The Biggest Selling Jazz Albums of All Time!

WARNING Kenny G not included
Full list: rateyourmusic....
The list comes from here:
rateyourmusic....
Andy is a drummer, producer and educator. He has toured the world with rock legend Robert Plant and played on classic prog albums by Frost and IQ.
As a drum clinician he has played with Terry Bozzio, Kenny Aronoff, Thomas Lang, Marco Minneman and Mike Portnoy.
He also teaches drums privately and at Kidderminster College

[@ganazby]

This series is enlightening, and should be required viewing for anyone with an interest in jazz, in all its manifestations. I can listen to both Louis Armstrong and Mahavishnu back to back, no problem, while clearly recognising their common heritage. And that’s how it should be. Btw, I think I’ve mentioned this before on one of your vids, but Visions of the Emerald Beyond is my absolute favourite Mahavishnu album. Never get tired of it. Thanks again, Andy, for this excellent series. It’s appreciated.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I agree with it all!

[@JackJenningsGuitarist]

AND Birds of Fire is one my favourite album ever..................................................... can't say here how much it means to me

[@jackdolphy8965]

Wynton - it’s hard for me to forget the time Oliver Lake relayed the story of how Wynton told him he didn’t play jazz.

[@JackJenningsGuitarist]

I'm really enjoying this one, thank you so much for doing it

[@PerryPapanier]

Never get tired of you talking about Mahavishnu Orchestra

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I will do more then....

[@stanislavpocaji]

And where is Keith Jarrett 's Koln concert? Sold about 4 mil records,,,

[@PeterJDeVault]

The Claude Bolling/ JP Rampal thing is actually much better than a classifying of jazz music. It's not going to start a revolution, but it's real music.

[@CarstenAgger]

Now I feel like hearing most of these albums (again, in most cases)! Thanks for sharing your insights. :)

[@dennismason3740]

Swing era was thirties AND forties. Swing was the American soundscape to WWII.

[@freddieblue6351]

I love Steely Dan, Laura Nyro and Joni….I don’t care what the true jazz people think…, F the R&R hall of Fame too..,I also LOVE Thelonious Monk, Joe Sample and Billy Childs. Great channel mate!!! Give me Monk’s Dream and Aja…all day..,everyday.

[@LR-oo8hq]

Great fun 👍 it is impossible to praise Miles enough for what he’s done for jazz and if I tried might end up saying loads of too many words, but you just with a few words out it so well, that’s so nice 👍 here’s a request for a another video, I know you already covered Miles, but I’d love to hear more about Miles’s method for recording (if we can call it like that). Everybody knows the story of how Kind of Blue was recorded and how that completely took all the musicians by surprise so we have this most sublime music that is purely fresh. But it seems to me that after that Miles kept perfecting this method on In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew and so on. I think Miles is so great not only because of the places he took jazz music to, but most of all because how far he took his musicians out. They all the greatest innovators in jazz after being with him. If jazz is that nuclear reactor for music, Miles was that for musicians ☺️ I think it has to do with his method of recording (not sure if we can call it like that), could that become another video someday?

[@blucheer8743]

Coltrane live at Newport where he blows “blue train” and “favorite things” into free territory right in ppls faces! Sonny Rollins “the bridge” with jimmy hall one of most important American records of any kind. Bix Beiderbecke “in a mist” Louie’s “hello dolly” fantastic…

[@Avalonrick1]

Your spot on in your analysis. I would avant-garde is also tossed aside by Burns. Jazz was popular and always changing and continues to do so. To say that only be-bop or cool is jazz is ridiculous.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Yes, that is a good point I should have made myself.

[@StratsRUs]

Great stuff.Thanks.I remember my dad playing me Ella with Louis.Coltrane's A Love Supreme knocks me sideways.I lie down and let it bathe me.Just mega.....not mentioned much because maybe some musicians find it too obvious.

[@naderzekrya5238]

I had read somewhere years ago, the first jazz millionaires were Lalo Schifrin, Quincy, Herbie, Benson, Miles.....

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Paul Whiteman possibly the first?

[@naderzekrya5238]

​@@AndyEdwardsDrummer hadn't heard of him but maybe, yes! (just looked him up - bandleader, orchestrator raking in millions in the 1920s already!) Fascinating, Cheers!

[@michaelcottle6270]

"Head Hunters" was the first Jazz Funk album - Owners of "On the Corner" by Miles Davis might disagree...

[@zafotbeeb]

For me "Bitches Brew" left me in a state of amazement from first hearing it. It became my favorite and most listened too album to this day. Coltrane took a conserted effort to work through his catalog to finally understand what he was creating musically. Really enjoyed this video and was surprised at how many of the albums listed that I have. Good stuff.

[@donaldfrazell9540]

Sarah and Betty the twin poles of excellence. But Ella's with The guitar God, Joe Pass is amazing and Billie the Soul of social music.

[@jackdolphy8965]

Sketches of Spain was Miles’ in name … it was as much if not way more a Gil Evans’ masterpiece.

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros4419]

9:34 I think it's too harsh to call Stanley Jordan and "instagram musician". The dude is not only one of the most brilliant virtuosos of guitar, but he is really a proper jazz musician through and through. Yes, he does lots of covers of mainstream tunes but he puts his own jazz spin on them. Comparing him with Bossa N' Roses or Bossa N' Stones as a mere cashgrabber would be doing a disservice to his brilliant music. He really believes in what he does. He should be up there alongside Pat Metheny and the Breckers as a flagship of the 80s wave of fusion.

[@jamescurran9002]

I accidentally caught Stanley Jordan on a Tuesday night,at a small lounge, with maybe 5 people. And I was the only one that was taking time to listen to him. When Andy refers to him as a street musician, I can vouch that's exactly what he was.

[@jamescurran9002]

Andy, o can come with a lot of albums that should be on this list and somehow isn't. Such as Winelight by Grover Washington, Breezing by George Benson etc.

[@dennismason3740]

I met Ella in 1988(?) - I panicked. "Thanks for everything - I love you!" I blurted out and she gave me a little wave.

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros4419]

47:33 Great message, and I wholeheartedly agree!

[@donaldfrazell9540]

Art Pepper, Pass, Holland, Evans, Pedersen, those who earn it get it.. See who musicians can't to play with.

[@sPi711]

I laughed when you said mockingly: "oooh, he can even play classical", And then observed correctly that the number of classical musicians who can play jazz is actually very small. It reminded me of when Mikhail Baryshnikov had to prepare for his role beside Gregory Hines in the movie White Nights; how difficult it was and how inadequate his classical training was in realizing the improvisational beauty of tap and jazz dancing. Another example would be Jean-Luc Ponty, who suffered similar limitations in his experience when playing with African musicians and tackling the African music that he produced for his album "Tchokola".

[@sdgakatbk]

I was kind of holding my breath at the end, wondering if Weather Report would get even a mention. I like a lot of their 70s albums and got to see them I think in '78. I got into them around the time Mr. Gone was out. Funny thing about them. While Heavy Weather was a good album, I prefer some of their earlier albums and sound more. I remember at college I was with some people in a friend's dorm room. People were talking and I was just kind of watching. Then the song Orange Lady came on from their first album. I immediately interrupted and said "That is REALLY GOOD!" That first album with Miroslav Vitous on bass and Alphonse Mouzon and Airto Moreira on percussion and drums respectively is one of my favorites. I also like Black Market, Mysterious Traveler, and Tale Spinnin' very much. Just a great band. A name I didn't hear mentioned is Charles Mingus. His album Mingus Ah Um is a masterpiece. He is my favorite jazz bassist. A video from some of his concerts in Europe in 1964 is one of my favorite youtube concert videos. I also don't think George Gershwin was mentioned. There's really too much I can comment on in this video, so I'll just end with this. I was born in '55 and the 70s is my favorite decade for music. Jazz fusion is one of the big reasons why. The fact that there are so few million selling albums in jazz just isn't right!! There have been SO MANY great jazz albums of basically EVERY style of jazz!!

[@stephenbellotti2036]

When I was a young teen, I asked my piano teacher - "can i try playing some jazz?" All I knew how to do was read sheet music. But I couldn't just play. I thought if I asked her to teach me some jazz, I might learn how to actually play the instrument without sheet music. But in response, my teacher just got me a bunch of sheet music by Claude Bolling. To be fair, it was a bit more fun to play than Chopin. A girl in my middle school played flute and I saw her carrying the Suite for Flute and Jazz album with her. Because I knew Bolling, I asked her about it and we listened to it in the music room after school. It's a pretty fun little album to listen to. In my mind, it's a strict church lady pearl wearing classical piano teacher's idea of what jazz is. lol

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Yes...jazz is another world and most classical musicians have no idea of that world

[@geraldbrennan7425]

I really enjoyed this video. One artist who is rarely thought of as a "jazz" artist (those labels!) but who absolutely deserves to be considered one is Frank Sinatra. (I remember an interview in Downbeat 20 or so years ago in which John Zorn argues this.) Sinatra came out of jazz--he got his start with the big bands of Harry James and Tommy Dorsey in the 40s and he continued in the 50s and 60s to feature big band sounds on his recordings. Just think Nelson Riddle and Billy May. Great bands. He released albums in the 60s with the Duke Ellington and Count Basie bands. The album Sinatra-Basie is pure jazz. And though he didn't scat, his way of interpreting a song is as moving to me in its way as Billie Holiday's. And just to make this rant relative to this video, Sinatra could sell records. In the 50s (if I interpret the online info properly) Songs For Swingin Lovers sold more than 600,000 copies and in the 60s Sinatra at the Sands (with Count Basie) sold nearly 600,000 copies. I guess you can tell i'm kinda a Sinatra fan!

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Yes...he's Jazz

[@jackdolphy8965]

Bird With Strings is amongst these, kind of …..

[@marcpatrickbehar5098]

Thanks for this ...very interesting ....but no Duke Ellington no Ornette Coleman no Keith Jarrett no Bill Evans ....No Charlie Parker .....kinda of sad

[@stevegideon5419]

Stan Getz - white guy who was recognized

[@BrennanYoung]

Jobim's bossa = Debussy meets Samba

[@devereauxclandestine1272]

Interesting video Andy, with some surprising entries. I think your right that artists like Krall and Kenny G. should really be included. As annoyingly bland as Mr G, can be I think you could argue that his music is as jazz influenced as Herbies 'Rockit'. In fact I was recently listening to a Laswell interview where he talked about the recording of 'Rockit' an described it as 'nothing to do with jazz as far as I know'. Incidentally you are spot on with your guess about Herbies 'Possibilities' being a kind of 'Supernatural' type effort. Not Herbies greatest but undeniably entertaining and well worth a listen. The Claude Bolling album sounds exactly like you expect it to, nice if you're in that third stream kind of mood. I'm surprised that George Benson and 'Breezin' never made the list though!

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Yes, I think there is stuff missing off this list, I will do some research....

[@devereauxclandestine1272]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Just did a quick google and discovered that Breezin went triple platinum. 3 million copies sold. It could be that it gets classified as R'n'B or something by people who make these lists up as it charted in different categories, but surely deserves to be on a top selling jazz album list!

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

@@devereauxclandestine1272 I did too, Koln Concert has sold 4 million and Friday Night in San Francisco 2 million. I may do a video on this....

[@devereauxclandestine1272]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer A deeper dive might send you down a pretty deep rabbit hole Andy. From what I can gather the recording of album sales seems to be as much art as science with all sorts of vagaries and shenanigans, particularly on an international level. I think your basic premise that many of the best sellers were solid jazz albums rather than watered down fuzak is largely substantiated by this video. I say 'largely' because here's a depressing fact - Kenny G - 'Duotones' - 5 million!

[@ralphhayward4713]

Id love to hear your views on Tom Jenkinson (Squarepusher), you seem well versed - especially from a drummers perspective

[@klapsigaarenbasgitaar1931]

I would love him to do a top ten or so Squarepusher album. In my view TJ will go down in history as one of the greats. One of the most important musicians of the last 30 years and definitely a Jazz artist according to Andy's definition.

[@pawehohmann8171]

Super!

[@allekassen]

I'm hearing you saying that Take Five is modal for the second time now. It's not. Paul Desmond sticks duely to the middle eight that he had written (two subdominantish four-bar phrases with the initial chord in first inversion). It's just that he is the only one who does.

[@BarbarraBay]

I was telling my friend I listened to 'Kind Of Blue' for the 1st time this week (due to this video) and I was playing guitar to it and I sounded like McLaughlin (despite all my mistakes). My drummer friend (with the 10 piece 1987 Yamaha Power Recording Custom 9000 series drum kit) replied, who loves George Benson: "So 'Breezin' by George Benson is not jazz?"

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros4419]

14:08 Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Chet Baker, BILL EVANS?

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros4419]

What about Return to Forever (the album) and Offramp? Did they not sell as much as the rest of this list? It'd be mindboggling given how huge tracks like "Spain" or "Are You Going With Me?" became. The top 2 albums were not a surprise for me. Everybody knows about "A Kind of Blue" and "Head Hunters" is one of the most dancable fusion albums ever.

[@guillaumechabason3165]

What about Cecil Taylor album live in Lubjana ? 😁

[@armandom28]

Cecil Taylor wouldn’t even make the top 1000

[@SuperQdaddy]

Rod Stewart jazz standard s recording s sold millions

[@wylieroth3145]

That's a shame

[@adude9882]

Why?

[@jackdolphy8965]

Too bad In A Silent Way isn’t as known - after all it gave birth to Bitches Brew…

[@tommonk7651]

Honestly, I've avoided looking at this video because I HATE Kenny G.... 😁 But I love Diana Krall....

[@dennismason3740]

I heard Herbie Hancock in 1962 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpiWdHV4oLimqZY - this is my fave Herbie bit. I cry everytime.

[@erikheddergott5514]

Diana Kral is Jazz, Kenny G ain‘t, he is Instrumental Pop. I saw them both. I left Diana Kral at Northsea Jazz after 30 Minutes, i sat through the whole Kenny G in Montreux, so my Opinion is not tied to the Idea that Jazz is superior to Pop. I did not like either of their Concerts.

[@gustafcederborg9744]

Was Diana Krall really that bad? I do love me some ”the look of love” but I guess she can be a bit monotone

[@charleslawson4792]

Kenny G Is Not Jazz & Najee Is Not Jazz Either.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Kenny G is jazz...it's just really MOR jazz. But it's jazz....

[@jontalbot1]

It doesn’t really matter that much what you call it. It’s unlikely anyone here will like it. I am not sure people who buy it like it much either. It’s just a sort of background, there’s nothing engaging about it

[@JackJenningsGuitarist]

Wow I'm pleasantly suprised to see Love Devotion Surender so high on the list. In my late teens I would jam along to 'Let us go into the house of our Lord' - side 2 and I would not be the same without that era of Mclaughlin. Santana really stands toe to toe with John on this album too. His style and feel is so strong, even next to the super human Mclaughlin Carlos sounds awesome.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Hi Jack...I think a history of jazz based upon the biggest selling artists of the genre would be very enlightening. This list really shows the huge influence JM had on that history.

[@michaelweinman9051]

Gotta hold up the LP covers when possible, man. Love what you are doing. Cheers from L.A.

[@carlasprilla]

Absolutely fantastic show! Highly educational yet super fun and Entertaining. Love the love for Mahavishnu Orchestra!

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

You can always Mahavishnu Love, Devotion and Surrender here :)

[@donaldfrazell9540]

Sorry but no way Kenny G is jazz Jazz musicians play with other. NO ONE plays with Kenny. Branford ignores him and Metheny wants to knock him out. Krall is jazz lite but jazz. Jazz is apprentic based so just looks at who plays with who. Love Joni but not jazz but blends with it. She needed the freedom.

[@freddieblue6351]

It is like a heavy rock fan telling me Linda Ronstadt and The Eagles are not rock…maybe not their kind of rock, but they are rock. Love this channel, but the list is biased.

[@donaldfrazell9540]

​@@freddieblue6351 NO one from country or rock ignore or want to beat down the Eagles or Rontadt. Smooth Jazz labeling is marketing. None are jazz. Crusaders had been, but dumped the Jazz from Crusaders for a reason. All Jazz musicians give Kenny G the sideye as Miles did

[@functorsandthecity]

“Louis Armstrong is the most important “ … Hindemith, dude

[@anthonykishko1711]

Charlie Christian solo flight and electric bee bop, right on! Take us to Avalon Andy.