Grooves That Defined Jazz: 10 Albums That Shaped the Genre

Jazz is the art of surprise — the split-second decision, the phrase that bends where you least expect it, the conversation between players who have learned to listen as hard as they play. These ten records represent jazz at its most searching and most sure of itself: the modal experiments of Miles Davis, the free-fire fury of Coltrane, the rhythmic revolution of Brubeck's quartet. They were made at a time when jazz was the most adventurous music on earth, and they have lost none of their forward momentum. Each one rewards close listening, and each one rewards coming back.