Home » Jazz Articles » Building a Jazz Library » Jazz From Around the World: Europe

Jazz From Around the World: Europe

View Slideshow

By Hrayr Attarian
June 29, 2016
View read count

Jazz has had a universal appeal since its inception. As soon as the music left its cradle of New Orleans in the early years of the 20th century it quickly spread to all corners of the world. Europeans were among the first non-Americans to embrace the music and place their unique twist on it. Below are 10 classic European jazz recordings.

Beginning the list is Mosaic's massive box set of guitarist

Django Reinhardt

guitar
1910 - 1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Django Reinhardt's Swing/HMV sessions. Reinhardt is arguably the first real innovator in the European jazz scene. His music has spawned a subgenre, the so called Gypsy Jazz or Hot Club, that continues to go strong.

Swedish baritone saxophonist

Lars Gullin

saxophone, baritone
1928 - 1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Lars Gullin was one of the first "stars" of the Nordic Jazz scene. His lyrical style and buttery tone mark all of his work that Dragon reissued chronologically. Danny's Dream is the only one without guest appearances therefore making Gullin's the dominant voice on these sessions.

The mid 1960's saw a blossoming of both filmmaking and jazz music in Poland. Pianist and film composer

Krzysztof Komeda

piano
1931 - 1969

" data-original-title="" title="">Krzysztof Komeda remains one of the most individualistic and singular improvisers to have originated from Poland. His 1965 live recording Astigmatic is considered one of the best jazz albums of all time.

Jazz made inroads early into England and the rest of the UK. Some of its first English proponents emulated their American counterparts faithfully. In the 1950s and 1960s a movement started that aimed at creating unique British brand of jazz. One of the highlights of that era remains pianist

Stan Tracey

piano
1926 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Stan Tracey's Jazz Suite: Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood".

The fusion of jazz with ethnic music was becoming popular starting in the 1950s. Serbian trumpeter

Dusko Goykovich

trumpet
b.1931

" data-original-title="" title="">Dusko Goykovich brought Balkan harmonies and melodies into jazz with his superb Swinging Macedonia. It remains one of the best examples of the genre and one of the most accomplished jazz albums.

Often compared to bandoneon player and composer

Astor Piazzolla

bandoneon
1921 - 1992

" data-original-title="" title="">Astor Piazzolla, saxophonist

Pedro Iturralde

b.1929

" data-original-title="" title="">Pedro Iturralde was one of the first to infuse the folk music of native Spain into jazz and classical pieces. His collaboration with guitarist

Paco de Lucia

guitar
1947 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Paco de Lucia Flamenco Jazz remains one of the best examples of the marriage of two musical heritages.

If the phrase fire breather did not exist before saxophonist

Peter Brötzmann

woodwinds
1941 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Br?tzmann it should have been coined to describe his style. One of the pioneers of the European free improvisational scene his Machine Gun is a powerful and passionate statement and sort of a manifesto for the Avant-Garde music that came from western Europe. Despite being recorded in 1968 it has stood the test of time and remains a refreshing, stirring and fascinating record.

Trumpeter

Enrico Rava

trumpet
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Enrico Rava brought his trademark contemplative and lyrical style to his ECM debut Pilgrim and the Stars. The elegant and atmospheric record is the musical equivalent of an edgy, art house film. The dynamic and passionate album is stimulating and poetic, simultaneously cerebral and visceral.

The Zen like serenity of saxophonist

Jan Garbarek

saxophone
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Jan Garbarek's Dis does not distract from the innovative ideas that abound within it. The sublime pieces unfold like sonic landscapes conjuring images of lush, green fields and the crystalline glaciers of the arctic circle. It is an apt, musical tribute to his home land of Norway.

Iturralde and Komeda were not the only ones to engage in the musical freedom of jazz while living under totalitarian rule. Pianist

Vyacheslav Ganelin

piano
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Vyacheslav Ganelin and his

Ganelin Trio

" data-original-title="" title="">Ganelin Trio released a bold and free flowing album, Ancora Da Capo in 1982 while living under Soviet regime. The innovation and the ingenuity of the work makes it a landmark in history of jazz while the political climate in which it was recorded makes it more poignant.

Django Reinhardt

guitar
1910 - 1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Django Reinhardt
The Complete Django Reinhardt and Quintet of the Hot Club of France Swing/HMV Sessions 1936-1948
(Mosaic)

Lars Gullin

saxophone, baritone
1928 - 1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Lars Gullin
Danny's Dream: Volume 8, 1953-55
(Dragon)

Krzysztof Komeda

piano
1931 - 1969

" data-original-title="" title="">Krzysztof Komeda
Astigmatic
(Power Bros Records)

Stan Tracey

piano
1926 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Stan Tracey
Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood"
(EMI)

Dusko Goykovich

trumpet
b.1931

" data-original-title="" title="">Dusko Goykovich
Swinging Macedonia
Enja

Pedro Iturralde

b.1929

" data-original-title="" title="">Pedro Iturralde
Flamenco Jazz
(MPS)

Peter Brötzmann

woodwinds
1941 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Br?tzmann
Machine Gun
(FMP)

Enrico Rava

trumpet
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Enrico Rava
The Pilgrim and the Stars
(ECM)

Jan Garbarek

saxophone
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Jan Garbarek
Dis
(ECM)

Ganelin Trio

" data-original-title="" title="">Ganelin Trio
Ancora Da Capo
(Leo)

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Bridges From The East
< Previous

Todd Barkan: Early days of Keystone ...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.