Penguin Guide to Jazz: Crown Albums List

The following is a table of all of the albums that have been given a crown (or coronet) designation in the various editions of The Penguin Guide to Jazz by Richard Cook & Brian Morton. The first two editions (1992, 1994) included LPs and cassettes; all subsequent volumes (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006) have been limited to CD. The Guide switched from a one-column to a two-column format for the 5th edition (2000), and grew from 1195 pages in 1992 to 1725 pages in 2004. (The 2006 edition is 1534 pages, accomplished through smaller print.) Through these editions records, and in some cases whole artist entries, have come and gone, while some records have remained consistently available.

Starting with the 7th edition there is also a larger Core Collection List.

Artist: Title 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
John Abercrombie: The Third Quartet [06, ECM]x
Jan Allan: Jan Allan - 70 [68-69, Phono Suecia]xxxxx
Amalgam: Prayer for Peace [69, FMR]xxx
Louis Armstrong: The Hot Fives and Sevens Vol. 1 [25-26, JSP]xxx
Louis Armstrong: The Hot Fives and Sevens Vol. 2 [27, JSP]xxx
Louis Armstrong: The Hot Fives and Sevens Vol. 3 [28-29, JSP]xxx
Louis Armstrong: The Hot Fives and Hot Sevens Vol. III [27, Columbia]x
Louis Armstrong: The Hot Fives & Sevens [25-30, JSP, 4CD]xxxxx
Louis Armstrong: The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings [25-30, Columbia, 4CD]xxxx
Albert Ayler: Spiritual Unity [64, ESP]xxxxxxxx
Leonardo 'Gato' Barbieri: Chapter 4: Alive in New York [75, Impulse]x
Count Basie: The Original American Decca Recordings [37-39, MCA, 3CD]xxxxxxxxx
Ran Blake: All That Is Tied [03, Tompkins Square]xx
Art Blakey: Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers With Thelonious Monk [57, Atlantic/Rhino]xxxxxxxxx
Arthur Blythe: Lenox Avenue Breakdown [79, Koch]xxxxx
Anthony Braxton: For Alto [68, Delmark]xxxx
Peter Brötzmann: Machine Gun [68, FMP]xxxxxxxxx
Betty Carter: The Audience With Betty Carter [80, Verve]xxxxxxxx
Oscar 'Papa' Celestin & Sam Morgan: Papa Celestin & Sam Morgan [25-28, Azure]xxxxxxxx
June Christy: Something Cool: The Complete Mono and Stereo Versions [53-60, Capitol]xxxx
Ornette Coleman: Beauty Is a Rare Thing [59-61, Atlantic, 6CD]xxxxxxx
Ornette Coleman: The Shape of Jazz to Come [59-60, Atlantic]x
John Coltrane: The Heavyweight Champion [Atlantic/Rhino, 7CD]x
John Coltrane: A Love Supreme [64, Impulse]xxxxxxxxx
John Coltrane: The Major Works of John Coltrane [65, Impulse, 2CD]xxxx
John Coltrane: Ascension [65, Impulse]xxxxx
Miles Davis: Kind of Blue [59, Columbia]xxxxxxxxx
Miles Davis: The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel [65, Columbia, 8CD]xxxxxxx
Miles Davis: Miles Davis and Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings [57-68, Columbia, 6CD]xxxxxx
Eric Dolphy: Out to Lunch [64, Blue Note]xxxxxxxxx
Duke Ellington: The Blanton-Webster Band [40-42, RCA Bluebird, 3CD]xxxx
Duke Ellington: The Duke at Fargo 1940 [Storyville]xxxx
Duke Ellington: The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse [OJC]x
Bill Evans: Sunday Night at the Village Vanguard [61, OJC]xxxxxxxxx
Bill Evans: Waltz for Debby [61, OJC]xxxxxxxxx
Art Farmer: Blame It on My Youth [88, Contemporary]xxxxxxxxx
Ganelin Trio: Catalogue: Live in East Germany [77-82, Leo]xxx
Ganelin Trio: Ancora Da Capo [80, Leo]xxxxxx
Charles Gayle: Touchin' on Trane [91, FMP]xxxxxxxx
Stan Getz: The Complete Roost Recordings [50-54, Roulette, 3CD]xxxxxx
Dizzy Gillespie: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings [37-49, RCA, 2CD]xxxxxxx
Jimmy Giuffre: Free Fall [62, Columbia]xxxxxxx
Lars Gullin: The Great Lars Gullin Vol. 5 [54-55, Dragon]x
Al Haig: The Al Haig Trio Esoteric [54, Fresh Sound]xxxxxxx
Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage [65, Blue Note]xxxxxx
Herbie Hancock: Head Hunters [73, Columbia]xx
Steve Harris & Zaum: Above Our Heads the Sky Splits Open [04, Slam]xx
Woody Herman: Woody's Winners [65, Columbia]xx
Woody Herman: Jazz Hoot/Woody's Winners [65-67, Collectables]xxxx
Andrew Hill: Point of Departure [64, Blue Note]xxxxxxxxx
Bobby Hutcherson: Dialogue [65, Blue Note]xx
J.J. Johnson: The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson: Volume 1 [53-55, Blue Note]xxxxxxxxx
J.J. Johnson: The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson: Volume 2 [53-55, Blue Note]x
Rahssan Roland Kirk: A Meeting of the Times [72, Atlantic]xxx
Krzysztof Komeda: Astigmatic [65, Harkit]xxxxxxx
Lee Konitz: Motion [61, Verve, 3CD]x
Lee Konitz: Motion [61, Verve]xxx
Peter Kowald: Was Da Ist [94, FMP]xxxxxx
George E Lewis: Homage to Charles Parker [79, Black Saint]xxxxxxxxx
John Lewis: The Modern Jazz Society Presents a Concert of Contemporary Music [55, Verve]xx
London Jazz Composers Orchestra: Ode [72, Intakt, 2CD]xxxxx
Joe Lovano: From the Soul [91, Blue Note]xxxxxxxx
Shelly Manne: At the Black Hawk [59, OJC, 5CD]xxxxxxxxx
René Marie: Vertigo [01, MaxJazz]xxx
John McLaughlin: Extrapolation [69, Polydor]xxxxxxxxx
Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um [59, Columbia]xxxxxxx
Charles Mingus: The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady [63, Impulse]xxxxxxxxx
Modern Jazz Quartet: Dedicated to Connie [60, Atlantic, 2CD]xx
Thelonious Monk: Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1 [47-52, Blue Note]xx
Thelonious Monk: The Complete Blue Note Recordings [47-58, Blue Note, 4CD]xxxxxxx
Thelonious Monk: With John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall [57, Blue Note]xx
Thelonious Monk: The Complete Riverside Recordings [55-61, Riverside, 15CD]xxxxxxxxx
Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder [63, Blue Note]xxxxxx
Jelly Roll Morton: Volume One [26-27, JSP]xxx
Jelly Roll Morton: Jelly Roll Morton Vols. 1-5 [26-30, JSP, 5CD]xxxx
Fats Navarro: The Fabulous Fats Navarro: Volume 1 [47, Blue Note]xx
New Orleans Rhythm Kings: The Complete Set [22-25, Retrieval, 2CD]xxx
King Oliver: Volume One 1923 to 1929 [23-29, Jazz Classics in Digital Stereo]xxxx
King Oliver: King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band - The Complete Set [23-24, Retrieval, 2CD]xxxxx
Tony Oxley: The Baptised Traveler [69, Columbia]xxxx
Charlie Parker: The Charlie Parker Story [45, Savoy]xxxxx
Charlie Parker: On Dial: Volume 1 [46, Spotlite]x
Charlie Parker: On Dial: Volume 4 [47, Spotlite]x
Charlie Parker: On Dial: Volume 5 [45-47, Spotlite]x
Charlie Parker: The Complete Dial Sessions [46-47, Spotlite, 4CD]x
Charlie Parker: On Dial: The Complete Sessions [45-47, Spotlite/Dial, 4CD]xx
Charlie Parker: The Legendary Dial Masters: Volume 1 [Stash]xxxx
Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings [44-48, Savoy, 8CD]xxxx
Evan Parker: The Snake Decides [86, Psi]xxx
Evan Parker: 50th Birthday Concert [94, Leo, 2CD]xxxxxx
Position Alpha: The Great Sound of Sound [84, Dragon]xxxx
Howard Riley: The Day Will Come [70, Columbia]xxxx
Max Roach: We Insist! Freedom Now Suite [60, Candid]xxxxxx
Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus [56, OJC]xxxxxxxxx
Sonny Rollins: A Night at the Village Vanguard [57, Blue Note, 2CD]xxxxx
ROVA: Electric Ascension [03, Atavistic]xx
Alexander von Schlippenbach: Pakistani Pomade [72, FMP; Atavistic]xxx
Alexander von Schlippenbach: Monk's Casino [03-04, Intakt, 3CD]xx
Silver Leaf Jazz Band: New Orleans Wiggle [98, GHB]xxxx
Muggsy Spanier: 1931 and 1939 [31-39, Jazz Classics in Digital Stereo]xxx
Tomasz Stanko: Leosia [96, ECM]xxxxxx
Sun Ra: Jazz in Silhouette [58, Evidence]xxxxxxxxx
John Surman: Tales of the Algonquin [68, Deram]xxxxx
Horace Tapscott: The Dark Tree [Vols. 1 & 2] [89, Hatology]xxxx
Art Tatum: The Complete Pablo Solo Masterpieces [53-55, Pablo, 7CD]xxxxxxxxx
Cecil Taylor: Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come [62, Revenant, 2CD]xxxxxx
Warren Vaché: 2Gether [00, Nagel Heyer]xxxx
Kid Thomas Valentine: [Kid Thomas-George Lewis] Ragtime Stompers [61, GHB]xxxxx
Sarah Vaughan: Sarah Vaughan [54, Verve]xxxxx
Edward Vesala: Lumi [86, ECM]xxxxxxxx
Vienna Art Orchestra: The Minimalism of Erik Satie [84, HatArt]xxxx
David S. Ware: Godspelized [96, DIW]xxx
Bobby Watson: Love Remains [86, Red]xxxxxxxx
Larry Young: Unity [65, Blue Note]xxxxxx
John Zorn: The Big Gundown [84-85, Elektra/Asylum; Tzadik]xxxxxxxxx

Notes

The first edition (1992) used a fifth star instead of a crown. I've wondered whether Ellington's The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse was a typo there, since it only appears in that volume and the review does little to justify the fifth star. The first and second editions included LPs and cassettes, but they were dropped from the third edition, which was CD only. The third edition had a misprint where the crowns were blank space, and an addendum was provided with the album listings.

In some cases an album switched labels (e.g., Zorn, originally on Elektra/Asylum, later on Tzadik). The more recent label is listed (sometimes earlier ones as well). The Papa Celestin/George Morgan record has typically been listed under both artists, but has been combined (under Celestin) above. In some cases redundant names and/or dates have been removed from the titles.

Album counts per edition:

Edition 142
Edition 245
Edition 354
Edition 459
Edition 563
Edition 671
Edition 774
Edition 876
Edition 982