Swan Songs: Jazz's Greatest Last Recordings

by Pico

"Thank you very much, you make me feel so wonderful. It's been a pleasure being here but I really must go now, it's so hot."

Clifford Brown at the end of his final performance, June 25, 1956

Jazz history is full of personal tragedies; so many of the greats who for various reasons, left us far too soon. For some of these legends, the last music they made adds a poignancy to their deaths assuring fans to take solace in knowing they left us at the top of their game but also left us wondering where their music might have gone had they lived longer. I'm always loathe to declare absolutes in the "best" of anything, because I could end up disagreeing with myself later on and have probably forgotten about some other great records. But I'll offer up five selections that I regard as some of the finest codas in the jazz canon.

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