Sean J. O'ConnellKareem Abdul-Jabbar, legendary UCLA and Lakers center, six-time NBA MVP and Bruce Lee foe, has had a passion for jazz his entire life. Raised in New York, Abdul-Jabbar had the opportunity to soak up the center of the jazz world at one of its most vital periods. He regularly crammed himself into the tiny tables at the Village Vanguard as a teenager and nowadays manages to take in shows at the equally tight quarters at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
See also: *Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Jazz. What Else Would We Talk With Him About?
*Top Ten Jazz Albums for People Who Don't Know Shit About Jazz
To supplement our recent interview, Abdul-Jabbar also offered up his list of essential jazz albums. It is a solid list of classics, in no particular order, that belong in anyone's collection.
Herbie Hancock
Empyrean Isles (1964)
Sam Rivers
Fuchsia Swing Song (1965)
Chick Corea
Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (1968)
Miles Davis
Kind of Blue (1959)
Miles Davis
Cookin' (1956)
Miles Davis
Birth of the Cool (1957)
Sonny Rollins
A Night at the Village Vanguard (1957)
John Coltrane
Live! At the Village Vanguard (1962)
John Coltrane
Coltrane Plays Blues (1962)
John Coltrane
Blue Train (1957)
Thelonious Monk
Monk's Music (1957)
Thelonious Monk
Monk's Dream (1963)
Thelonious Monk Orchestra
At Town Hall (1959)
Larry Young
Unity (1966)
Freddie Hubbard
Ready for Freddie (1961)
Wynton Marsalis
Black Codes From the Underground (1985)
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
Thad Jones Legacy (1999)
Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins
Brilliant Corners (1957)
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