57 years ago today, Led Zeppelin's "Led Zeppelin II" was released. The follow-up that hardened the sound. Heavy blues-rock, shorter forms, and “Whole Lotta Love” as the single that expanded the audience.

14 years ago today, Kendrick Lamar's "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City" was released.

Before Miles came calling, Wayne Shorter made this quiet little masterpiece.

October 21, 1960: Coltrane picks up the soprano.

69 years ago today, Miles Davis's "Miles Ahead" was released. Miles with Gil Evans for the first time, on flugelhorn and with a full orchestra. Spacious, cool arrangements that marked a clear break from the small-group work.

51 years ago today, Tom Waits's "Nighthawks at the Diner" was released. Recorded live in a studio with an invited audience. Early Waits as beat-poet and piano man, full of late-night stories and the persona he was still shaping.

66 years ago, John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" was recorded.

One of my favourite flips of all time.

Happy birthday to Dizzy Gillespie, born on this day in 1917! Trumpeter and composer at the center of bebop, alongside Charlie Parker. Later a key figure in Afro-Cuban jazz, with a signature bent horn and blazing upper register.

Some songs never age. Green Onions was born cool and stayed that way.

A Master Listening Guide to Jazz

One of those samples they'll still be talking about 1,000 years from now.

60 years ago, Cannonball Adderley's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club'" was recorded. Recorded in a studio made to feel like a club, and the album that made “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” a hit. Cannonball Adderley with Joe Zawinul in the band.

New on Melodies & Masterpieces: The Weekly Spin 🎶 
Like a book club, but for albums. One record a week. Listen along, rate it out of 10 and tell us your standout track. First up: Afro-Harping by Dorothy Ashby (1968). melodiesandmasterpieces.com/…

66 years ago, Charles Mingus's "Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus" was recorded. A Candid album with Eric Dolphy, Ted Curson and Dannie Richmond. Tight quartet playing, and one of the sharper political statements in Mingus’s catalog.