Soul Jazz Essentials

Apple Music Jazz

An extension of the hard-bop movement of the '50s, soul jazz injected a strong dose of gospel and R&B into the form, accenting swing grooves with funky head-nodding rhythms and melodic forms with bluesy call-and-response. The sound is built from strong, cycling bass lines inextricably linked to beats that swing, shuffle, or stutter. By the early '60s bandleaders like Horace Silver and Lee Morgan introduced tunes with relentlessly driving, funky cadences and shimmying horn patterns, the latter scoring a smash hit and creating a virtual paradigm with “The Sidewinder.” The format’s popularity grew with the ascent of organ trios led by Jimmy Smith and Baby Face Willette, smashing together the sacred and profane à la Ray Charles. Soul jazz retained sublime technique and improvisational brio, yet by rooting its expression in dance-like forms it connected to a larger audience, its earthy ebullience explaining its ongoing popularity, with the Hammond B-3 organ maintaining primacy decades later.
Jack Wilson
Do It
Jack Wilson
Easterly Winds
6:26
Lou Donaldson
Nice 'n' Greasy
Lou Donaldson
The Natural Soul (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition Remastered)
5:27
Junior Cook
Blue Farouq
Junior Cook
Junior's Cookin' (Reissue)
3:54
Blue Mitchell
Hi-Heel Sneakers
Blue Mitchell
Down With It (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition Remastered)
8:25
Hank Mobley
Up Over and Out
Hank Mobley
Reach Out! (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition) [Remastered]
5:52
Bobby Timmons
Dat Dere
Bobby Timmons
This Here Is Bobby Timmons
5:24
Junior Mance
A Time and a Place
Junior Mance
I Believe to My Soul
5:06
Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (Live)
Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (Live at 'the Club')
5:10
Ramsey Lewis Trio
The "In" Crowd (Live at Bohemian Caverns Washington)
Ramsey Lewis Trio
The Ramsey Lewis Trio: In Person (1960-1967)
5:48
Young-Holt Unlimited
Soulful Strut
Young-Holt Unlimited
The Definitive Young-Holt Unlimited
3:01
Eddie Harris
Freedom Jazz Dance (LP Version)
Eddie Harris
The In Sound
9:47
Grant Green
The Cantaloupe Woman
Grant Green
His Majesty King Funk
4:55
Shirley Scott
The Soul Is Willing
Shirley Scott
The Soul Is Willing (feat. Stanley Turrentine)
6:24
Charles Earland
The Mighty Burner (Rudy Van Gelder Remaster)
Charles Earland
Black Talk! (Rudy Van Gelder Remaster)
3:07
Freddie Roach
Blues In The Front Room
Freddie Roach
Mo' Greens Please
4:43
Jimmy Smith
The Sermon (Rudy Van Gelder/Remastered)
Jimmy Smith
The Sermon!
20:11
Baby Face Willette
Swingin' At Sugar Ray's
Baby Face Willette
Face to Face (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition) [Remastered]
6:35
Larry Young
Street Scene
Larry Young
So Blue So Funky, Vol. 2
6:55
Lee Morgan
The Sidewinder
Lee Morgan
The Sidewinder (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition Remastered)
10:25
Jimmy Owens & Kenny Barron
Gichi
Jimmy Owens & Kenny Barron
You Had Better Listen
6:34
Donald Byrd
Mustang
Donald Byrd
Mustang!
8:30
The Jazz Crusaders
Congolese Sermon
The Jazz Crusaders
At the Lighthouse (Live)
7:10
Herbie Hancock
Cantaloupe Island
Herbie Hancock
Empyrean Isles (Expanded Edition)
5:33
Andrew Hill
Soul Special (First Version)
Andrew Hill
Grass Roots
8:51
Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Smith
Blues for Del
Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Smith
Jazz 'Round Midnight: Jimmy Smith
6:19
Duke Ellington
Jeep's Blues
Duke Ellington
Ellington At Newport 1956 (Complete) [Live]
4:31
Oliver Nelson
Stolen Moments
Oliver Nelson
The Blues And The Abstract Truth
8:45
Ike Quebec
Heavy Soul
Ike Quebec
Heavy Soul (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition Remastered)
6:51
David "Fathead" Newman
Hard Times (Remastered LP Version)
David "Fathead" Newman
Fathead Ray Charles Presents David Newman
4:40
Benny Carter
Polite Blues
Benny Carter
The Complete Verve Roy Eldridge Studio Recordings
8:35
Tina Brooks
Talkin' About
Tina Brooks
The Waiting Game
7:41
Freddie Hubbard
Backlash (LP Version)
Freddie Hubbard
Backlash
4:14
Duke Pearson
Sweet Honey Bee
Duke Pearson
Sweet Honey Bee
4:57
Eddie Fisher
Land of Our Father
Eddie Fisher
Eddie Fisher & The Next One Hundred Years
5:15
Nat Adderley
Work Song (feat. Wes Montgomery, Bobby Timmons, Percy Heath & Sam Jones)
Nat Adderley
Work Song (feat. Wes Montgomery, Bobby Timmons, Percy Heath & Sam Jones)
4:15
Yusef Lateef
Russell and Eliot
Yusef Lateef
Yusef Lateef's Detroit Latitude 42º 30º Longitude 83º
4:53
Pat Martino
A Blues For Mickey-O
Pat Martino
El Hombre (Rudy Van Gelder Remastered)
8:04
Stanley Turrentine
Return of the Prodigal Son
Stanley Turrentine
The Return of the Prodigal Son
6:35
George Freeman
Hoss
George Freeman
Birth Sign
7:01
Johnny "Hammond" Smith
Nasty (feat. Houston Person, John Abercrombie & Grady Tate)
Johnny "Hammond" Smith
The Soulful Blues
9:03
Gene Harris & The Three Sounds
Sittin' Duck
Gene Harris & The Three Sounds
Live at the "It Club"
7:33
Vi Redd
Evil Gal's Daughter Blues
Vi Redd
Lady Soul
2:50
Rahsaan Roland Kirk Quartet
Fall Out
Rahsaan Roland Kirk Quartet
Rip, Rig and Panic and Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith
3:02
Don Wilkerson
Dem Tambourines
Don Wilkerson
Blue 'N Groovy - Blue Note Connects With the Good Vibes
5:31
Von Freeman & Willis Jackson
Troubled Times
Von Freeman & Willis Jackson
Lockin' Horns
6:36
Horace Silver
Song for My Father
Horace Silver
Song for My Father (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition Remastered)
7:18
Hank Marr
The Greasy Spoon (Original King Recording)
Hank Marr
Old King Gold Volume 7 (Original King Recordings)
3:05
Fred Jackson
Hootin' 'N Tootin'
Fred Jackson
Hootin' 'N Tootin' (Expanded Edition)
4:34
Bill Doggett
Honky Tonk, Pt. 2
Bill Doggett
All His Hits
2:34
Willis Jackson
Cool Grits
Willis Jackson
A One Day Session
8:35
Brother Jack McDuff
Down Home Style
Brother Jack McDuff
Down Home Style
5:06
Big John Patton
The Shake
Big John Patton
Got a Good Thing Goin'
7:46
George Braith
Billy Told
George Braith
Soul Stream
7:49
Shirley Scott
Think
Shirley Scott
Soul Song
8:04
Richard "Groove" Holmes
Groove's Groove
Richard "Groove" Holmes
Soul Message (Rudy Van Gelder Remaster)
7:06
Les McCann & Eddie Harris
Compared to What
Les McCann & Eddie Harris
Swiss Movement
8:36
Albert Ayler
Everybody's Movin'
Albert Ayler
New Grass
3:43
Herbie Mann
Push Push
Herbie Mann
Push Push
10:07
Booker T. & The M.G.'s
Green Onions
Booker T. & The M.G.'s
The Best of Booker T & The MG's
2:54
Ronnie Foster
Drowning In the Sea of Love
Ronnie Foster
Two Headed Freap
4:04
Dorothy Ashby
Soul Vibrations
Dorothy Ashby
Afro-Harping
3:20
Maceo Parker
Uptown Up
Maceo Parker
Funk Overload
4:16
Charles Kynard
Afro-Disiac
Charles Kynard
Afro-Disiac
4:58
Eddie Harris
A Little Wes (LP Version)
Eddie Harris
Instant Death
7:26
The George Benson Quartet
Benson's Rider
The George Benson Quartet
The George Benson Cookbook
5:37
Wes Montgomery
Full House
Wes Montgomery
Full House (Remastered)
9:09
Cal Tjader
Soul Sauce (Guachi Guara)
Cal Tjader
Soul Sauce
2:27
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
Moanin'
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
Moanin' (Remastered)
9:30
Lee Morgan
The Rumproller
Lee Morgan
The Rumproller (feat. Joe Henderson, Ronnie Mathews, Victor Sproles & Billy Higgins)
10:24
Harold Mabern
Greasy Kid Stuff
Harold Mabern
Wailin' (Reissue)
8:21
Johnny Griffin
The Turk's Bolero
Johnny Griffin
Lady Heavy Bottom's Waltz
3:07
Horace Silver
Sister Sadie
Horace Silver
Blowin' the Blues Away (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition Remastered)
6:19
Jimmy McGriff
Groove Grease
Jimmy McGriff
Groove Grease
3:33
Richard "Groove" Holmes
Soul Power
Richard "Groove" Holmes
Super Soul
5:53
Stanley Turrentine & Shirley Scott
Good Lookin' Out
Stanley Turrentine & Shirley Scott
Talkin' Verve: Shirley Scott
5:23
Hank Crawford
Junction
Hank Crawford
After Hours
3:58
Mel Brown
Chicken Fat
Mel Brown
Chicken Fat (Remastered)
4:14
James Moody
The World Is a Ghetto
James Moody
The World Is a Ghetto
6:52
Wes Montgomery
Up and at It
Wes Montgomery
Down Here on the Ground
4:14
Hadley Caliman
Cigar Eddie
Hadley Caliman
Inner Peace
6:20
Grover Washington, Jr.
Mister Magic
Grover Washington, Jr.
Grover Washington, Jr.: Greatest Performances
9:00
Quincy Jones
Oh Happy Day
Quincy Jones
Walking In Space
3:36
Ramsey Lewis
Wade In the Water
Ramsey Lewis
Wade In the Water