By the 1940s, we’re starting to see a lot of early recordings being released which show how the swing era moved into bebop.
As well as listing the live jazz albums recorded in the 1940s, there is a poll below to find the best live jazz albums of all time. The more people who vote, the better it will be as a guide to you and everyone else.
Live Jazz Albums recorded in the 1940s include:
Louis Armstrong The Early Years Recorded Live 1938-1949
Louis Armstrong The Complete Town Hall Concert 1947
Louis Armstrong Satchmo at Symphony Hall 1947
Louis Armstrong Satchmo at Symphony Hall 65th Anniversary The Complete Performances 1947
Louis Armstrong The Columbia & RCA Victor Live Recordings 1947 1956
Louis Armstrong Live At The Hollywood Empire 1949
Sidney Bechet Live In New York 1945-1949
Mezz Mezzrow Sidney Bechet Live At New York Town Hall 1947
Sidney Bechet Jazz Live & Rare Vol 14 Live 1947
Sidney Bechet L’album Souvenir Les Premiers Enregistrements Parisien ’49
Miles Davis Chasin’ The Bird 1948
Miles Davis Live Recordings 1948-1957
Miles Davis Complete Live In Paris 1949
Duke Ellington The Duke At Fargo 1940 Special 60th Anniversary Edition
Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts January 1943
Duke Ellington Live At Carnegie Hall Dec 11 1943
Duke Ellington Treasury Shows Vol 1 1943 to 1945
Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts 1943-1947
Duke Ellington Live At The Hurricane 1944
Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts December 1944
Duke Ellington Duke’s Joint 1945
Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts January 1946
Duke Ellington The Great Concerts Chicago 1946
Duke Ellington Live At The Hollywood Bowl 1947
Duke Ellington at Ciro’s 1947
Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts December 1947
Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall November 13 1948
Duke Ellington At the Hollywood Empire 1949
Dizzy Gillespie Charlie Parker Town Hall New York City June 22 1945
Dizzy Gillespie Groovin’ High 1945 to 1947
Dizzy Gillespie And His Big Band In Concert 1948
Dizzy Gillespie Live In 1948
Billie Holiday Gee Baby Ain’t I Good To You Live Radio TV and Film Recordings 1934-1958
Billie Holiday Jazz at the Philharmonic The Billie Holiday Story vol 1 1945 to 1958
Billie Holiday Banned From New York City Live 1948-1957
Charlie Parker Jazz at the Philharmonic 1946
Charlie Parker At The Finale Club & More 1946
Charlie Parker Complete Live Performances on Savoy September 29 1947 to October 25 1950
Charlie Parker Best of the Complete Live Performances on Savoy 1948/49
Charlie Parker Liveology 1948 to 1952
Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie Diz ‘N Bird at Carnegie Hall 1947
Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie Complete Live at Birdland
Billie Holiday Compact Jazz Live 1946-1958
Art Tatum Live Vol 1 1934-44
Art Tatum Live Vol 2 1944-45
Art Tatum Live Vol 3 1945-49
Art Tatum Live Vol 4 1949-51
Art Tatum Piano Starts Here Live at The Shrine 1949
Sarah Vaughan The Town Hall Concert 1947
Ben Webster The Trianoon Ballroom Southgate California 1941
Lester Young The Quintessence New York to Los Angeles 1938-1947
Lester Young Live At The Royal Roost 1948
The Complete Jazz At The Philharmonic On Verve 1944-1949
You can get these albums from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk
What Are The Best Live Jazz Albums Of All Time
I don’t have a readers poll to find the best live albums of the decade but there is a poll to find the all time best live jazz albums:
Loading ...You can get these albums from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk
1930s – 1940s – 1950s – 1960s – 1970s – 1980s – 1990s – 2000s – 2010s
Live Album Polls For The Great Jazz Artists
I have polls for the following artists: – Louis Armstrong – Count Basie – John Coltrane – Miles Davis – Eric Dolphy – Duke Ellington – Dizzy Gillespie – Billie Holiday – Charles Mingus – Thelonious Monk – Charlie Parker – Lester Young –
Satchmo at Symphony Hall 65th Anniversary is a live album by Louis Armstrong.
It is an extended version of an earlier album called Satchmo At Symphony Hall from 1947.
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Satchmo at Symphony Hall 1947 is a live album by Louis Armstrong.
It was recorded in New York in 1947.
There is also a 65th Anniversary Complete Performance version of this concert recording.
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Banned From New York City Live 1948-1957 is a compilation of live recordings by Billie Holiday.
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Jazz at the Philharmonic 1946 is a live album featuring Charlie Parker and Lester Young playing in Los Angeles on two different dates in 1946.
It also includes appearances by Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins,
Buck Clayton and Buddy Rich on some of the songs.
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The Complete Live Performances on Savoy September 29 1947 to October 25 1950 is a collection of live recordings by Charlie Parker.
Many of these were recorded at the Royal Roost in New York in 1948 and 1949. There is also the 1947 Carnegie Hall concert with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and a Chicago concert from 1950.
If you don’t want to get the 4 CD boxset, there is also the option of the Best Of The Complete Savoy Live Performances.
While this is billed as the “complete” I should point out that it misses the Symphony Sid announcements on the Royal Roost sessions, some of which had Parker playing in the background.
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Diz ‘N Bird at Carnegie Hall is a live album by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
It was recorded at Carnegie Hall in New York on September 29, 1947 and includes quintet and big band performances.
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The Complete Town Hall Concert 1947 is a live album by Louis Armstrong.
It was recorded on the 17 May 1947.
This is a ground-breaking concert because Armstrong laid the foundations for his All-Stars small band after having played with a big band from the late 1930s onwards.
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The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts January 1943 is a live album by Duke Ellington and his orchestra.
It was recorded in New York City on January 23, 1943 and was eventually released in 1977.
One of the most famous bands that Ellington put together was the Blanton Webster version in the early 1940s. Sadly innovative bassist Jimmy Blanton died in July 1942 but Ben Webster was still with the orchestra when this was recorded.
The album is notable for having the only complete version of the Black, Brown and Beige suite composed by Ellington. Unfortunately it wasn’t well received by the critics who felt that it was too pretentious for a jazz band leader and this response affected Ellington.
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Jazz at the Philharmonic: The Billie Holiday Story vol 1 is a collection of live recordings by Billie Holiday.
Billie Holiday at Jazz at the Philharmonic was originally issued in 1954 collecting together eight songs from 1945 and 1946. Since then it has been massively extended to include 30 tracks going all the way through to 1958.
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Live At Carnegie Hall Dec 11 1943 is a live album by Duke Ellington recorded at his regular 1940s venue in New York City.
This is not to be confused with the album The Carnegie Hall Concerts which was recorded in January 1943.
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