from Thinking of Home Suite) | 1970-07-31 |
| Monk, Thelonious | Gallop's Gallop | 1955-10-15 |
| Morgan, Lee | Mogie | 1960-02-03 |
| Pearson, Duke | New Girl | 1965-05-25&26 |
| Pettiford, Oscar | Pendulum at Falcon's Lair | 1953-12-29 |
| Redd, Freddie | Melanie | 1960-08-14 |
| Shorter, Wayne | This Is for Albert | 1962-10-23 |
| Silver, Horace | Speculation | 1955-10-30 |
| Strozier, Frank | Remember Me | 1976-11-10 |
| Thompson, Eli Lucky | Prey-Loot | 1964-09-15 |
| Waldron, Mal | Potpourri | 1957-02-16 |
| Weston, Randy | Earth Birth | 1957 spring |