I like this idea. Here’s my December:
Toshiko Akiyoshi led one of the great big bands of the 1970s (and beyond…), but without acquiring the name recognition of prominent American bandleaders. Her releases from this period stand up to contemporary material from Thad Jones/Mel Lewis and Woody Herman, and these recordings capture one of her strongest bands at the peak of its powers.
Yes, this is a pair of albums, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that I’m creeping into “Top 100” territory. These albums are the same band, recorded at around the same time, and both of them are required to capture what makes this band, and its output around this time, rise to the top of my list.
If I could go back in time, I’d mash up an album with Long Yellow Road, The First Night, and Opus No. Zero from Long Yellow Road, then Soliloquy, Road Time Shuffle, and Warning! Success May be Hazardous to your Health from Road Time. Then flip a coin and take either version of Since Perry/Yet Another Tear.
Road Time, culled from a few live concerts in Japan, is a bit looser and more fun, whereas Long Yellow Road, recorded a year and a half earlier in the studio, is the crystallized essence of this stuff.