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The current list available for download has been updated to include all CDs that have been given 4 stars in any edition of the guide up to and including the ninth edition. The current list contains 3174 entries and many of the entries refer to multi-disc sets. The list contains a column noting the edition in which an entry was first given a four star rating. Two further columns identify if an entry is crown or core. There are 17 entries that are core but not four star. For these entries the edition is left blank.

With the ninth edition, Cook and Morton have added 380 new 4 star entries. As in past editions, they have changed their minds and revised ratings for a number of discs.

You can download the list as a CSV file. Right click on the link and choose 'Save Link As'. The file can then be read into any spreadsheet software. If you have any trouble with this file format, please contact me.

I have also added 2 .pdf files ready for immediate printing.

  • Four Star File For A Spreadsheet

  • Four Star File As A PDF: 2 to a page

  • Four Star File As A PDF: 4 to a page

    Here is a table showing the number of entries by edition, crown and core. The first column shows the number of entries by edition that are neither crown or core (No/No). The next column shows entries that are crown but not core (No/Yes), the next column shows entries that are core but not crown (Yes/No) and the far right hand column shows entries that are both crown and core (Yes/Yes):

    No No Yes Yes
    Edition No Yes No Yes
    1 661 33 52 16
    2 369 3 20 6
    3 272 10 13 0
    4 363 6 25 3
    5 250 6 13 3
    6 123 6 13 2
    7 197 4 9 1
    8 286 5 7 0
    9 365 2 13 0
    None 0 0 17 0

    There are a total of 106 Crown discs and 213 Core discs. Particularly distinguished are 31 discs that are both Crown and Core.

    Core
    Crown No Yes Total
    No 2886 182 3068
    Yes 75 31 106
    Total 2961 213 3174

    Please send errors and/or omissions to me at ghfick@ucalgary.ca

    Thanks to all who have contacted me to date.

    Brian Morton is proceeding with a tenth edition of the guide.

    For a list of four star discs from The Penguin Guide To Blues Recordings, go to:

  • Blues List

    Check out my radio show 'Lift The Bandstand' on CJSW 90.9 FM Calgary every Wednesday at 8pm Mountain Time.

    The show title 'Lift The Bandstand' comes from a Steve Lacy quote: 'When I used to work with Monk, he used to say, "Let's lift the bandstand". That's magic, man, when the bandstand levitates. I didn't know how to do it but I knew what he was talking about. Old dreams but they're still valid.' (Steve Lacy interviewed by Brian Case for The Wire no. 1, summer 1982)

    The film 'Lift The Bandstand' is documentary produced by Peter L. Bull. The film is a portrait of the music and career of Steve Lacy, as told to us in his own words and in performances of his music. The one-hour film features two performances by the Steve Lacy Sextet, a solo performance by Lacy, and rare archival footage of such Jazz legends as Sidney Bechet, John Coltrane, Gil Evans and Thelonious Monk - all important influences on Lacy's music. These elements are interwoven with interviews in which the articulate Mr Lacy makes wryly humorous observations about the ups and downs of his career and traces his musical influences.

    CJSW has an online stream, go to: CJSW Radio

    Other Jazz Lists:

  • A list of Jazz lists

  • Jazz-L Top 100+ List

  • Jamey Aebersold's Top 100 Historically Significant Recordings

    In April 1990, CD review published Thomas Conrad's selection of a basic library of 49 CDs. In a later issue, Conrad added a 50th disc and made one change. Anyone beginning a Jazz collection should consult this list.

  • Thomas Conrad's Basic 49+1

    The most complete list of jazz birthdays can be found at Guy Berard's site:

  • Jazz Birthday Calendar