Here is the final round of Rifftides readers’ listening choices. Thanks to all who responded for introducing me—and many others, I’m 
sure—to music or musicians that I would not have known otherwise. Without this exercise, among other recordings The Mars Volta, cellist Claire Gastinel and the marvelous O Grande Circo Mistico by Edu Lobo and Chico Buarque, would have escaped me.
Looking over the playlists of recommended albums by young jazz musicians and sampling their wares, I wondered again why budding composers in their late teens or early twenties think that 10 or 12 of their original compositions can sustain interest through an entire CD. Yes, I know about works of youthful genius by, say, Mozart, Schubert and Charlie Parker. I’ve heard no recent evidence that there is another like them among us. A leavening of songbook and jazz standards would help most albums of originals by musicians in their salad days. It’s amazing how a dose of Porter, Ellington, Gershwin, Shorter, Mandel or Dameron can break the monotony and give the listener a familiar handle.
If there is enough interest, we may do this again some day when the staff has forgotten the hours of finding and inserting html code for links. For those new to this sort of thing, the links are the album titles in blue. They are clickable.
Please use the “Speak Your Mind†box at the end of this post to comment on Readers Choices or anything else——well, just about anything else.
The Mars Volta, Noctourniquet.
Starlicker, Double Demon.
William Parker, I Plan To Stay A Believer.
John Zorn, The Gnostic Preludes.
Michael Sentkewitz
This is just today:
Milt Jackson, To Bags With Love, Memorial Album, Pablo.
Andy Bey, Ballads Blues & Bey, Evidence Music.
Carmen McRae, Carmen Sings Monk.
Bill Charlap: He’s played throughout the day.
Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster, Verve.
Other frequently heard singers: Joe Williams, Pinky Winters, Joe Mooney and Frank Sinatra.
Lots of classical music stored on my Media Player and also available at YouTube.
Carol Sloane
Stoneham, Massachusetts
USA
Dave Brubeck, Moscow Night— includes my all time favourite version
of “Take Five‗Dave’s playing is superb.
Paul Desmond, The Paul Desmond Quartet Live.
Gerry Mulligan, Midas Touch.
Al Cohn & Zoot Sims, Body & Soul.
Bruce Babad, A Tribute To Paul Desmond.
John Bolger
Greystones, Ireland
UK
Ben Allison, Little Things Run The World.
Robert Glasper, In My Element.
Branford Marsalis, Braggtown.
Art Ensemble of Chicago, A Jackson in Your House/A Message to Our Folks.
Music By Ry Cooder (Selections from films he has scored).
Jason Moran, Same Mother.
Barry K. Schmidt
Yakima, WA
USA
Joe Henderson, Double Rainbow.
Norah Jones, Little Broken Hearts.
Enrico Rava/Stefano Bollani, The Third Man
Kate Bush, 50 Words For Snow.
Chuck Mitchell
New York, NY
USA
Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez & Paul Motian, Further Explorations.
Dorian Ford Trio, The Bill Game (The music of Bill Evans)

Julian Lage Group, Gladwell
.
Phil Palombi, Re: Person I Knew.

Craig Urquhart, Songs Without Words.
Jeff Lorber Fusion, Galaxy.
Jake Shimabukro, Peace, Love, Ukelele.
Kenny Burrell, Tenderly.
Mark Mohr,
Spokane, WA
USA
Tom Warrington, Nelson.
Jeff Hamilton, Red Sparkle.
Dave Tull, I Just Want To Get Paid.
Bob Curnow, Pat Metheny.
Larry Hathaway
LA Jazz Society
(Curnow recently released a followup big band album, Plays The Music Of Pat Metheny And Lyle Mays, Vol. 2—DR)
Clark Terry & Bob Brookmeyer, The Power of Positive Swinging.
Joe Lovano, Hank Jones, Joyous Encounter.
Bonnie Raitt, Slipstream.
Duke Ellington At Fargo, N.D., 1940.
Art Pepper, Winter Moon.
James Bruce
North Carolina
USA
Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues.
Dave Brubeck Quartet, Brubeck Time.
Shelly Manne, Yesterdays.
Ben Johnston, String Quartets 2,3,4,& 9.
Keith Jarrett, Live at the Blue Note.
Peter Straub
New York City
USA
Music in the house with Bose speakers upstairs and down. In the car, I favor a heavy sound such as big bands. Count Basie Encounters Oscar Peterson is onboard today. Because of Jack Brownlow, I have every Bill Evans CD, but Evans is too subtle for car listening.
Lee Kilburn
Kirkland, WA
USA
Lars Jansson Trio, Worship of Self.
Clare Fischer Orchestra, Continuum.
Amina Figarova, Sketches.
Grant Stewart, Estate.
Warren Vache/Alan Barnes, The London Sessions.
Chick Corea/Gary Burton, Hot House.
Paolo Fresu Quintet, Songlines.
Don Emanuel
Gillingham, Kent
England
Brad Mehldau, Ode.
Matt Wilson, An Attitude for Gratitude.
Anne Gastinel / Claire Désert: Cello Sonatas.
Chick Corea, Further Explorations.
And because there was a discussion of the BBC series Sailing on a blog
I regularly read, Rod Stewart’s “Sailing” has been my most recent
earworm.(It’s in this album—DR)
Stan Jones
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Canada
Cassandra Wilson — Loverly
Mark Murphy — Memories of You (dedicated to Joe Williams)
Brubeck/Desmond — Dave Digs Disney
Bird — Live Recordings on Savoy
Brookmeyer/Evans — The Ivory Hunters
Barry Harris — Plays Tadd Dameron
Jim Brown
Santa Cruz, CA
USA