I’ve been asked occasionally to name my ten favorite jazz CDs. This is not necessarily the most important recordings, but my favorites.
- John Coltrane – A Love Supreme
- Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers – Buhaina’s Delight
- Bobby Hutcherson – In the Vanguard
- Herbie Hancock – Maiden Voyage
- Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra – New Life (I know I should say, “Consummation.” – cheaper too)
- Cannonball Adderley – Somethin’ Else
- Sarah Vaughan – Crazy and Mixed Up
- Dexter Gordon – Gettin’ Around (or Homecoming)
- Thelonious Monk – Live at the It Club
- Wayne Shorter – Speak No Evil
Classical entry – Takacs Quartet – Borodin – Smetna
Pop entry = Luther Vandross – The Best of Love OR Stevie Wonder – Natural Wonder
I know it outrageous that I didn’t include anything by Miles Davis (he’s on the Cannonball album above) or my current favorite musician, Dianne Reeves.
2007 Grammy Award Winner!
Gary was the new media producer for this groundbreaking Grammy Award-winning music project

Veteran educator Gary Stager, Ph.D. is the author of Twenty Things to Do with a Computer – Forward 50, co-author of Invent To Learn — Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, publisher at Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, and the founder of the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute. He led professional development in the world’s first 1:1 laptop schools thirty years ago and designed one of the oldest online graduate school programs. Gary is also the curator of The Seymour Papert archives at DailyPapert.com. Learn more about Gary here.