“Vocal only” means that those who are also play an instrument on the recording belong in another category. Apologies, as always, to the great singers (including Mark Murphy, Eddie Jefferson, Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme and Jon Hendricks just to name a few) who didn’t make the list.

There is no shortage of great female jazz vocal performances on record so it was a hard one to narrow down! “Vocal only” distinguishes from those who also play an instrument on the recording; they get their own category.

With the recent induction of the 2010 class of NEA Jazz Masters, some of the most glaring omissions in my eyes have been rectified, namely Yusef Lateef, Bobby Hutcherson and Cedar Walton. This led me to reflect on who now tops the list of most deserving musicians not yet honored.

This was a tough one to narrow down, especially without having a list devoted to each type of saxophone. Just remember that this is a “favorites” list and not “best” or “most important” necessarily.

Dexter Gordon, Miles, Bill Evans, of course. Cecil Taylor? Also yes – read on.

Today I stumbled across a great album that I’m surprised I’ve snoozed on until now, “For Phineas” by Harold Mabern and Geoffrey Keezer. As such it made me reflect on the art of duo playing and gave me the impetus to revisit this top 10 list.