There’s an architectural principle that the triangle is the strongest shape: Three sides and three angles bear weight evenly, dispersing compression, sharing tension, transferring force. The same can be said for the jazz trio. There’s something magical that happens as soon as company becomes a crowd. Trios have been behind some of the greatest recordings in jazz. Here are 20 albums that stand the test of time. Benny Goodman Trio
After You’ve Gone: The Original Benny Goodman Trio and Quartet Vol. 1 (Bluebird), 1987 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVZESAHznUg
During the 1930s and ’40s, clarinetist Benny Goodman was one of the most popular figures in American music, earning the title — out front of his big band — as the “King of Swing.” But his trio with Teddy Wilson on piano and Gene Krupa on drums etched into wax a number of seminal recordings that set a new course for small-group interplay and improvisation. Requisite track: “Body and Soul” Nat King Cole Trio
The Complete Capitol Recordings of The Nat King Cole Trio (Mosaic), 1991 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u9B-h1WpD0
Beloved jazz vocalist Nat “King” Cole began his career at the helm of a peerless trio featuring Oscar Moore on guitar and Wesley Prince on bass. On a handful of recordings pressed in Los Angeles during the ’30s and ’40s, Cole (also a remarkable pianist) and crew revealed new possibilities for what a trio could accomplish, especially with regard to the interaction between vocals and guitar. Requisite track: “What’ll I Do?” Mary Lou Williams Trio
Zodiac Suite (Smithsonian Folkways), 1945 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3dWjIxmMDU
During the course of her career, pianist Mary Lou Williams constructed a durable bridge between jazz and classical music. In 1945, with a trio comprising Al Lucas on bass and Jack Parker on drums, she recorded the Zodiac Suite, an original composition dedicated to fellow musicians born under each astrological sign. The results are heavenly. Requisite track: “Pisces” Sonny Rollins
Way Out West (Contemporary), 1957 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6Oma0WOALU
Despite its cheeky Old West nature — or maybe because of it? — Sonny Rollins’ Way Out West is a transcendent album that brims with profound musical ideas. It was the first of the saxophonist’s forays into the pianoless trio format, this one featuring Ray Brown on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. On a program of jazz standards, Rollins and crew make the harmonic possibilities seem endless. Requisite track: “I’m an Old Cowhand” Jimmy Smith
Groovin’ at Smalls’ Paradise Volume 1 (Blue Note), 1957 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4fHOrNKjBI
The organ trio — traditionally consisting of organ, drums and guitar — is an iconic sound in jazz, and few trios are as iconic as the ones helmed by Jimmy Smith. On Groovin at Smalls’ Paradise Volume 1, Smith serves up a showcase of soul alongside Eddie McFadden on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums. Indelibly funky. Requisite track: “After Hours” Ahmad Jamal Trio
At the Pershing: But Not for Me (Argo), 1958 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0e2G32f3IU
Few pianists in jazz can match Ahmad Jamal’s mastery of dynamics and phrasing. This live set, captured in 1958 at the Pershing Hotel in Chicago, swings with easy precision, showing us why Jamal remains one of the greatest musical storytellers in jazz. Bassist Israel Crosby and drummer Vernel Fournier are exemplary. Requisite track: “Poinciana” The Jimmy Giuffre 3
Trav’lin’ Light (Atlantic), 1958 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_BbAODnxio
Reedist Jimmy Giuffre was an early — if overlooked — adopter of free improvisation, espousing an innovative model for jazz that was liberated from the constraints of traditional chord structures and rhythms. His namesake trio would take many forms over the years, but this project — with valved trombonist Bob Brookmeyer and guitarist Jim Hall — is his most probing and ambitious. Requisite track: “Trav’lin’ Light” Bill Evans Trio
Sunday at the Village Vanguard (Riverside), 1961 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVEOf7VCNgs
More than almost any other jazz artist, Bill Evans transformed the trio into a holistic unit, one in which three musicians speak with a single voice. To hear an Evans trio live, as on this 1961 set at New York’s most famous jazz venue, is to hear his genius at work. Bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian rise to the occasion and then some. Requisite track: “Gloria’s Step” Oscar Peterson Trio
Night Train (Verve), 1963 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrEcT2Q51lw
A technically gifted musician with a poetic ear to match, Oscar Peterson was as eloquent a pianist as they come. He commanded several outstanding trios throughout his career, but the outfit featured on 1963’s Night Train — with drummer Ed Thigpen and bassist Ray Brown — crafted a masterpiece. Requisite track: “C Jam Blues” Duke Ellington/Charles Mingus/Max Roach
Money Jungle (United Artists), 1963 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HFQy9_rY58
Money Jungle may be enshrined in jazz history more for the uniqueness of its personnel — a rare summit of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach — than for the caliber of its music. While it’s hardly the best document of any one of these artist’s abilities, it is nonetheless a singular album, and essential listening for any serious jazz fan. Requisite track: “Fleurette Africaine” Chick Corea
Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (Solid State/Blue Note), 1968 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKuQ6gwbPqk
An undeniable current of joy runs through the hard-swinging Now He Sings, Now He Sobs by the brilliant pianist Chick Corea. As with everything Corea did, there’s a sense of discovery and adventure packed into every note. The album — with Roy Haynes on drums and Miroslav Vitous on bass — is among the brightest stars in the post bop trio universe. Requisite track: “Matrix” Tony Williams Lifetime
Emergency! (Polydor/PolyGram), 1969 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmMHckNkJP8
Few ensembles in jazz compressed so much energy into so small a space as Tony Williams Lifetime. The group’s debut album is pure fire from beginning to end. But would you expect anything less from a group featuring Williams on drums, John McLaughlin on guitar and Larry Young on organ? Not even the sun gets this hot. Requisite track: “Emergency” Pat Metheny Trio
Bright Size Life (ECM), 1976 https://open.spotify.com/track/7jKeslkYYcER0xVjFtirpC?si=1c94aee693384a6e
Pat Metheny’s debut album, released in 1976, introduced the world to a guitarist of extraordinary versatility and a musician of unfathomable melodic depth. His trio included a pair of likeminded trailblazers in drummer Bob Moses and bassist Jaco Pastorius. Requisite track: “Unquity Road” Air
Air Lore (Arista Novus), 1979 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhiqFsWcMrI
Consisting of reedist Henry Threadgill, bassist Fred Hopkins and drummer Steve McCall — three visionary members of Chicago’s freethinking Association for the Advancement of Creative Music — Air was a beacon of experimental jazz during the loft-scene era of the 1970s. Their album Air Lore filters compositions by Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton through an avant-garde prism. The past meets the future. Requisite track: “King Porter Stomp” Geri Allen
The Printmakers (Minor Music), 1984 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJKDiNLU9Wc
The debut album by pianist Geri Allen was a major statement in the jazz trio form. It solidified her standing in what fellow pianist Matthew Shipp called the Black Mystery School, a cohort of iconoclastic musicians whose style defies easy imitation and academic codification. Allen, who died in 2017, is simply sublime on The Printmakers. Drummer Andrew Cyrille and bassist Anthony Cox complete the picture. Requisite track: “A Celebration of All Life” Keith Jarrett Standards Trio
Standards Vol. 2 (ECM), 1985 https://open.spotify.com/track/5jiSnGBfciBwABbAzD1Ssh?si=e31c509250194bcd
The Keith Jarrett Standards Trio — comprising pianist Jarrett, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette — contributed an innovative perspective on the Great American Songbook when they laid down the tracks that would become Standards Vols. 1 and 2 . Improvisation and spontaneous composition are the guiding lights of this trio, which continued to work together for more than 20 years. Requisite track: “If I Should Lose You” Medeski, Martin & Wood
Shack-man (Rykodisc/Gramavision), 1996 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJF2O7nS0Qc
The progenitors of avant-groove are in peak form on Shack-man, their second studio album and a cult favorite for fans of jazz fusion. Adding to the album’s mystique is the fact that it was recorded in a remote shack in Hawaii, with equipment powered solely by generators. Pure magic. Requisite track: “Jelly Belly” Brad Mehldau
The Art of the Trio Vol. 3: Songs (Warner Bros.), 1998 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm-pBjBp4OA
Arguably the most resonant of Mehldau’s Art of the Trio albums, Songs seeks to explore the qualities that make great compositions endure. Mehldau’s improvisational vocabulary, while entirely his own, has influenced a generation of young pianists. Bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy share the vision. Requisite track: “Exit Music (For a Film)” Esbjörn Svensson Trio (E.S.T.)
From Gagarin’s Point of View (Sony), 1999 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2kdBtSVCig
The Esbjörn Svensson Trio set the mold for progressive European piano trios, and their influence continues to resonate even after the untimely passing of pianist Svensson, the group’s namesake and leader, in 2008. From Gagarin’s Point of View was the first album released by the trio outside of their native Sweden, and most clearly captures their mind-warping blend of jazz, pop and alternative rock. Requisite track: “From Gagarin’s Point of View” Pat Martino
Live at Yoshi’s (Blue Note), 2001 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBi29nU-S-I
One of the most distinctive voices in jazz guitar, Pat Martino had blazed countless trails — and mounted a near-miraculous comeback from a debilitating stroke — before recording this live set at Yoshi’s in Oakland, California. Even at warp speeds, this phenomenal trio — with Billy Hart on drums and Joey DeFrancesco on organ — never loses sight of the blues. Requisite track: “Oleo” The Bad Plus
These Are the Vistas (Columbia), 2003 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFxaG2lFrOE
Bristling originals. Covers of Nirvana, Blondie and Aphex Twin. The major-label debut by The Bad Plus ushered in a new era of trio playing, one that amplified the level of discourse both among its members and between genres of music. Requisite track: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” 
