Best "Unknown" Albums (thread)

I’ve been wanting to start a thread about favorite "unknown albums” for a long time...there are so many great recordings out there that nobody has heard of!

Rather than me just listing a bunch of my favorites, I want to hear from all of you at Morningside. Here’s my criteria: The album has to be amazing, perhaps one of your favorites of all time. Think about your favorite top ten or twenty recordings. Are there any that aren’t particularly popular among other musicians? Any that surprised you when you first heard them, especially if the artists weren’t particularly well-known? Let the rest of us know so we can check them out!

I’ll go first...

Clare Fischer: Alone Together (solo piano album)
    I never knew that Clare Fischer was a pianist until I heard this album, and it blew me away. His rendition of “Everything Happens to Me” is unbelievable-I’ve been listening to it for years and the harmonic content and motific development still gets me every time.

Bill Carrothers: Excelsior (another solo piano album)
    Bill is still one of my favorite pianists out there, and this album flies under the radar a little bit. It’s all free improvisations that are surprisingly cohesive, simple, and profound. Some sound like hymns, others sound like impressionistic compositions. Ridiculous it was all completely out of his head.

Pete Kelly: Pete Kelly’s Blues (New Orleans-style band)
    I still have no idea who Pete Kelly is, but this album is an amazing compilation of Dixieland compositions and old standards. “Smiles” is one of the most enjoyable tunes I have ever listened to.

I’d love to hear what some of your greatest “unknown” albums are!

Jonathan Fagan
Morningside Music Studio Intern