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My First LPs – 1954

I first got into jazz in the early 1950s, when I was in high school. My mother was the buyer of radios, phonographs and recordings in a local department store and she would bring home some of the early pop and jazz LPs that began appearing in substantial numbers at the time. I heard Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw along with other big bands like those of Billy May, Ralph Flanagan and Ray Anthony. My appetite was whetted and I began to seek out other jazz recordings using Down Beat and Metronome magazine reviews as guides. Playing in a combo that worked Bar Mitzvah parties practically every Saturday night, I had some funds available for LP purchases and soon I was creating a collection that included just about every 5-star reviewed album in Down Beat.

West Coast Jazz was very much in vogue at the time and many of my earliest acquisitions were albums of artists like Gerry Mulligan, Dave Brubeck, Chet Baker and Shorty Rogers. Stan Getz was another favorite but I quickly branched out into other young stars like Clifford Brown and Horace Silver. Soon to be iconic jazz labels like Blue Note, Prestige, Contemporary, Bethlehem and Pacific Jazz were the sources of most of my earliest LPs. By 1955, the 10 in. LP was pretty much history and by 1956, 12 in. jazz albums were being issued in large numbers, even by major labels like Columbia, RCA Victor, Decca and Capitol. By mid-decade, a stylistic transition was also occurring from “cool” or “west coast” to a new sub-genre that became known as “hard bop.”

The compilation lists the LPs, along with their covers, in my early collection, spanning the years 1950-1955 sorted by year of release. This was created from memory as documentation of exactly which albums I owned disappeared long ago. Included in the list are several items that I “inherited” from my parents and are the ones issued the earliest, before I officially became a collector.

Caveat: I no longer own any of the LPs listed, some of which are quite rare. They are long gone having been sold, donated or lost and in most cases, replaced with CD reissues.

Catalog numbers are indicated. Clicking on a thumbnail often results in an enhanced image. I suspect that many of the album covers will evoke memories among viewers of my age group. It should be noted that all of the music contained on the LPs listed was recorded no later than 1955; however, some of the albums recorded in the latter part of 1955 were not released until early 1956 as indicated.

Here are LPs released in 1954 (4 pages).

Blakey
Blakey
EmArcy 26030 (10" LP)
Art Blakey
Release year: 1954
Art Farmer
Art Farmer
Prestige 177 (10" LP)
Art Farmer
Release year: 1954

Art Farmer Quintet
Art Farmer Quintet
Prestige 181 (10" LP)
Art Farmer
Release year: 1954
Al Haig Trio
Al Haig Trio
Esoteric 7 (10" LP)
Al Haig
Release year: 1954

Bob Brookmeyer Quartet
Bob Brookmeyer Quartet
Pacific Jazz 16 (10" LP)
Bob Brookmeyer
Release year: 1954
Bob Enevoldsen Quintet
Bob Enevoldsen Quintet
Nocturne 6 (10" LP)
Bob Enevoldsen
Release year: 1954

Meet Mr. Gordon
Meet Mr. Gordon
Pacific Jazz 12 (10" LP)
Bob Gordon
Release year: 1954
Billie Holiday at Jazz at the Philharmonic
Billie Holiday at Jazz at the Philharmonic
Clef 169 (10" LP)
Billie Holiday
Release year: 1954

Barney Kessel, Vol. 2
Barney Kessel, Vol. 2
Contemporary 2514 (10" LP)
Barney Kessel
Release year: 1954
The Amazing Bud Powell
The Amazing Bud Powell
Blue Note 5003 (10" LP)
Bud Powell
Release year: 1954

Bud Shank Quintet
Bud Shank Quintet
Nocturne 2 (10" LP)
Bud Shank
Release year: 1954
Chet Baker with Strings
Chet Baker with Strings
Columbia CL549 (12" LP)
Chet Baker
Release year: 1954

Chet Baker Sextet
Chet Baker Sextet
Pacific Jazz 15 (10" LP)
Chet Baker
Release year: 1954
Chet Baker Ensemble
Chet Baker Ensemble
Pacific Jazz 9 (10" LP)
Chet Baker
Release year: 1954

Clifford Brown & Max Roach
Clifford Brown & Max Roach
EmArcy 26043 (10" LP)
Clifford Brown-Max Roach
Release year: 1954
Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Clef 517 (10" LP)
Charlie Parker
Release year: 1954

Bird and Diz
Bird and Diz
Clef 512 (10" LP)
Charlie Parker-Dizzy Gillespie
Release year: 1954
Gene Norman Presents a Charlie Ventura Concert
Gene Norman Presents a Charlie Ventura Concert
Decca DL8046 (12" LP)
Charlie Ventura
Release year: 1954

Jazz Goes to College
Jazz Goes to College
Columbia CL566 (12" LP)
Dave Brubeck
Release year: 1954
Don Elliott Quintet
Don Elliott Quintet
RCA Victor LJM 1007 (12" LP)
Don Elliott
Release year: 1954

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Jazz Miscellany Pages

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  • My First LPs - 1950
  • My First LPs - 1951
  • My First LPs - 1952
  • My First LPs - 1953
  • My First LPs - 1954
  • My First LPs - 1955
  • My First LPs - 1956

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